Kronos "Big Guy" Nano

[surfafrica]

Picked up on Thursday!

Board
Kronos Nano
9'2 x 32, 155 L
15.2 lbs (without fins, pad, leash)
FCS dimple pad installed

Rider
6'0, 245 lbs
44 yrs
low-intermediate

Includes an extra 4 oz layer on the bottom, a full carbon layer on the deck and an extra carbon patch (triple layer) on the standing area. Hot coat has micro-bubbles which reduces weight with no sacrifice to strength. It feels really light for it's size at 15 lbs.  I'll post some thoughts from my buddy (the owner) in a bit--he had a chance to surf a few sessions on it a couple of days ago.

[supthecreek]

Nice looking board SA... and really light for the size, even naked.

Fire up the Cams!!

[surfafrica]

Nice looking board SA... and really light for the size, even naked.

Fire up the Cams!!

The cams will come out this spring! I miss editing the vids.   

Also have to give a shout out to Alaska Airlines.  They now only charge $25 for boards.  My buddy flew this board from San Diego to Seattle with no problems (a 9'2 in a 9'6 bag with extra padding, his paddle, wetsuit & booties).  I brought my board for $25 each way!  Awesome.

[surfafrica]

Here's a quick initial review from my buddy...

He walked down to the water with a big smile on his face. We often have little walks or even hikes to get to our breaks and he was thrilled with how light it was.  After a few sessions on it, he says the board felt lively for its size on the wave. He said on his first wave, he overpowered it and actually swung too far around (wasn't used to the light weight and curvier outline). Once he dialed that in, he loved how easily it turned.

Stability was not an issue in the lineup--he says it felt good.  He was coming from a 9'6 x 32, 165 L Stoke to this 9'2 x 32, 155 L Nano. This new board is slightly smaller and has a bit more of an aggressive outline.  I was out with him and was impressed on how he just jumped on in some choppy water after having been out of the surf for a few months.  It looked like he didn't skip a beat.  He says he noticed the slightly reduced glide but felt like it didn't take much time to compensate for it and wasn't losing any waves. 

The board has a pretty noticeable flip right at the nose (I'll try to get some rocker shots later on).  My buddy said he really noticed that flip on the paddle out and felt it helped him float over oncoming whitewater, but could also punch through if needed with the pointed nose.

----

Here's some more info on the board design taken from the website (https://www.surfkronos.com) comparing it to the K2--a high performance shortboard shape:

The Nano is the perfect Southern California board. Compared to the K2, the Nano features a slightly more parallel outline that is fuller in the nose and tail. It also has a slightly more relaxed rocker profile than the K2.

The more parallel outline not only helps with standing stability, by providing more surface area all around, but also provides more planing surface to help you beat sections and built up speed for powerful turns in softer conditions. And since this shape is still very similar to the maximum performance K2, you can use your speed to carve nice natural turns.

The Nano is typically shaped with a mono concave bottom, but on wider designs we will switch that out for a touch of vee in the tail. A rounded pin works great on larger sizes of this shape as well.

[surfafrica]

A shot of my buddy from our trip to Nosara last week on his big guy Nano.  Can't say he didn't commit!

board - 9'2 x 32, 155 L
rider - 6'0, 245 lbs

[SlatchJim]

Nice preview for the trip movie 

This is such an interesting thread for me as, A. I drop a little weight (249# and going down, getting closer to taking over my wife's board) and B. the conversation my wife and I have regarding her next board and the tweaks we'll have Wardog incorporate into that custom.  The threads started by guys shaping for themselves and the little tweaks they make for the perfect fit are filled with useful information. Our conversation now is mostly about volume, since she's losing weight faster than I am (not fair).  For her new board, that talk started at around 140L, but it's edging closer to 125L now and may end up at 120L as she keeps dropping.  I tell her she'd easily handle a drop to around 105 to 110, but she's leary about a jump that drastic.  She's pretty used to riding boards with way more than 1.5 guild factor, which right now would be around 108L.  She also likes the glide of a 9-2 and the stability of 31-32 inch widths. Perhaps I'll have her demo one of Wardogs much shorter models and see what she thinks.

I'm fixing a small crack in my wifes board now, in preparation for a San Elijo campout / 30th birthday party for my son.  It ain't Nosara, but it's the best option for a 5 day extended weekend with 20 of your closest buds.    I think we're bringing 5 or 6 sups, and a couple of prone boards down, and we've all been praying for good conditions for months now.

Looking forward to the feature film.  Great thread you guys.

[surfafrica]

Fire up the Cams!!

The cams will come out this spring! I miss editing the vids.   

Looking forward to the feature film.  Great thread you guys.

Oh man, we completely failed with filming!  The swell was big enough that we were doing a lot of prone paddling with our paddles tucked under our chests (not conducive to having a camera on the paddle).  When the swell was small enough on the last day or two for the cams to be used comfortably, we were just lazy at getting them set up. Total fail.  I always love having footage to edit. 

For her new board, that talk started at around 140L, but it's edging closer to 125L now and may end up at 120L as she keeps dropping.  I tell her she'd easily handle a drop to around 105 to 110, but she's leary about a jump that drastic.  She's pretty used to riding boards with way more than 1.5 guild factor, which right now would be around 108L.  She also likes the glide of a 9-2 and the stability of 31-32 inch widths. Perhaps I'll have her demo one of Wardogs much shorter models and see what she thinks.

You know my thoughts on that one!  She should totally try one of Wardog's smaller boards!  ;-)  ...though it might be hard to find one of his demo boards in the 9-foot range down at the 108 L range. My buddy has the 8'6 WD and it's 140 L.  But who knows, maybe he has some customs tucked away. She sounds like she has some experience.  My bet is she'd love a board at the 1.5 V/W ratio if she has been surfing higher than that (especially is she sticks with the 31-32 wide). 1.5 still offers lots of float.  The width and length would provide plenty of stability.  Curious to hear how the demoing goes....keep us posted.  ...and have a great trip.

[SlatchJim]

A couple weekends ago out at SanO, her shape du jour was the stoke/WD at 9-0, 31, 130L, which I think upon final consideration, should be 125L.  She's comfortable in big mushy San O, Doheny and Santa Barbara a couple feet above head high, which fortunately mirrors my comfort level perfectly. We're happiest at around head high and clean, ...like that's breaking news. She's been at it since 2010.  She's working on cutbacks, going backside, walking the board, and working the face. No aerials, helicopters, or anything you'd find on a Kai highlight reel, but she can catch waves sometimes even after they break, and pulls off a floater every now and then.  At our age, you could say I'm a proud husband, but since she's always been the better athlete, I've come to expect stuff like this.   

[surfafrica]

Slatch, she sounds like a hell of a better surfer than me!  Has she ever tried a performance longboard shape?  ...something like 9'0 x 30, 105 L.  Not suggesting she go that direction with a buy, but it'd be cool to hear her opinion about a board like that out of pure curiosity.  Something like Infinity's New Deal.  Or ya, a low-volume custom Stoke/WD in the 9'0 x 30, 105 L range.  Ha! ...bit narcissistic eh: "try a board so I can find out what you think of it." ;-)

[SUP Sports ®]

snippity...  For her new board, that talk started at around 140L, but it's edging closer to 125L now and may end up at 120L as she keeps dropping.  I tell her she'd easily handle a drop to around 105 to 110, but she's leary about a jump that drastic.  She's pretty used to riding boards with way more than 1.5 guild factor, which right now would be around 108L.  She also likes the glide of a 9-2 and the stability of 31-32 inch widths. Perhaps I'll have her demo one of Wardogs much shorter models and see what she thinks...snippity...

Slatch, she sounds like a hell of a better surfer than me!  Has she ever tried a performance longboard shape? ...something like  a low-volume custom Stoke/WD in the 9'0 x 30, 105 L range.

We recently built this SUPer clean, thinned out all carbon 9' x 30" x 3.75" Stoke NR @ 120.83 liters for Bryan, with a little less rocker and a wider nose...sounds close to the ultimate magic carpet ride for Marty...and, no problemo shaving another 10-15 liters out, if that is what is desired...

Same dims Stoke without nose rider (NR) nose yields 5 less liters @ 115 liters...bottom graphic comparison...

[SlatchJim]

SA: She's been out on a host of longboard shapes, and to my surprise, didn't like any of them when compared to the shape of her 9-2 WD-Stoke.  Something about how her board punches through the surf and is less bargy.  She's pretty cruisy out there, and doesn't seem to feel that she has to impress anyone but herself.  We had a blast on our campout and got plenty of good ones at stone steps (Didn't like San Elijo much... but I did).  We even taught one of my son's friends to sup in afternoon slop on her old hammer.

WD: I'm all over your Noserider.  Current thinking is 9-9 x 33 at 160L.  It'll happen after we make some space in the Garage, get Marty her custom... and I break her down with my incessant begging.