🏄🏻‍♂️ Questions About Laird Longboard Sup’s

[magentawave]

I’m thinking of buying a used longboard surf sup again. A couple of the few designs I’m considering are the Laird Surfer and the Laird Surfer Hybrid. I had a 10’ Surfer a few years ago but it felt too big and heavy so I’m thinking of the 9’ or maybe 9’-6” this time. Look at the images below and you’ll see that the Surfer has a classic longboard style nose whereas the Surfer Hybrid came with a nose that was drawn in a bit.

So, a few questions, please…

1) I am leaning towards the Hybrid this time, but anyone have experience riding both? If so, what was the difference in how the two models performed?

2) Was the construction of the Lairds with the BAMBOO DECKS (blue Surfer below) any good?

3) Do the carbon Lairds hold up?

4) The cluster of the side fin boxes is unusual in that all four boxes are really close together. A 2 + 1 would normally use the front boxes for your side bites. Anyone ridden one of these as a quad, twin or twinzer?

Thanks

[Dusk Patrol]

That top board looks like a Pearson Arrow, but without the branding.  And Laird (with and maybe without Surftech) did market Arrows under the Laird brand.

 
Construction wise, I recalled some issues with Laird construction and found the following:

https://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/Review/Laird-106-surfer-issues?page=1

All that's to say that maybe you should consider looking for an Arrow... people swear by them.

If you found a Surftech Laird Pearson Arrow you would avoid any construction quality issues.

[addapost]

I have an early 10'6" Surftech Laird Pearson Arrow. I've had it over 12 years now. It is my favorite board ever. The pintail is sublime. I've tried many boards since then but this one is my all time favorite. It is beat to hell and if I can find an old one in good shape I'd buy it in a heartbeat. If you have a lead on one and you don't buy it please send me the seller's details. I've been thinking about contacting Pearson to see if he'll make a custom replica to replace my old dog in a bit lighter layup.

[magentawave]

That top board looks like a Pearson Arrow, but without the branding.  And Laird (with and maybe without Surftech) did market Arrows under the Laird brand.

 
Construction wise, I recalled some issues with Laird construction and found the following:

https://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/Review/Laird-106-surfer-issues?page=1

All that's to say that maybe you should consider looking for an Arrow... people swear by them.

If you found a Surftech Laird Pearson Arrow you would avoid any construction quality issues.

Thanks for the link to Seabreeze.🤙🏼

Both boards have a lam on the deck at the tail that says “EPS.” I put a call into SurfTech to see if they built the Laird sups with bamboo decks. Waiting for call back.

At Lairds site https://lairdstandup.com/ all the boards have a lam on the bottom that says “Xterra Boards.” A search for “Xterra Boards” brings up a company that makes (or made) inflatable sups but nothing about making hard sups.

[magentawave]

I have an early 10'6" Surftech Laird Pearson Arrow. I've had it over 12 years now. It is my favorite board ever. The pintail is sublime. I've tried many boards since then but this one is my all time favorite. It is beat to hell and if I can find an old one in good shape I'd buy it in a heartbeat. If you have a lead on one and you don't buy it please send me the seller's details. I've been thinking about contacting Pearson to see if he'll make a custom replica to replace my old dog in a bit lighter layup.

Ok, I will let you know. Is 10-6 the only size you’re interested in?

[sflinux]

Both boards have a lam on the deck at the tail that says “EPS.” I put a call into SurfTech to see if they built the Laird sups with bamboo decks. Waiting for call back.

Surftech Pearson Arrow boards didn't use bamboo.  Their boards were painted.  Picture and description here:
https://www.rei.com/product/849725/surftech-laird-stand-up-paddle-board-11
I thought Laird got out of selling SUPs.
If you are serious about one of these boards, I would contact Bob Pearson.  His hand shaped ones are EPS.  Construction would be better than the non Surftech Laird models.

[magentawave]

Both boards have a lam on the deck at the tail that says “EPS.” I put a call into SurfTech to see if they built the Laird sups with bamboo decks. Waiting for call back.

Surftech Pearson Arrow boards didn't use bamboo.  Their boards were painted.  Picture and description here:
https://www.rei.com/product/849725/surftech-laird-stand-up-paddle-board-11
I thought Laird got out of selling SUPs.
If you are serious about one of these boards, I would contact Bob Pearson.  His hand shaped ones are EPS.  Construction would be better than the non Surftech Laird models.

Laird did get out of selling sups. His site is still up but it says “sold out” for every board.

I called Surftech and no one there knows anything. Called a dealer that used to carry Lairds and the kid working there didn’t even know who Laird Hamilton was. Spoke to the owner of that shop later and he said “it’s hard to find good help these days.”

If I can’t find the Laird I want then I may have to build one myself. I am going to check the Shape3DX warehouse and see if I can find a similar design.

[Califoilia]

Neither of the two boards shown are Laird/Pearson Arrow boards. The L/PA boards weren't painted, nor had bamboo on the deck.

I have an original 9'6"x27-7/8" L/PA hanging on my board rack, even though I'm no longer SUP surfing... but it's too beautiful of a board, not to mention an "old friend" to bring myself to selling.


While I never rode one of the hybrids, as far as a SUP longboard, this board is/was head and shoulders above all of the others I had ridden back in the day. Compared to the Surftech Laird boards of the same model, this hand laid up version is much lighter in comparison. That said, it's not necessarily "light", but pretty much middle-of-the-road weight wise for boards its size that were made during its years of construction.