Board Review/Testing Template - Write up your rigs here

[doclach]

There are a plethora (friggin’ heaps) of boards in the market these days and sorting through the ones most suitable for you is no easy task.

What can really help people is some sort of feedback on how a board rides. Everyone of stoked when they read “I got my new <insert board name here> and it’s the best board I’ve ever had”.

However as stoked as we are for you, it actually doesn’t tell us anything about WHY board ‘x’ is the best ever in the known universe (for you). Thing is a million other people may love or hate the board you’re on, but the thing is that if it suits you , that is all that matters.

So we’ve been thinking that some sort of board review template could help with squeezing some extra details out of you frothing frothers with frothbeards on your new sledalicious boog.

So many different sleds being ridden by forum members (sick there is such a huge diversity), it would be pretty sick if everyone chipped in and wrote about their units.

A little info about you is helpful. Things like your age and how long riding can help us get our heads around where you’re coming from.

If you’ve had boards before, maybe give a comparison with some other rides. If it’s your first sponge, then just go for telling us what it is like out in the fray.

A breakdown of the board’s qualities and characteristics is pretty informative. Here some ideas of stuff the helps.

Core - what it’s made of and how you find the flex and projection properties. Projection (sometimes called recoil) is the way a core springs back (or not) after you flex it – boogers love good projection (if you want to know what good projection is, lay a ruler on a table , hold one end and flex the other up, letting it snap back on the table. That is projection), but it is all too rare. This bit will include added extras to assist this such as ‘mesh’ and ‘stringers’. Board thickness is also super important, as it affects floatation and flex heaps, amongst other things.

Template – this is the shape outline of the board. You probs wont know the exact measures, and that doesn’t matter, but you can see if it is a narrow, wide or strongly rounded template and how these factors work for you.

Tail type – so many to choose from these days, but maybe give us an idea of your preferred tail and how it’s working for you

Nose – basically how wide or narrow it is and how you find it. Throw in the distance to widepoint if you want

Bottom – Most are surlyn slick, but can vary in the depth/angle/length of channels, or maybe it is completely flat or a concave.

Rails – usually 50/50 or 60/40 but hit us up with what you got and any reasons why.

Features – lots on offer bulbs,concaves,hiplocks etc etc. throw in what you like.

Logos/whatever aren’t that important in the actual riding of a board and can be worked out by anyone from a pic anyway. We need the riding dynamics most.

Most important in all of this is all your personal preferences and riding conditions. Some riders like a super flexy board, some a super stiff board and some everything in between. If you state your preference and how the board matches those, then we have good criteria. Also the waters you ride in. a PE core in warm waters is way different to a PE core in cold water, to state an obvious example.

Also some board designs are better for 2 to 4 ft beachies and others for sucking 6 foot plus reef pits, so let us know where you’ve ridden the board (mush beachies/wedging beachies/barrelling beachies/cold water reefs/trop reefs.

Also something about your riding style - DK/prone mix (so many folk mixing in some DK these days is rad to see), general frother to tech to air to barrel lover. It doesn’t matter what it is, but if you find a board say, good for mushy beachies, that could be ideal for someone faced with those conditions frequently. Take Swoodle and Boogs from here on the forum. They ride a lot of the same breaks, Swoods has “Air moves are not on my resume’ in his sig cos he froths on getting pitted in reef kegs, but Boogs throws some knee into the scene so their board needs will vary done in chilly vicco waters.

If you’re lucky enough to have a custom sled, lend your dimensions if you’re willing and lay out some reasons why you went with these.

So in summary, stuff good to cover is:
-how the core/stringers/mesh /whatever worked in the way of flex and projection
-how you found the template and other features worked for you
-ability of the board to hold a rail
-how the board scoops and turns
-water temp they were in (cold/medium/warm/ just general guideline)
-wave conditions they've had the board in
-comparisons with other boards (not just 'better' 'worse', but different dynamics)
-your riding style and personal preference-anything else you can. This isn;t a complete list, just a start, so throw your ideas into the mix.

Main thing is to throw up a review, you never know who it might help

[Boogs]

I might start with my QCD custom. It's by far the best board I've ever had.

BOARD: QCD Custom, 42 inch, stringer, Nose Bulbs, Crescent tail, 50/50 rails, surlyn, slot channels, 11 inch nose... all riding done in cold Victorian & Tassie waters...

CORE/STRINGER/MESH: I was living in Tasmania at the time I ordered my QCD custom, so naturaly I went with a PE core, due to it's flexi nature. I also went with a single standard stringer, which just makes the board feel straight and rigid, but also allows great flex in heavy, scooping situations.

HOW THE TEMPLATE/FEATURES WORKED FOR ME: I went for a pretty basic set-up, narrow nose (11') and a versitile shape for prone & DK. Went with a 50/50 rail set-up cause I just like the way it hangs in the face, but also alows me to release my rail at any time, I don't feel restricted... Got nose bulbs which I personally think are one of the best inventions for a boog. I love hanging onto them with just a couple of fingers when your falling down a vert face, or when your carving... the bulbs just make the board feel like its attached to you. Couldn't go without them... Crescent tail for easy release again... Good for spinning, and also good for my love of the stall. I love digging my legs in, and I feel the Crescent gives me a little more room to do so. Got a narrowish nose for a little bit of DK when I feel like it, so the boards not too hard to move, and is responsive when it needs to be. And got some slot channels for that extra surface area...

HOW DOES SHE SCOOP/TURN? Man, the first time I took a late drop on this board I was impressed... The PE core allows for maximum scoopage, then the projection once I was locked into the face... it's a cold water pocket rocket!

WAVE CONDITIONS TESTED IN SO FAR: I've ridden it alot of differnent conditions... from Slaby reef breaks, to walling points, to heavy shorebreaks, peaky, wedging beachies... And I've gotta say, it's a Reef beast. It might be just my love for the reef, but it seems like this board excels in fast moving, sucky, draining slabs.

I hope this is worthy enough for the first board review...

[hand-drag]

well here i go boogs, following you mate.

i'm reviewing my bz j1 jose marquina

BOARD: bz, 41.25, dow core, single stringer, crescent tail, nose bulbs. all riding done in victoria

CORE STRINGER MESH: i live in victoria so dow is a pretty simple choice. i experimented with a poly board a couple of months ago and i just didn't really like it. so dow is my choice of board for now. the board seems like it is a pretty good thickness. to be honest i don't know thick or thin. it just flexes the right amount. the stringer has kept it fairly flat which is good

TEMPLATE/FEATURES: the shape seems fairly rounded. it is good for scooping and spinning. and now that i am starting to do some "serious" airs i feel that the board really hits the lip well. i never really DK so i can't comment on that. the crescent tail allows for some good release in turns. i agree with Boogs and think that nose bulbs are one of the greater inventions and on the j1 they are the perfect size

SCOOPING/TURNING: scoops really well and loves a tight spin.

WAVES: the board goes really well in a medium sized ripbowl. it picks up a lot of speed in the suckier waves and finds speed between sections. has a lot of hold in hollow waves. i haven't really surfed a good reef on it but on the ones i have noticed is that it loves a steep take off. goes pretty good in weak beachies but is in its element in suckier, hollower waves.

[despes25]

i don't know how ill go in this so don't judge too hard

BOARD: Elit' SD PE 41.5inch

CORE STRINGER MESH: i live in dunsborough, south west of WA and you could get away with PP in summer but i go PE all year round, its got double flex tip stringer, has mesh as well, the core has really good flex and recoil too and really helped me in my bottom turns and made them fluid, rode my winchester a couple of days ago and i was being really jolty in my bottom turns etc and just wasnt riding very smoothly unlike on my elit.

TEMPLATE/FEATURES: its a prone board with a fairly high wide point and nice curve which goes straight to the tail, has board contours, crescent tail, nose bulbs and 50/50 rails which i all find comfy, also a decent nose thats pretty wide and a wide tail which is still fairly good for spins and turns due to the high wide point.

SCOOPING/TURNING: the scooping on it is awesome i can get heaps of flex off of it but ive noticed that ive started to kill the board after 6 months and its giving a little too much flex and is bogging down on the waves but still f*cking awesome fun to ride feels like another part of my body and just does what ever i want it to without even thinking, is also really easy to pull tight forward spins.

WAVES: i ride all types of waves generally from small to big beachies, small and shallow reef breaks to big heaving reefs, too the occasional point break where it can still be fun and is good to muck around on the big carve to reverse spins etc. and as i said it rides like a dream and feels like its attached to you and will get good speed and still have manouverability, and its still held up well without any creases even the small cosmetic ones despite doing some "big" airs lately and giving it a hammering (could be why its got too so much flex lately)

hope thats good enough and doesnt sound too biased

[doclach]

Totally epic fellas - seriously blown away.

[despes25]

hey doc why dont you have an input?
i know that you have ridden a lot of boards with the king being the most recent one if im right

[doclach]

^^despes I put my time into writing the template up and ran outta time to put a review in (we were out last night). Stuff on all day today so I'll put something up through the week matey for sure. Main thing is you guys use it, boogs, Hd and yourself have set the standard lemme say. danarchist, mate some stuff from you on previous boards would be great, i know we're in flat spell, so you can't do Adzy's boards yet, but some of your previous custom stuff and why's would be good. To the members who only have a board or two under their belt, get in and have a go as well, its for everyone

[josh_boogs]

I'm on my second board (this year ) and its my kingy and it is y far the superior of the two

BOARD: 4play king pp 09. 41', Wide template, 12 1/3 inch nose i think, 60/40 rails, channels aren't that deep iv noticed.

CORE/STRINGER/MESH: I got PP because it gets pretty warm down here on the east coast in summer and personally dont like riding boards tht resemble soggy biscuits. It also has one stringer

HOW THE TEMPLATE/FEATURES WORKED FOR ME: I like the wider shape coz it is easier to turn and catch waves down here. Its pretty good for getting spins carves aswell. also this is my first crescent tail and i liked it so much more than the bat-tail as i found that a bit too loose. I also like the 60/40 rails as i like the extra bite a has in the face.

WAVE CONDITIONS TESTED IN SO FAR: Mainly in beachies anywhere from 1 to 6ft, but I have ridden it in shorebreaks and rock shelfs. I love how it goes in beachies though, i seem to get in them that little bit earlier.

yeahhhhhh

[danarchist]

will try to get a chance to put down some thoughts later tonight doc......going to smorgasbord at local bowlo, see what happens after that....fair fecked after last two late nights watching the comp to actually......... I might actually be able to do a bit of a "how I've got to this point..." thinking of the top of my head.... see what I can do....

[doclach]

will try to get a chance to put down some thoughts later tonight doc......going to smorgasbord at local bowlo, see what happens after that....fair fecked after last two late nights watching the comp to actually......... I might actually be able to do a bit of a "how I've got to this point..." thinking of the top of my head.... see what I can do....

That's rad Dan, thx man - liking the sound of"how I've go tto this point from you - lot of comp and other experience in there that would be mad to hear and good to get recorded. ha, yer, late night webcasts take their toll, Arica is the worst cos it is so adrenaline pumping and when it finishes I'm totally hyped and half hoarse from yelling at the computer when sick moves in big waves go down (which they always do there).

Despy, I've put together some stuff on the new Kingy. I rave on a bloody bit, but there was a lot to cover with the new core and the concave happening and tried not to leave anything out. My review is no more important than anyone else's, just a few more views in the pot. I'm hoping captain can add some more with his views on the concave slick, and anyone else around the place that has given them a go ( i know cap you got yours not realising and now love it, so some stuff from you would be rad).

so here it is, review of the 09/10 4play Kingy HPS:

BOARD: Kingy hps (tricore) 42” 50/50 , surlyn slick combined with mesh, crescent tail, contoured deck, bumpers, single stringer, bumpers

RIDER: Been riding around 30 years altogether, 5 ftt 11” and around 95 kg (hit 98 a while ago, but carved 3kegs off). Barrels are my love and total passion – cave-type ones, not tiny little crampy things.
Carving faces is my other delight – all that space to paint a picture of lines and spray on. Simple, old-skool basics. Preference for gouging reefs and waves more in the 6 to 10 foot range where possible (sometimes it's like trying to find a bloody unicorn though, haha). Love a wedge when I can get my hands on one of those buggers too. Not so keen on beachies generally, but exceptional places like Stix I will take any day.



CORE/STRINGER/MESH: The hps core is the main reason I got this board. My curiosity has been peaked since doing the core interview with Fish. Tors has a dallas with the same core and kept raving about the projection properties. Lots of people have asked about how these new cores are, so thought I would get me one. I’m not a fan of ‘doughy’ boards – PE that is sluggish and projects poorly. In the ‘old days’ the PE was of a different nature, as people know/have heard. It had mad projection, lasted pretty well and didn’t always need mesh. With the introduction of environmental CFC measures, the production had to change and we have PE with different flex/projection properties these days. It’s a funny thing, as the CFC reduced PE has been around for while now and so for many riders it is the norm, and saying PE “used to be like such and such” is irrelevant because unless you’ve ridden that sort of PE, you have nothing to compare it to and the current stuff is ‘normal’. Some of us are constantly looking for the projection qualities in a core that the original PE had. Not as a retro thing, but because it worked damn well.

I mentioned that Tors had the same core in a Dallas, what he said to me that made me want to get one was simply “Doc, It’s heaps like the old PE”. Sold. Feedback from mates is so good cos you know how they ride, what they like and the entire boog space they’re coming from.

The other factor to note is that in choosing the Kingy, I’ve chosen a thinner core than I normally ride. Damo usually likes a total thickness of 53mm, which usually means shaving 5mm (or so) off the original blank to make it around 50mm. I haven’t measured the exact thickness of the 4play king, but I had to chop a fair whack off the leash plug to get it to sit flush, so it’s defo a thin board (for me at around 95 kegs). Thinner boards flex more of course. Ive flexed Tor’s Dallas and it is a bit stiffer, so you have to take that into account a fair bit (reason I got the Kingy over the Dallas was the concave hull, but I’ll get to that later).

The Hps core flexes something sweet. You lift the nose and the flex curve from the elbow is smooth and graceful (I don’t like the way a lot of boards bend from the end of the stinger(s). There is one stringer in the board, but however fish has arranged it it smooths in sweet. If you haven’t read about how the HPS core is organised, check the ‘quivers’ thread. In a nutshell its centre is primarily a form of PP and the top and bottom layer are PE. What this does is keep the flow very even. In my eyes the core of PP actually acts like a mass stringer in a way. The Pe then has its usual properties. The added bonus is that it makes landings damn easy on your ribs. Surprisingly easy in fact. Also , a surprise bonus has been the board’s performance in shockies. When the power dumps on you, the board doesn’t load it all up and bounce, it kind of absorbs it. Having only had the board for a short while, I want to investigate it more. But good to get some initial ideas out anyway. I ran this by Tors and he agreed, so it defo seems to be a quality of the core dynamics.

Another factor to throw into the criteria is that with the high level boards, Fish manufactures the mesh INTO the Surlyn slick. This causes the 2 components to work more as a single unit and is said to add to projection. Because I’m trying a new core AND the mesh/surlyn combo, I can’t say exactly how much difference the combined formula makes exactly.

With the PE content and the board’s relative thinness I reckon I’ll be saving it mostly til winter for me, unless I hit a really sucky reef where I’ll want a mile of flex in the meantime.



HOW THE TEMPLATE/FEATURES WORKED FOR ME:
The template works a treat for me. Last summer I had a custom PP turbo made and the 4Play is remarkably similar in outline. A little wider in the nose, which I’m gona stick with (I put narrower nose on the Turbo to give a greater exaggeration form the widepoint to give it a little more ‘oomph” in turns, but it does make it a bit edgey. As always the wider (than the turbo) nose in the 4play gives more predictability and steadiness.

Now the reason I chose the Kingy is for the concave. I noticed I’ve ben getting very ‘comfortable’ in my boards lately, so I wanted to challenge my comfort zone and go the concave.



HOW DOES SHE SCOOP/TURN?
Because of the flex and sick projection (projection powers you out of the scoop) it is sweeeeet.. The core feels like the return of a diving board, where the more ou load it up, the bigger ‘kaboing’ <insert satisfactory cartoon sound effect> forward you are going to get. Scoop city.

Turns themselves – this is why I got the concave, just to push my comfort zone. Too long on channels and crescent and felt I was falling into a comfort niche – nothing wrong with that, but personally I like to mix things up and push habits out of the way so I always feel I’m riding on my creative edge, making my mind work on waves and getting into the Zone in different ways. Thing is, I was confident going into this one it would push me, cos Kingy tears on a concave (no question) so you can’t blame the ‘tool’, just the tool riding it.
Kooked a bit of shit for a while, mainly sorting out the rail lock on keg lines and exactly how to carve in the lines I wanted. Knowing you can’t blame the board is good, it makes you find every detail of muscle memory and thought pattern from each ride and re-evaluate where you’re coming from. Makes you nail your shit basically. The concave is fast, so turning on bug faces doesn’t take long to work out. You get a lot of speed to throw into the ‘corners’ of your carves and turns. Sickness. Getting the exact line on a glass faced power keg is more of an art and exact science. For me it involved getting into the nose and through to the wide point than I usually do and really having a mental lock on where my line is to get my bodyweight exact.

An added bonus of the concave is its ability to eat up chop. Great board for those choppy cross-shore conditions, tends to skim across chop rather than get too bogged and slowed by the cursed stuff. IMO it turns better in choppy, crappy surf (which we often get in the real world) better than a flat bottomed board as it doesn’t get bounced around so. As irrelevant as it may sound, I used to drive a tri-hull outboard boat years ago and they were made that way for the same reason, smoother on rough water a it had a concave through the centre.


FEATURES: Nose-bulbs, greatest invention in BB since … nosebulbs, haha. Yeah I like them. I like them particularly in heavy takedowns when you really want to hang onto your board but the load of water is saying otherwise. That little bump extra has in all my recent boards has made the difference between hanging the fark on – and not quite a few times and has let me ride out some shockies when I didn’t think I necessarily would.

Nose-pieces, not my thing, but I get that they give an extra colour feature for the groms, but to me it is just an extra bit that will likely fall off/peel away one day. , that would actually be my main beef with the board.

Contours – haven’t had contours for years, I think the last time was a Mach 7S about 12 years ago or something like that. They look sick , but if they’re there or not doesn’t bother me. If they’re on a stock board I’ll get it, when ordering a custom I don’t bother to ask for them. Nice lines on these ones.


WAVE CONDITIONS TESTED IN SO FAR:
Quite a few for the short time I’ve had it, from smashing, messy 8 foot big period with blowing onshores with nasty take-downs, to perfect pumping Blackrock to some thick, beasty vert-walling reef beasties to some shitty, sketchy, small cross and onshore days classic to this time of year.

[captain6230]

so you think the concave wins doc?
im finding the concave on mine to be really fun, challenging to get the hang of, but oh so rewarding when you get your shit sorted

[kc_bodyboard]

thanks a heap doc, ive been contemplating the hps core for a while now. my mate has the same board, his doesnt have channels which i was skeptic about,does your board?
i was wondering about the concave, i read on the qcd site that it works well in 4ft+. have you riden yours in say 2-3ft?(what im normally riding)the only time i get to ride 4ft+ is about 10 times a year.
Seeing as my 4play Ryanhardy is my first board i dont too know much so i dont think ill be doing a board review on it.

[Boogs]

Epic write up Doc... I'm gettin my H1 in the next couple of days, I'll be reviewing that next.

[doclach]

Cheers Boogs, be stoked to read that, hope it flies for ya

Casey that's a tricky question mate. The Kingy is a thin board for me, so I can't give a parallel from my end in small stuff for you as I'm so much heavier. Also, as much as I reckon it is good to try new stuff, at your age and with only one board under your belt, and the wave types you most frequently surf, my instant gut feeling for you is stay with a 'standard' channel arrangement for one more board so you can master a few more basics really well. Scoop, carve and barrel line are the core essentials to boog IMO. No, it doesn't have any channels. It is good for chop like i said, which would suit you, but I'd go with QCD's rec of 4ft plus for concave personally.
Captain, what do you reckon mate? (Cap has a fair few waves under his belt and is way closer to your weight than me).

[captain6230]

definately stick too a basic channel bottom if your only riding 2-3ft most of the time kc, the concave comes into its own when it gets bigger, but i feel it kinda lads a bit behind my old board in the smaller gear.

im having a chuckle at how your board feels really thin for you do, the first thing i thought when i picked up my king was "geez this thing is a boat" in saying that you have 2ft and 20 kilos on me. my kingy concave is a monster compared to my old luehman model, that thing was insanely narrow and thin