Author Topic: NELO is in for the games with Light Signature Race  (Read 259460 times)

ukgm

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Re: NELO is in for the games with Light Signature Race
« Reply #660 on: March 01, 2019, 10:33:50 AM »
Its been a while but here is my review of the GT board that finally came out today. It's a long and detailed review but apologies there isn't on the water footage but I picked up a virus (then a shoulder injury) and was unable to complete it. Just to be clear, I have no affiliation with the brand and I (sadly) have to give the board back. I thought it was great.

https://www.supboardermag.com/equipment_guide/light-board-corp-gt-14-x-23-5/

Nicely made and informative for the most part.

1) I do have issue with your assertion of 4kg difference from the competition though.
for the most part is a single kg to 2kg difference for a board with same dimensions.

2) Furthermore, foam boards can come even lighter than the Light Board Corp GT.
My Infinity Blackfish was 19.5lb(8.85kg) so the emphasis on wight might be
a little bit over the top.

1) I weighed it against a couple of Allstars and a Mistral to be fair of comparable width. Granted, this won't apply to everything.

2) I guess it depends on your data and how that weight is distributed. In my experience, it was not over the top. That being said, I didn't know the Blackfish could build down that light.

Area 10

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Re: NELO is in for the games with Light Signature Race
« Reply #661 on: March 01, 2019, 11:43:08 AM »
Great review, Bryce. One detail you might have mentioned is that sidewalls that thin can be a pain, literally, when you are getting back in after a fall, or if you clatter your knee of ankle when you fall. They can also catch on waist-mounted camelbaks or leash belts when remounting after a fall, and so are easy to damage. This point doesn’t matter much with flat water boards but it matters quite a bit for beach races etc- and this is after all an all-waters board (in theory). We’ve seen quite a few elite athletes over the years injure themselves (although not seriously) using dugouts in beach races, for this reason - launch yourself at speed back onto this board after a beach run chicane and if eg. your knee accidentally makes contact with that thin sidewall you are going to know about it.

burchas

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Re: NELO is in for the games with Light Signature Race
« Reply #662 on: March 01, 2019, 01:34:54 PM »
...In my experience, it was not over the top. That being said, I didn't know the Blackfish could build down that light.

Fair point. In that context you'd be right to put emphasis on that.

BTW, I've seen Blackfish as low as 17LB and the last SIC board I took for a spin
(Custom Bayonet 17'1"X25) was just over 20LB for reference hence my comment on custom RS.
in progress...

mr_proper

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Re: NELO is in for the games with Light Signature Race
« Reply #663 on: March 01, 2019, 02:47:03 PM »
Lightcorp will launch pretty soon the LIGHTCORP GT 14´x 21" as well as the Signature 2.0 14´x 22"  Light Board Corp
SIC RS 14x23, 2018
SIC RS 14x26, 2018
Lightcorp Signature Race 14x24.75, 2018 (sold)
JP Australia AdventurAir 12x36, 2017
Starboard Allstar 14x24.5, 2017 (sold)
SIC Bullet 14x27.25 TWC, 2015
Jimmy Lewis Sidewinder 14x25, 2016 (sold)
Sprint 14x23, 2015 (sold)
JL Stiletto 14x28, 2014 (sold)

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Re: NELO is in for the games with Light Signature Race
« Reply #664 on: March 01, 2019, 03:23:43 PM »
...In my experience, it was not over the top. That being said, I didn't know the Blackfish could build down that light.

Fair point. In that context you'd be right to put emphasis on that.

BTW, I've seen Blackfish as low as 17LB and the last SIC board I took for a spin
(Custom Bayonet 17'1"X25) was just over 20LB for reference hence my comment on custom RS.
Holy crap! 20lbs for an unlimited DW board... it must just be foam that they’ve breathed on :)

The main difference I think with the Nelo is going to be in the durability rather than the weight. But will people pay for durability? Most racers who will buy a board like this are only buying it for one season anyway.

I think I’ll wait 50 weeks and pick one up for 30% of new...

Area 10

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Re: NELO is in for the games with Light Signature Race
« Reply #665 on: March 01, 2019, 03:29:28 PM »
Lightcorp will launch pretty soon the LIGHTCORP GT 14´x 21" as well as the Signature 2.0 14´x 22"  Light Board Corp
Ok so this really is the predictions that Jim Terrell made years ago made real. You’d better start dropping your knee.

Time for the much cooler and fun side of SUP (anything in the ocean, basically) to separate itself from inland stand-up canoeing.

burchas

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Re: NELO is in for the games with Light Signature Race
« Reply #666 on: March 01, 2019, 04:39:21 PM »
Holy crap! 20lbs for an unlimited DW board... it must just be foam that they’ve breathed on :)

Must be. I had it for a week, out every day for a run or two, felt solid. That said,
The guy after me buckled it mid channel. Nelo will sure have the edge in that
department.
in progress...

Area 10

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Re: NELO is in for the games with Light Signature Race
« Reply #667 on: March 01, 2019, 05:51:59 PM »
Holy crap! 20lbs for an unlimited DW board... it must just be foam that they’ve breathed on :)

Must be. I had it for a week, out every day for a run or two, felt solid. That said,
The guy after me buckled it mid channel. Nelo will sure have the edge in that
department.
Well, they will if they ever make something that could be used “mid channel”. But that might be stepping outside their area of expertise, and SIC Maui already make hollow boards.

ukgm

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Re: NELO is in for the games with Light Signature Race
« Reply #668 on: March 01, 2019, 11:50:45 PM »
Lightcorp will launch pretty soon the LIGHTCORP GT 14´x 21" as well as the Signature 2.0 14´x 22"  Light Board Corp

Yep. Bruno sent me a facebook friendship request after the review went up and I could see footage of him testing them. It's the wrong way in my view - they need a 26-28 width version.

Also, their lay-up is conservative for the size - they could build the GT much lighter than they have if surfski's are anything to go by.

ukgm

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Re: NELO is in for the games with Light Signature Race
« Reply #669 on: March 01, 2019, 11:53:23 PM »

1) The main difference I think with the Nelo is going to be in the durability rather than the weight. But will people pay for durability? Most racers who will buy a board like this are only buying it for one season anyway.

2) I think I’ll wait 50 weeks and pick one up for 30% of new...
1) That's starboards fault. Hollow board constructors won't be able to do that due to mould costs. Ski's stay in range for 4-5 years typically.

2) That won't happen (due to the above).

ukgm

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Re: NELO is in for the games with Light Signature Race
« Reply #670 on: March 01, 2019, 11:54:51 PM »
...In my experience, it was not over the top. That being said, I didn't know the Blackfish could build down that light.

Fair point. In that context you'd be right to put emphasis on that.

BTW, I've seen Blackfish as low as 17LB and the last SIC board I took for a spin
(Custom Bayonet 17'1"X25) was just over 20LB for reference hence my comment on custom RS.

You were right to call me out on that. As Area10 says, its durability that will really outshine the others. How robust can a foam core board be at that weight ?

Area 10

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Re: NELO is in for the games with Light Signature Race
« Reply #671 on: March 02, 2019, 02:00:16 AM »

1) The main difference I think with the Nelo is going to be in the durability rather than the weight. But will people pay for durability? Most racers who will buy a board like this are only buying it for one season anyway.

2) I think I’ll wait 50 weeks and pick one up for 30% of new...
1) That's starboards fault. Hollow board constructors won't be able to do that due to mould costs. Ski's stay in range for 4-5 years typically.

2) That won't happen (due to the above).
I think you underestimate the power of marketing upon the competitive mind. If you tell a really competitive person that they can gain an advantage using X design, even if X design will fall apart after one season, they will sell their own grandmother in order to buy it. The only people who are going to be buying boards at these widths will be über-competitive types: no-one buys boards this narrow for fun (unless it’s a rich parent buying it for their kid). Plus, lots of people will actually find that they are faster in the reality of racing on a board that isn’t so twitchy. This is by a plug-and-play board, according to your review. Who is going to want to waste a whole season falling in? So you’ll have to be young and fit to use it. But how many youngsters can afford this board? If the used market for a product is small, the price will be low.

People don’t update their All Stars every year because the board has fallen apart. They update because they believe the marketing BS surrounding the new model.

But I guess we will see in due course. Perhaps there will be floods of people buying this board, and then they will each hold onto it for 5 years before updating it. Or maybe not.

ukgm

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Re: NELO is in for the games with Light Signature Race
« Reply #672 on: March 02, 2019, 02:19:37 AM »

1) The main difference I think with the Nelo is going to be in the durability rather than the weight. But will people pay for durability? Most racers who will buy a board like this are only buying it for one season anyway.

2) I think I’ll wait 50 weeks and pick one up for 30% of new...
1) That's starboards fault. Hollow board constructors won't be able to do that due to mould costs. Ski's stay in range for 4-5 years typically.

2) That won't happen (due to the above).
I think you underestimate the power of marketing upon the competitive mind. If you tell a really competitive person that they can gain an advantage using X design, even if X design will fall apart after one season, they will sell their own grandmother in order to buy it. The only people who are going to be buying boards at these widths will be über-competitive types: no-one buys boards this narrow for fun (unless it’s a rich parent buying it for their kid). Plus, lots of people will actually find that they are faster in the reality of racing on a board that isn’t so twitchy. This is by a plug-and-play board, according to your review. Who is going to want to waste a whole season falling in? So you’ll have to be young and fit to use it. But how many youngsters can afford this board? If the used market for a product is small, the price will be low.

People don’t update their All Stars every year because the board has fallen apart. They update because they believe the marketing BS surrounding the new model.

But I guess we will see in due course. Perhaps there will be floods of people buying this board, and then they will each hold onto it for 5 years before updating it. Or maybe not.

Yep, not quite what I meant. Because lightboard won't be updating them every year (because they can't afford to), they won't have a need to discount. Buyers might want to move on but until a good hollow board competitor emerges, it might be unique nature of buyer.

mr_proper

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Re: NELO is in for the games with Light Signature Race
« Reply #673 on: March 02, 2019, 04:00:01 AM »
Lightcorp will launch pretty soon the LIGHTCORP GT 14´x 21" as well as the Signature 2.0 14´x 22"  Light Board Corp

Yep. Bruno sent me a facebook friendship request after the review went up and I could see footage of him testing them. It's the wrong way in my view - they need a 26-28 width version.


Yes, a 25 or 26 width version of the GT in hollow construction could be a very nice board for me. But until it is time, I stay with my SIC RS 26 and 23.
I had the Signature and really like the hollow construction, the low weight and the feel. That I did not get along well with the shape is another story. But I still think the boards are great.
SIC RS 14x23, 2018
SIC RS 14x26, 2018
Lightcorp Signature Race 14x24.75, 2018 (sold)
JP Australia AdventurAir 12x36, 2017
Starboard Allstar 14x24.5, 2017 (sold)
SIC Bullet 14x27.25 TWC, 2015
Jimmy Lewis Sidewinder 14x25, 2016 (sold)
Sprint 14x23, 2015 (sold)
JL Stiletto 14x28, 2014 (sold)

Area 10

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Re: NELO is in for the games with Light Signature Race
« Reply #674 on: March 02, 2019, 04:16:30 AM »
What does the RS do better than the Signature, Mr Proper?

 


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