Charissa and Todd,
I’ve had enough opportunities to ride the new 9’6 HPLB where I feel I can write a decent review.
First off, the craftsmanship of the board is really top notch.
EPS boards often come out with smudgy paint and dodgy glassing and this board is a far cry from that — the glassing is solid and the airspray looks super clean.
In the water, the weight and flex dynamics
of the board are very predictable and fluid.
It’s not a super stiff Surftech type feel, it’s not a damper poly-type feel, it’s somewhere in between.
Lightweight, high performance, solid, predictable.
The board turns very well from the back 2/3 of the board. This is enhanced by the generous rocker and probably the bottom contours as well. I think the board is stable enough on the nose to enjoy some nice tip time as well. I haven’t had it out yet on a decent beach-break noseride day where I could really spend a ton of time on the tip, but I can tell there are some solid dynamics in the bottom contours that will enable some fun in the future!
Overall, this is a great ‘everyday’ high perf board
and I expect to get a lot of use out of it.
I may bring it to Hawaii in the next few weeks to try it out in some decent juice.
FYI I thought the 7″ Cutaway fin and SB1’s were really over-finned for the board in the conditions I am surfing it in. I swapped out the SB1’s for SB3’s (375’s vs 325’s) and I intend to put in a 6.5″ Cutaway as soon as I can get my hands on one. A lot of this has to do with the mediocre conditions that are available to me, where I want as much looseness as possible. The board is not overly volumed — if anything, it’s pretty thinned out in the rails, so it enjoys the looseness a lot. I want to try it as a single soon — too many fins, too little time!
Thanks again, will be in touch soon.
Best,
Eric B, Manhattan Beach, CA
Custom Proxy Epoxy Performance Longboard
9’6″ x 22 5/8″ x 3 1/4″ roundpin