Laird Surator- whatever happened to it? Or starboard pro?

[devon_sup_surf]

Interesting guys thanks

805standup interesting. I'm UK based so don't get those bargains here

MrBig- what makes you say the pro is much better? The comparison is really interesting so your opinion would be great.

[mrbig]

A much higher level of performance and way more durable.

The Laird was a failure in the marketplace, while the Starboard is a high performance leader in the pro level segment.

I love a good bargain, but purchased several wrong board right price "deals" early on.

Bought a Laird Hybrid from amazon. CHEAP. Shoddiest construction EVAH. Sent it back.

Caveat emptor!!

[805StandUp]

The Surrator arrived and here are my first impressions.  This one shown is the 9'10x31.3x141L Surrator and is pictured next to my 9'6x30x121L Surfer which has been my personal goldilocks board for almost all conditions.  As I mentioned, the Surrator that I wanted was the 9'4, but the sizes discounted were the 8'4 and 9'10, which makes sense as I consider the 8'10 and 9'4 to be the perfect sizes, especially at my weight (185lbs). 

First Impressions
* The Surrator is beautiful!  This one is finished in the PVC Sandwich construction which while it may not be as strong as Starboard's Carbon sandwich construction, it has been much more durable than the EPS HP that mrbig mentioned. 
* What was apparent when comparing the Surrator to my other boards is the pronounced nose and tail rocker and also the pulled in nose and tail.  In looking at it, you can tell that this is a performance driven SUP.
* The handle on the new Laird boards are better than any that I have used.  It has a huge step that allows you to easily maneuver the board with one hand.  I would consider it comparable to the step handles that come on newer Naish boards.
* Interestingly, the surrations on the rails are not as pronounced as I initially thought they would be.  There are black vertical lines painted in the surrations which make them more pronounced. 
* At first, I wasn't planning on putting rail tape on the Surrator, as I was afraid it will just start to bubble around the surrations.  I then saw online on RSPro's website that they have installed it on this board and since I had some around, I put it on prior to getting the board on the water.

On the water
* The waves today was nothing to write home about but enough to start to get used to a new board.  2-4 foot faces with texture on the water.
* The Surrator feels like it has more primary stability but at the same time is less stable compared to my Surfer.  Not sure if it is the extra 20L or width, but the Surrator has a very large sweet spot and feels extremely planted--similar to the feeling of a Naish Nalu and Mana.  At the same time, whereas my Surfer will tip side-to-side, because the nose and tail are more pulled in on the Surrator I feel like there is a bit of side to side tipsiness at the nose and tail that manifests into a bit of a rotational tipsiness which is something I need to get dialed into and not necessarily a problem.  I don't have this same feeling on my Rawson SUP, which has a wider tail.
* I wasn't expecting this, but the extra length of this Surrator over my Surfer was noticeable.  Whereas on my Surfer, I can take my foot back and be over the front fins, on the Surrator I need to shuffle back more.  I thus need to adjust for my pivot turns and surfing.  This Surrator tracks straighter than my 9'6 Surfer.
* The other thing that seems noticeable is that the fins seem to be closer together in the rear due to the narrower tail and I fell on the drop on my first couple of waves due to this.
* Once I caught waves, this is where the Surrator came to life!  The Surrator is very performance driven and extremely maneuverable and carries speed on the waves even with the small waves that there were today.  I can only imagine what this will do in bigger conditions.

The Big Question
* The big question in my mind is do I think the Surrations are a gimmick or make a difference.  Personally, after being on the water once with this SUP, I believe that there is a purpose.  It actually creates more surface area in the rail contact to the water and wave for equivalent sized boards.  I believe this adds to the stability of the board when paddling and could affect the grip on the wave.

Conclusion
* The Surrator is a nice board to add to my quiver.  Because of its length, the 9'10 has a bit of a feel of a Gun and I look forward to getting it dialed in and onto bigger waves than we had today.  I also believe the 8'10 and 9'4 is the sweet spot sizes for this board. 

[Josh]

I tested a bunch of different boards over the past year while saving for a new sup surfboard. One of the first boards I tested was the carbon surrator. I instantly liked the board and based all other board performance off the surrator. After a year of demoing and saving I decided to buy the 8'10" carbon surrator. I have had it for around a month now and have surfed it in everything from knee high slappers to head high + waves. I have been using it in the tri-fin set up and will switch to the quad here soon and probably do the quad plus nubster fin. I really like the board, it paddles pretty good for a short board and gets into waves surprisingly easy. With the rocker and pulled in nose, it is really easy to do late take-offs on waves. I have had a few waves almost breaking on me and I was able to make the steep drop without digging the nose. The board is very fast once up and running. It is responsive to turning and can beat out sectioning waves. I was lucky enough to catch some really clean surf a few days ago with some solid set waves rolling through. The board was amazing to ride, definitely increases the stoke factor when the board can perform on anything mother ocean throws at it. Even though the board is an 8'10", it responds like a board that is 4-6" shorter. The thinner rails and rounded pin tail help keep the volume on the board low which decreases the weight and increases performance. Some performance sup boards out there  are a few inches short but have more volume than this board. The deck pad is nice and grippy and comfortable during long sessions. I am super stoked with the board, its construction, weight, performance... all seem to be top notch. As far as the Surrtor rails, I'm not sure if they actually do anything to improve performance but I like the way the board rides so I don't really care if it's just a gimmick.
Hope this helps.

[805StandUp]

I tested a bunch of different boards over the past year while saving for a new sup surfboard. One of the first boards I tested was the carbon surrator. I instantly liked the board and based all other board performance off the surrator. After a year of demoing and saving I decided to buy the 8'10" carbon surrator. I have had it for around a month now and have surfed it in everything from knee high slappers to head high + waves. I have been using it in the tri-fin set up and will switch to the quad here soon and probably do the quad plus nubster fin. I really like the board, it paddles pretty good for a short board and gets into waves surprisingly easy. With the rocker and pulled in nose, it is really easy to do late take-offs on waves. I have had a few waves almost breaking on me and I was able to make the steep drop without digging the nose. The board is very fast once up and running. It is responsive to turning and can beat out sectioning waves. I was lucky enough to catch some really clean surf a few days ago with some solid set waves rolling through. The board was amazing to ride, definitely increases the stoke factor when the board can perform on anything mother ocean throws at it. Even though the board is an 8'10", it responds like a board that is 4-6" shorter. The thinner rails and rounded pin tail help keep the volume on the board low which decreases the weight and increases performance. Some performance sup boards out there  are a few inches short but have more volume than this board. The deck pad is nice and grippy and comfortable during long sessions. I am super stoked with the board, its construction, weight, performance... all seem to be top notch. As far as the Surrtor rails, I'm not sure if they actually do anything to improve performance but I like the way the board rides so I don't really care if it's just a gimmick.
Hope this helps.

Great review, Josh.  Agree with almost all of your points.  I got my Surrator out in more days up to head high and have to say the board performs!  I have made drops and turns on this board that I don't think I could have made on my other boards.  I have been running it as a quad and have not tried tri-fin yet.  Would be interesting to hear what you notice going from tri to quad.