Uli 10' Lopez

[Tom English]

A great board for the traveling surfer. No hassle or charge at the airport.  Check out more pics http://web.mac.com/tomtomproductions1/tomtomproductions1/Punta_Mita_Feb_2009.html
Thanks to Uli Jim for lending me your personal board! 
Aloha,
Tom English

[linter]

great pix but, so, well: how did it ride?  how stable was it taking into account your probably advanced skill level.  and more.  come on, let's have a few more words on the thing!

[Velasco]

How does the Lopez Uli differ from the Steamroller Uli?

Is the nose pulled in more (from what I can tell from the pictures)?  Is it thinner/lighter?  There was talk (in this forum?) about using different materials to lighten up the boards.

I saw this board at the Hano-Hano race, but I didn't know it was the Lopez model.  There were also other Uli boards there, but again I didn't think to ask which was which.

My bad -

[Tom English]

Here's a more detailed review.
First the good:
The Lopez 10' is the new Uli.
Weight is down to 12 pounds.
Nose is pulled in a little compared to the "Steam Roller 10'".
The board is really fun to ride.
It is stable  when inflated to 15 PSI or higher.
It is loose when turning due to the small fins.
No baggage charge and it fits in a duffle bag with wheels.
3 piece paddle fits in it also.
The kids love it in the pool, and it won't damage the pool.
Easy to repair.
Everybody I saw in the water was super stoked on it.

Uli shortcomings:
If air pressure is low it becomes unstable, and difficult to paddle in chop or wind.
Not a "high performance" board.  It is made for cruising, not vertical snaps.  If you want that see Kainoa for a 6'5".
Aloha,
Tom English

[steamroller]

hi guys

right now only 2 of these new ULILopez 9'11" exist...i got to try one out in hawaii this past christmas vacation and now i am so spoiled i dont want to ride anything else...the board works really well...











its is so fast it actually runs away from the curl waaay out onto the flats and it is so quick and maneuverable that 270 degree wraparound cutbacks WITH rebound off the whitewater are doable *almost* every time...the board goes vert really easy and can floater over and past sections like a twin keel fish ...the thing i like is it also has lots of drive off the bottom turn... something that the 10' Steamroller was missing...on big waves the Steamroller needs to drop in at an angle to keep the nose from pearling and is not really fond of the big deep bottom turns...with the ULILopez you can do the full on North Shore style bottom turn...you can drop in straight down...get to the bottom...crank it HARD off the bottom...get all kinds of drive and rocket back up the face... it really feels like youre back on a shortboard again...

basically i have decided that i dont want to ride anything else cause this board is just so stinkin GOOD...

one of the reasons the board is so good is because it only weighs 15 lbs as opposed to 25-30 lbs like the ULISteamroller and other SUP boards on the market... they do some fancy high tech stuff at the factory allowing them to use much thinner material while maintaining its rigidity...

the result is a board so light and flickable that you can actually paddle up the face of a wave turn around on the face of the wave in MID RISE...one two hits...take off SIDEWAYS... and still easily make the wave...i know that sounds incredible and hard to believe but its true...i didnt believe it when Jim told me about it either till i tried it and...MAN thats a lotta FUN....also the board is so light you can do crazy stuff like this...dont try this with anything but an ULI....




its also light enough that my skinny kid can one arm press it....notice the ULI15', the ULI 7'6" surfboard and the ULISteamroller 10' surfboard in the garage gathering dust....





ok enough rhetoric...down to the nitty gritty...

specs:
height - 9'11"
width - 29 1/2 "
thickness - 5"
weight - 15 lbs inflated
PSI - 10-18 psi....this means that at 5'9" 230# i CAN ride it at 10 psi...i did get barrelled on a shoulder high wave at Ala Moana Rockpiles BUT it is floppy/flexy and for ME it has to be ridden like an old school longboard...no carves/snaps...lots of down the line trimming...it would work great for a river or fooling around the lake at 10psi...or just cruising small waves....

at 15 psi though this sucker comes ALIVE...i can jump up and down on it like a big fat gorilla and it supports me no problem...whenever i ride waves i put in 15 psi or more...this is where i start calling it the ULITANA for "Tear A New Ass" in the wave cause thats what it does...anytime anywhere on the wave you just crank it and that sucker will throw cement truck size loads of spray all over the place and still save enough speed to make the section...


18psi is the upper limit of my willingness to pump the board...if its good to go at 15 heck im not gonna spend an extra 30 seconds pumping....LETS GO SURF NOW!!!...


ok thats just some of the Good...i could easily go on all day...heres the bad...

you have to treat it like a regular board in terms of abuse...well...its not nearly THAT fragile...you can get a lot more rough with it than a regular board just dont get crazy...

basically you cant treat it like the ULISteamroller...the material is only about half as thick as the Steamroller model which is why it is half as light...they do their high tech magic at the factory so it is every bit as rigid but you wont see me doing any of that crash it into or drag it across the hard sharp lava rocks that i did in some other ULI videos...

it is tough enough to be tackled...i tried that already...

and we forgot to tie it onto the roof of Jim's lifted Suzuki Samurai Jeep one time and it flew off and landed in the street at 35 mph...actually it flew off and Jim didnt realize it was missing till he got home...AHHHHH wheres my board!??!....race all over town looking for it... ha ha ...board is still fine...he surfed it the next day at sunset cliffs...and later lent it to Tom English to take to MEX...





the one time we were able to puncture it Jim at 200lbs in Costa Rica rode it up onto the coral beach and got the board stuck on a coral head...he was got stuck standing on the board balancing on a coral head that was digging into the bottom of the board...THAT kind of abuse put a tiny pinhole in the bottom...it took all of 10 min to patch the hole with the repair kit and he was back in the surf again... :mrgreen:


OK OK OK ready for far and away the COOLEST thing about this board???...its a carry-on...a CARRY-ON...like in an airplane...a carry-on...goes through TSA security with you and fits in the overhead compartment...THATS BITCHEN!!...you can say KMA(Kiss My Arse) to those 1st bag/2nd bag fees that everybody charges nowadays...it has to be in the overhead compartment though it wont fit under your seat...well it will but where you gonna put your feet? wont be able to lower the seat try in front of you...best to board early and get a compartment...but the important thing is...IT FITS!!!...i brought this home from hawaii this past Jan....check it out...

ready to pack...





gotta fold the rails in or it is too long for the bag...




roll um up dont even need to squash the fins...




notice the left part of the bag....theres STILL room in there to fit more junk...leash, wet shorts, orange hat, etc.





ready to go...KMA checked bag fees!!!....

[bigdom]

awesome

any idea how much they will cost and when theyll be availiable?

[kurtr]

Since no one else is jumping in, I'll tell you what little I know about the Lopez.  I called ULI last week, and they told me they're shooting for April, and the price will be about $1100 or possibly a little less.  I forgot to ask if that's including the paddle, but my guess is the paddle would be extra at that low price.

Also, even though they're clearing out the inventory of heavy-duty boards at the sale prices, they'll continue to produce them later in a slightly updated version.

I can't wait to try the new Lopez!  How can you beat a high-preformance, 16-lb board in a little duffle bag for travel?  I love my 10'8" Angulo, and I'm looking forward to comparing the two.

Kurt

[SUPer Dave]

Hey Tom...Do you live in So Cal ??..Your friends of Jeramy yes...    Its Dave..Will be on the west coast for a few months...
SUPin and Surfin...  Will start in San Diago...  Dave

[linter]

looks pretty darn sweet, for sure.

meanwhile, though, C4 is, i hear, coming out with its own line of inflatables (at least two that i'm aware of, including a 10-6 noserider), based on a new innovative concept of theirs.  and, in england, my understanding is that tim mellors is on the verge of introducing an inflatable line that ranges from 9-6 to 15'.  Wowza!  mo' the merrier!

[Pierre]

Looks great! it seems fun on water and easy travelling! I suppose it should be best with a 3-part paddle!?
We'd like to see that in Europe!

[Tom English]

Hi Dave,
I'm in Leucadia.  Let's go for a surf when you're in town.
Aloha,
Tom English
Tom@AlohaWealth.com

[supstoked]

I'm sorry now that I did not ride the ULI while you were here in Mexico.