Love my 5'9' 2012 skater but always felt it could have done with a touch more tail kick for a little more snappiness so was interested when the 2013 skater came out touting just that. However, not so sure about the concave deck.
Anyone with experience of the 2012 & 2013 5'9"? How much less volume is there with the concave deck. I occasionally paddle surf my 2012 and it works well to paddle. Would be a shame to loose that.
How does the concave deck feel? Seems an odd concept to my mind. With the board on rail and carving hard one's foot is less at an optimal angle to deliver the force in the turn (i.e. toe down rather than heel down).
Experienced comments anyone?
As serendipity would have it, I can now answer my own question....and for the benefit of anyone else interested of course. I met a guy at the beach this afternoon with a 2013 5'9" skater so we swapped for a while.
The upshot: I liked it. Even though the same length and only minimally narrower at the widest point it feels a fair bit smaller than the 2012. Probably to do with the slightly narrower nose and less volume. It seemed to handle the chop better and ride a fair bit smoother in it. Again, perhaps due to the slightly more pulled in nose. Definitely felt less volume so definitely wouldn't be so paddle surfable for me at my weight (78kg). The concave deck didn't seem that concave. It looks at first glance more of a flat deck than concave (though the guy had covered his in grip which probably hid more of the concave). It does look a little odd as there is a hard edge where the top rail meets the deck.
However, the kicker (excuse the pun) is the extra kick in the tail. It definitely has the extra snap I was looking for. Getting back on my 2012 it felt kinda bouncy and stiff by comparison. However I get the feeling you'd want to be more powered on the 2013 than the 2012. I was definitely better upwind on my 2012 than he was on his 2013 as you'd expect with less tail kick/rocker (though he did seemed to be fully strapped all the time so wasn't giving himself the vantage of at least moving his back foot forward when tracking upwind).
All in all, spare dosh available, I'll probably get one.
i thing to get one but is good for my 95kg and i will made my first steps waveriding
