C4 9'3" Sub Vector - Review

[Casso]

Palm Beach
6 Mar 09

Conditions: Light off-shore wind. Waist high, closing out waves.

Just the other day I was surfing at Sydney's Palm Beach when I ran into visiting Hawaiian, Todd Bradley. After shaking hands and a short chat he suggested I take out one of the new C4 9'3" Sub Vectors that he had brought over. I've been very inquisitive about this board so I jumped at the chance.

One word: Stability.

The board is: 9'3" x 28.81" x 4.25".

I took my first look at this board and thought, wow - what a sweet looking ride. The metallic silver artwork looks a treat. It's great that it comes in a number of different designs too - adds a little bit of variety or uniqueness to a non-custom board.

The plan shape looks great. You can tell it's going to be stable just by looking at it. The semi full nose and wide tail adds lots of extra foam. I'd be interested to know the volume but couldn't find that information anywhere.

At 4.25" thick, it's not any thicker than its competitors on the market but the thickest point is very close to the rails, before the concave deck starts. This makes it look thicker than it is. It'll also be one of the factors adding to Sub Vector's stability.

I pick the board up and two things hit me straight away - it feels pretty heavy and the handle hole in the deck seems too shallow. Both fine if you are only carrying it for a short time but over any extended distance, they could be a problem.

I throw it in the water, push it out over the shallow sandbank and then jump on. Crikey, it's like standing on the footpath - very stable with minimal wobble, the rumours are right. A few stokes of the paddle and I'm travelling along quite nicely. It's got great glide for a little board and tracks well too - even with the quad set up which was running on this board.

Punching out through the waves was fine. I noticed a little bit of kickback when the white water hit me (probably due to the slightly fuller nose and fairly low nose rocker). This was made up for in the stability of the board in that area of bouncy white water just behind the broken wave (you know that tricky bit?). I think I only fell once while paddling out and there were some fairly difficult waves to punch through on this day.

Out the back, waiting, still feeling super stable, I notice how comfortable and grippy the C4 deck grip is. The big ribs allow you to really lock your toes onto the board and the concave deck creates an obvious sweet spot while paddling or waiting.

I swing around for my first wave (the Sub Vector turns easily) and I drop down into a fast right hander (my forehand). A fairly soft bottom turn to get me lined up and heading along the wall. The 9'3" picks up speed well and starts planing quickly. I'm soon confronted with a crumbling lip and closeout section with which I would normally try and whack or float over - the C4, however, didn't seem nimble enough to get up there quickly so I just went for a layback snap as close to the lip as I could manage. It felt good but not quite as radical as good, semi vertical re-entry.

My other waves were OK under the conditions. I could pump the 9'3" Sub Vector down the line and pick up good speed both forehand and backhand. It also does decent carves when you have a bit of wall to work with - something I thought it might struggle with due to the volume in the rails. If you are light on in the weight department - I'd say you may have some problems sinking the rail enough, though.

The one place where the performance lacked a bit for me was in the ability to throw it around. Very quick changes of direction or hops up onto the foam were tricky. I'm thinking this might be due to the board's weight. Sure, this makes it nice and strong but detracts from the performance somewhat. If you were a bigger and more powerful surfer this may not be an issue at all.

While on a wave the stability, again, is just great. I nearly came unstuck on a backhand closeout re-entry but just got down low and centred over that stable platform and ended up riding away clean. I thought for sure I was going to end up eating it.

Overall, a great performance board for a bigger rider which is quite hard to fall off.
   
Highs:
- Great stability for a short board.
- High quality, super strong construction.
- Paddles great.
- Very comfortable under your feet.
- Versatile fin options.
- Awesome graphics and design.

Lows:
- Seems pretty heavy.
- Thick rails would be hard to bury for light-weight surfers.
- Carry handle is a little too shallow.
- Hard to come by in Australia.

See some video of this session here: www.CyberSUP.com/videos.asp?code=45

Here's a full bio on me and my details: www.CyberSUP.com/about.asp

[tumbledry]

I have had the SV for a few weeks now and I can't say enough good things about this board! Casso you nailed some good points talking about the stability and tracking while paddling (first things I noticed too). But I'm thinking if you had more time with the board and also got to ride it in bigger surf your views on the SV's maneuverability would definitely change. I just want to refute some of the "lows" that you stated:

Lows:
- Seems pretty heavy.
- Thick rails would be hard to bury for light-weight surfers.
- Carry handle is a little too shallow.
- Hard to come by in Australia.

1. the board weighs 22.5lbs. its not heavy at all. The thick rails make it seem heavier than it is when you're trying to pick it up.  But C4 has built in plugs to attach the velcro holders for your paddle. if you have not tried them, well you have to try them! It makes carrying any SUP much easier. I even installed them on my non C4 SUP too!

2. I weigh 170lbs and am able to dig a rail in (quad setup). The catch is I need to be on the tail. someone else who reviewed the board said the same thing. if I'm not on the tail the SV is stiff but it's very responsive when I'm on the stomp pad.  I will say that for a guy my size this board would be perfect if it were a bit thinner. 

3. Carry handle is shallow but I don't think its for carrying long distances. The paddle holders are for long distance and the carry handle is just for maneuvering the board in tight spaces. I've found it very useful in this regard.

4. Its hard to find one anywhere right now!

I felt the need to defend my SV but please don't get me wrong Casso, I read and appreciate all of your unbiased reviews.  Keep it up!

[Dwight (DW)]

I think with any review, you need to know what board the reviewer personally owns and surfs everyday, to place the comments in context. This is why I list my quiver history on my blog. I think its only natural for anyone giving opinions to form them compared to what they know best. I don't want anyone to ever assume my word is final. They should always look at my quiver history, then decide on how much they want to take with a grain of salt.

Casso owns the Naish 9'3. Naish boards may be the lightest on the market. Jimmy Lewis boards are also very light. But there are compromises to this. If you read the Aussie forum, then you may already know about the 2 Naish boards that snapped in half down there.

[tumbledry]

i thought it was common knowledge that casso owns the 9-3 Naish. in any case i read his review with a grain of salt. 

[Byronmaui]

Thanks Casso for another review and every SUP board has it's positives and negatives. The beauty is not everyone drinks from the same well and there is no perfect end all board because everyone of us is different. Keep the reviews coming.

Aloha

Byron

[cloclo]

>. the board weighs 22.5lbs. its not heavy at all.

I think this is heavy for a 9'3.
What about the other board like 9'3 PSH, 9'3 Naish, 9'6 C4, Gerry Lpez etc...It would be interested to know exactly the weight of those boards.

[motopilot]

That does sound heavy.  I wish I could have a SUP @ 9'3-9'6 that was around 12lbs.  Like my custom windsurf boards used to be (Bill Foote).

[tumbledry]

i thought most sups were in the 20-30lb range? the sv doesnt feel like a heavy sup to me. it feels very loose and light in the water but stable as a 12-0 laird. thats what makes the sv so great for me. the combination is unlike any other sup ive ever been on.

but for arguements sake lets get some weight discriptions for the other 9 footers.

[tumbledry]

i also want to add that this is the only c4 board i will gush about. i havent ridden any of the  newer c4 models but i didnt think the older models had the paddle/surf balance the sv has.

[Casso]

Tumbledry - your comments are very valid, especially since you own a Sub Vector and I assume you have ridden it in lots of different types of conditions. I've only ridden it once (probably only caught 10 waves) so my opinions are from limited experience - you might say my "first impressions".

I've just gone and weighed my Naish 9'3" -  it is 17.5 lbs (with grip, without fins).

[heave]

Weight just happens to be another performance dimension.  Experiencing some really light boards for their size really helps to figure out the performance advantages of this dimension in most conditions.  However, lots of extra weight might be desired in some cases like big wave guns and in strong offshore winds.     

[Ho'e He'e Nalu Mel]

I rode a demo of the C4 Sub Vector yesterday. I have an 11-6 C4 and a 10-3 PSH. I rode it in blown out slop in California, SOCAL, and I loved it. I am 5-11 and about 215 lbs...depending on if I drank beers the day before!!!

What was most impresive was the rail to rail action, and the stability from side to side. What was strange to me was how easy it was to kick turn it and how I could drop the nose and raise the tail Needless to say, my 11-6 is on Craigs list in So Cal and I am hot on a new SUBVECTOR!!!

[Bob from Brazil]

Casso,

Today a laid hands on the Sub Vector but didn't get the chance to test ride it... Hope to do it soon...

Meanwhile, I'd like to hear your impressions regarding the Sub Vector vs. your's Sulley board.

I weigh 200lbs. and last week I tested the same board as yours Sulley's. Today I rode Sulley's wide sister for a couple of waves. My impressions were that Sulley's wide sister has better stability and earlier take off... But when it's time to wave riding, the smaller board pays off big time...

That is my main concern... The Sub Vector seems to be a very wide board, large tail, etc... I may be completely wrong but, judging by it's shape alone, I can't really see it rippin' waves...

For it's specs & characteristics, I think the Sub Vector will have some advantage when it comes to bigger surfing conditions... However, around here (Rio de Janeiro) waves are mostly from chest to head high... When it comes to head higher, wave walls closes too fast to be SUP ridden as our beach break cannot hold well big swells...

That said, please give me some light on the matter of Sulley vs. the Sub Vector.

From Brazil,
Bob.

[tumbledry]

Casso,


That is my main concern... The Sub Vector seems to be a very wide board, large tail, etc... I may be completely wrong but, judging by it's shape alone, I can't really see it rippin' waves...

The Sub Vector isn't up for the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) surfboard model of the year for nothing. 

have fun with that test ride! 

[Casso]

That said, please give me some light on the matter of Sulley vs. the Sub Vector.

The PSH 9'3" Ripper ("Sulley") is definitely more rippable than the C4 Sub Vector for someone your weight (200 lbs) or less. In large, fat waves the Sub Vector would be fun but still not as radical as the Ripper. If you are into less critical manoeuvres and want a very easy board to stand on in all conditions - the Sub Vector might be nice.

For guys over about 220 lbs the Sub Vector would probably be better, generally.