The New Improved 8'6" Surf SUP

I’d just like to tell you a little bit about our 8’6” surf SUP’s as I have been surfing one now for about 6 months and feel I have given it enough of a work out to speak about it with confidence. In fact, for the first time in my life I am feeling a little bit surfed out! Over the past couple of weeks there have been an abundance of awesome waves on offer and I have been like a hopeless drug addict trying to get my fill, the problem is, I can’t get my fill on this board! I just want more! They say that moderation is the key to everything in life so maybe I should take a break for a bit, or maybe I’ll have one more surf today and then start my break tomorrow, or maybe just a couple of quick surfs today and one tomorrow. Oh shit, here I go again! Anyway, back to the board. To sum it up, I am totally in love with my 8’6”. In the past I have tended to mix it up a bit when it comes to board selection but since I have had the 8’6” I just can’t go past it. This board is very fast! The 8’6 is really impressing me as it can be driven hard through some really fast sections but also be pushed through some fatter sections when trying to link up with the next bowly pocket. Another factor I am really liking about this board is the weight. Yes, the 8’6 is a little heavier than some others, but this has really helped me to understand the influence that a little extra board weight can have on a surf on any given day, let me explain this. The extra weight has allowed me to surf this board in windy conditions, even on some quite windy onshore days. It has also allowed me to surf in some very strong rip conditions. As we all know, this time of the year, if you’re not geared up to handle a bit of wind you will spend a lot of time in the car park. The other factor we know is that generally when there is a nice sand bank it is accompanied by a solid rip. The little bit of weight has helped me to stay up-right in some serious conditions and has allowed me to find some uncrowded waves due to harsh conditions. We all know that finding good quality- uncrowded waves is our ultimate goal after all! This board performs well in small to quite large waves, let’s say 2 to 6-foot range. I would definitely take the 8’6 out in bigger surf but have not yet had the opportunity. For bigger waves, first I would put in a larger set of fins as a quad, or as a thruster I would recommend a large rear fin around the 8” mark. The 8’6 can accommodate any of these fin combinations. I am running a very small set of carbon/fibre-glass quad fins at present which work extremely well, although they can make this board a little slidey in the tail which can be great fun when you learn how to use it to your advantage. This board loves to find a sucky pocket! When you jam the 8’6 into a bowly section it just takes off! My current 8’6’s are the second stage of the design and I am not going to make any further alterations as I feel this board is the full package. This board works really well, I don’t feel I need to tweak anything to make it perform any better.
The dimensions are 8’6” x 31” x 4.5” approx. 130 litres. This is a super stable, user-friendly Surf SUP!