Blue Planet 8.10 Ninja Warrior , JP 9.9 Wide Body, Starboard 8.5 Pocket Rocket.

Review - Blue Planet 8.10 Ninja Warrior , JP 9.9 Wide Body, Starboard 8.5 Pocket Rocket.

I have searched these forums at various time when considering a new board etc. Given that I benefited from what I trusted to be independent reviews, but have contributed zip to date, in the event it might be useful to someone here is my 2 cents worth on the above boards (particularly as there is next to no reviews of the Ninja Warrior boards).

To give some context, this is me - 75 kg 43 y/o, surfed on and off for years (lazy, unfit, wave count was always poor) and sail boarded for many years (my no 1 love), took up SUP four years ago to get back into surfing without the crowds and to make the most of rubbish surf when taking the kids to the beach. Problem is, SUP turned out to be great, rivals sailboarding as my love, wave count went through the roof and soon enough I was looking for better waves which meant quickly reaching the limits of the gear I was on. Ability wise, I can catch decent waves but I am no where near vertical lip smack stage by any stretch. I am not interested in working too hard to stay up right (the whole benefit of SUP for me is to get a decent wave count on waves no one else really wants which often means paddling a couple hundred meters further than prone boarders do) although I also want short board performance. What can I say, I want my cake and eat it. Local break 2 - 5 foot swell breaking on outer banks 250 m from the beach. Not a top to bottom type wave but 1.5 overhead breaking face frequently and 2x overhead occasionally . Surf other breaks that vary from beaches/points/ reefs from 1 ft to 5 ft swell. I have not tried many boards. The three boards are very different classes of board and are really apples and oranges relative to each other. Please keep this context in mind.

1st board - a used 2013 JP 9.9 x 32 Widebody 157 litres 11kg - Highly recommend this as an all-round with wave bias SUP - big enough to learn, refined enough to surf some good waves. Had it out in 4/5 foot rolling type waves, but this sized board is getting too big for me in anything breaking properly top to bottom over 4ft waves . Rips your leg off in those waves but any board of that size will do that. Kept it for the family and my wife to use mainly in flat water and small/medium waves. Construction - had this for over four years now - been bashed by myself and the kids - held up well - outer shell has cracked a little in places on the rails from the wind sup rig but I think that is to be expected. The base layer of glass has not cracked at all. Could not recommended it more as an all-around family board and fun surf biased SUP.

2nd board - new Starboard Pocket Rocket 2015 8.5 x 30 131 litres 10 kg (AST construction)- was a fantastic step down - had next to no trouble going from the 160 litre to this 131 litre - first time took it out was 3 ft breaking well overhead - not ideal conditions for trying a new board, but I had no trouble and barely falling while waiting around out the back. Used it for a good two years. For its size I think it is stupidly stable, good glide, decent hold on steep waves - all relative of course, but for its size it was great. Thought I would lose too much early catching of wave ability with this size, but that was not the case. Handled small to medium conditions very well, and it was surprisingly pretty good in really big stuff for its size. You can really stomp on the front of this thing on the crest to catch big and small wave alike pretty early. Limitations: really has a particular sweet spot to turn - when you find it, it turns on a dime, but the sweet spot is not really easy to find and requires foot shuffling to find it. I found it a little bouncy on bigger waves (when gets 2x head high) . When the waves get huge for me I am very nervous about rail hold and will just straight-line it down the line. I caught one 6 plus foot just under 3x overhead and it handled it, but frankly that size is getting beyond me and not a size I chase. It just feels a little too big and bouncy at serious speed and serious wave size for my weight although I have not had it skip out from under me. I have now got some quads but are yet to use them. I would highly recommend this as a first dedicated surf SUP, or someone wanting a single quiver all-around surf SUP who appreciates not falling in often while out the back. Had I not stumbled on the next board, I could have quite happily used this for the next few years. Will keep this board and continue to use it. I think this type of board is what surf SUP is all about - deals with all wave conditions well and easy enough to paddle ? a km to get waves. I suspect each company has a board roughly fitting these type of dimensions/ brief in their line up, but the PR has proved particularly good one for me. Construction - I have ended up on the rocks quite a few times in overhead surf, and its been bashed with the kids wind sup rig. Other than some minor cracks in the outer skin on the rail it's been all good. Can't fault the construction. I suspect this is about as bullet proof construction relative to weight as one can reasonably expect.

3rd board- Blue Planet 2017 9.10 x 29 Ninja Warrior 116 litre 7.5 kg (carbon). I was not actively looking but lucked into this second hand recently so picked it up to try a smaller volume board. Glad I did (sort of - stupidly light - I loved my PR, but 2.5 kg weight difference has serious benefits, and even though I think the PR is really capable, the long walk is nowhere near as loathsome as it was-any surf SUP board I get from now one will have to be no more than 8.5 kgs which comes at a price unfortunatly). Rails quite thin. Tail is dinner plate thin (SUP relative) . The product description says you need "ninja like balance". Well that made me nervous as I don't fit that description. It turned out not to be the case , however, I do have to work noticeably harder than the on the PR to stay dry, but staying dry out the back is manageable unless it is howling or there is a lot of decent water movement. I find the BP requires more power stroke to get up and glide from a standing start, no doubt due to the tail being quite submerged on the BP. However, once you put in the first decent paddle stroke it gets up and glides and catches proper sized waves just as easy as the PR presumably on account of the extra few inches in length. Once on a decent wave this thing lights up. Biggest I have had this out now is 4 foot (breaking just under 2x overhead). Compared to the PR size this thing holds a rail more confidently in a cranking turn that bigger/steeper waves allow, carves nice big arcs without bouncing . I can surf this BP rail to rail far better than the PR and the BP is starting to resemble the feeling of a shorter surfboard (SUP relative). I think this is mainly on account less width and less rail volume. I feel the rails are properly engaged without having to move my front foot from rail to rail from one turn to the next. I have used it as a quad and thruster but I am yet to resolve my preference. The benefit of the BP's higher performance in bigger/steeper waves, I think is worth the trade-off for the little less stability. However, I certainly needed the time on the PR before stepping down to this one. This size is certainly the comfortable limit for me as far as comfortable instability is concerned at the moment . Anything smaller and I would be wobbling and falling in constantly in less than perfect conditions which simply is of no interest to me regardless of any performance up side. I have not used it in small mushy waves so am yet so am unresolved if it sufficient as a single board quiver board for me.

Construction - I have not had it long enough to make a sensible comment about longevity. The glass job feels thinner and easier to depress than other Blue Planet Standard construction, and then the PR (AST), but I assume that is to be expected of light carbon boards. I have had this out in some solid top to bottom overhead shore break waves and worried that any sup might snap in those conditions. I have really axed the paddle on this thing, and landed badly on it with my body, after being pitched from the lip. No damage to board yet, although plenty to my body. The handle on these things are quite brilliant- they have the benefit of the through handle (like the lift up handles on the Sunovas) without it having to be lifted up. The handle on the JP and the PR is more than adequate, I just think these BP handles are brilliant. Not a make or break item however.
I hope this is useful information for anyone looking at these boards.
Pics below of the Blue Planet Ninja Warrior in nice 3 ft swell on the weekend.

Thanks. Yes, PR doesn't catch, even on steep take offs. It has particularly good volume distribution, without the back end rails being too fat. Very forgiving. Having said that I am enjoying the higher performance of the BP in fast waves. Cheers