Im so close to pulling the trigger one of these bad boys but still tossing up dims. I'm 75kg and 5'10". Leaning towards a 7'3" x 27 3/4" x 3 7/8" at 95 litres, but thinking about asking Simon to do a 7'4". So my question is will i get a noticeable difference in glide between a 7'3" v 7'4"? Will a litre or two make any noticeable difference?
Select to expand quoteBenjiD said..
Im so close to pulling the trigger one of these bad boys but still tossing up dims. I'm 75kg and 5'10". Leaning towards a 7'3" x 27 3/4" x 3 7/8" at 95 litres, but thinking about asking Simon to do a 7'4". So my question is will i get a noticeable difference in glide between a 7'3" v 7'4"? Will a litre or two make any noticeable difference?
Check out the thread Calling all Minion riders to get the feedback on the sizes that other riders are using. I don't think there will be any noticeable difference in glide between a 7'3 and a 7'4. I have a 7'4x 27.75" and at 85kg only notice a slight difference in glide versus a Fanatic 8'5. However, the speed and acceleration of the Minion is awesome and makes up for early glide into a wave.
Finally surfed the minion in east coast clean glassy 4-5ft conditions. .huge 4hour session..the board just came alive. .so stoked with this baby..if your still thinking of getting one..don't wait. .pull the trigger..b the best decision you make regarding boards..Speed to burn..stable and come out of the water wanting more..
Forget about using the word glide with these boards. Beacuse they are so short and have wide tail they catch waves much easier than many longer boards , glide has nothong to do with it. They also fit in the pocket much easier when chasing down a wave. You won't need the big long run up you are used to.
Mate the surfers..were like wtf? My minion was shorter than half the boards in the line up..and double the wave count..boom..like a boss!
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Supmaori said..
Mate the surfers..were like wtf? My minion was shorter than half the boards in the line up..and double the wave count..boom..like a boss!
On the 7'8 115L Minion
Select to expand quoteSupmaori said...
On the 7'8 115L Minion
Yeeees. That looks like just like the type of little wall the Minion loves!
Yup was a good day Casso..a lot bigger on some sets..and that boards just went work!
The Minister for home affairs has granted permission to buy one of these little puppies if I can Dem one.
If there is anyone in Sydney or Sydney's south that'd be willing to trade some minion time for a case of his favourite ale. Please send me an email.
I am pretty flexible for time. Weekends before or after work etc. 
I'm a lightweight so from "95 litres" would be ok
Cheers
Rory.
Righto, Stev-0's first review of the Minion 7'4 x 27.75"@104L @85kg:
I love setting up a new board for the first time and ended up waxing 3/4 of the deck and then spraying Monster Paint traction grip on the first foot of the nose.
There was a solid swell on the east coast of the North Island of NZ which has broken a long wave drought on that coast so was pretty amping to get into it.
The Minion is a bit different to paddle being a foot shorter than my 8'5 Fanatic Prowave and 1" narrower. But the 7'4 Minion @104L felt about the same volume as the ProWave @109L and also in terms of stability. I quickly found out that you have to stand further forward on the Minion and naturally go into a subtle surf stance rather than paddle it in the usual poo stance. I loved the shorter length and didn't feel any major loss of the mythical 'glide' versus the 8'5 Prowave. The way it paddled seemed to need a faster cadence to track straight and get into waves but the acceleration was amazing when the board got a lift from the wave. Stability was ok but the cross-offshore breeze tripped me up a few more times than normal but just in the first half hour while getting used to the sweet spot.
The waves were really closing out hard and the lip would pitch, close out and then crash back up through the back of the wave. So it was very tricky to get on to them without having to lip launch and a stiff x-offshore breeze made it harder too. The surfers were all struggling too which was a relief. Finally got a wave that peeled right and got the Minion into a bottom turn and it was fast but smooth and set me up nicely for a cut back - holy **** - this little board has sooo much torque off the top it's insane! The board whipped around so fast that 3/4 of heel side rail engaged and sent a bucket of spray flying! The speed and drive off the bottom and torque off the top felt like down-the-line wavesailing which I love!
Not sure about wax on a SUP though. It was good for grip and not too bad on the feet but it gets all over the paddle and my forearms ended up with dreadlocks of wax matted into the hair on my forearms from clambering back on the board. I'm still picking the **** out of forearms 2 days later.
So tricky waves to test the Minion out for a first session so just got an initial impression but reckon the 7'4x27.75" @104L size is spot on for me at 85kg. Can't wait to get the Minion out again and learn how to ride it as it is such a radical concept and is going to be a game changer...
The other thing was how much attention the Minion gets on the water and off it. I walked past some dudes who were staring at it and they said, "Wow that is small, WTF is it!?", and I said, "Yeah it's actually a wakeboard!".
Awesome Stevo..pretty similar experience. .man these babies can fly. .where abouts on the coast was that brah
That photo was at Waipu Cove on Wednesday with the Whangarei Heads in the background. The weather was beautiful and it felt like a taste of summer but the swell was not too good as just loads of close outs. I'd paddle hard and think I'm on the head high+ wave only to find the wind holding me up on the lip and I could look down at the bottom of the wave so would pull off. So I didn't get to really open up the Minion on a open face which wasn't about to pitch and smash me. 80% of my SUP surfing is in waist-to-shoulder high waves around Auckland so I expect the Minion to rip in those conditions. I only got a very basic feel for the board so will report back when I have a better experience - but so far so good!
My 7'4" x 27 1/2 104 litre minion is due towards the end of next week (hopefully). Looking forward to test driving it in some Vicco waves. Watch this space.....
HELP WANTED:
Guys I need your help, going to order one of these little puppies but need some assistance on Dimensions
I am 90KG and just under 6ft, 47YO
Intermediate advanced surfer been supping a couple of years after I blew a disk in my back.
Anyway current ride is a 8.3 X32 (approx. 1 month old) coming off a 9.1 X32
9.1 was like a stable table but felt noticeably big on a wave
8.3 is way less stable and I am spending a bit of time in the drink and feel like a complete newbie just paddling out the back in choppy conditions. BUT get it on a wave which is fairly easy cause I can read the waves reasonably well and there is no problem at all, Cutties, floaters, Reos happy days (I feel like a kid again 
).
My guess is an 8.5 or 8.8 in a traditional board would be my final resting point but I WANT MORE JOY ON A WAVE! 
So this thread has me absolutely frothing! As a had a wide swallow tail fish when I was a youngster that just ripped and I road that till it was so depressed it snapped in two.
So here lies the problem issue my point and I hope you guys can shed some light.
What Size and Width?
I did contact Simon as I was recently on the Goldie but all he had was a 7.0 to demo (and rather risk subjecting myself to a very frustrating afternoon of surf supping I graciously declined til a bigger one would be available)
After seeing the images of SUPMAORI my wallet took a big sigh and knew what it was in for
Yep I am taking the plunge Minion By XMAS
I am personally thinking minimum 29.5 wide so that would give the length of ? (I just like the 32 INCH wide so looking to get as close to this)
Not fussed on thickness and weight but would be getting the bagged version which I believe is heavier
Your any assistance would be appreciated
regards
DJ
Your welcome to try my 7'10 @ 119L if your on the Sunny Coast but I won't be back until the 28th Oct.
Hey DJ, As previously mentioned in this thread, I reckon you need to completely ditch all 'conventional' thinking about SUP dimensions when you venture into the world of the Minion. If somebody told me a month ago I'd be riding a Minion 7'4 x 27.75 @104L, I'd think they were crazy as I'm just a bit younger than you and a bit lighter and riding a 8'5 Fanatic Prowave @109L and 28.75". Those 7'4 x 27.75" Minion dimensions would appear on paper to suit some sponsored 20-something ripper on the world tour - but no! Check out the Calling All Minion Riders thread as the information there gave me the confidence to go for 7'4 x 27.75 @104L rather than something wider.
32" is extremely wide so don't let that dictate your thinking either. I have demoed the Naish 8'3 X32 and liked it…for choppy/crappy conditions as it was super stable.
Because the Minion has such straight line rails it carries the width far longer throughout the length of the board, compared to a 'traditional' shape which is only briefly wide at the widest point on the rail as the shape is curving around the wide point to the pointy nose/tail - if this makes sense.
One way to look at it is take a standard 8'5 x 28.75" shape (Fanatic Prowave, Starboard etc) and then chop 1' off the nose and then put the chopped off foam into the back of the board and create a freaky wide bat wing tail and then get a planer out and make the rails parallel by shaving off the outline curve. You end up with the same volume as the original 8'5 but it is 1' shorter and seems a lot narrower - but the width/volume are more compact and placed around/behind you where you need it - not all sticking out in front.
I have checked out a Minion 7'10 x 29" @124L which probably has DJ written all over it!
Hey Djansen, at 60 years i ride that kind of board in 6'5" 27.75" 85 liters in clean waves, i'm 78kg old joints body worker; so can say to you this Minion is far away different world from SUP standards. What says StevO is true, balance of the Minion has so performant characteristics that you can reduce dimensions and get the "I WANT MORE JOY ON A WAVE"
Well said stevo these minions change your whole way of thinking..once you rude them I doubt if you would go back..I certainly won't b..too much fun
Select to expand quoteSupmaori said..
..once you rude them I doubt if you would go back..I certainly won't b..too much fun
Er…I haven't 'ruded' mine…yet…but I am using Sex Wax…hmmm...
DJ at 90kgs and intermediate/advanced you dont want to go 32!! Mate, it will be like a boat for you. Simon is pretty well spot on with his ability to sum you up if you;re honest about how you go. For some semi-solicited advice I'd have you on one like mine (which is a bit too much foam for my 83-86kgs, plus I'm 6'4") - which is 7'8"x28 1/4" x 4 1/4" and 110L. Catches waves no worries and floats easy. Don;t muck around - just order one, or you;ll be waiting til Easter to get it the way things are going....
Good call Tang..DJ. the 7'8 spot on mate..I'm 95kg and my 7'8 is 115L and suits me perfect. I'm able to stand comfortably out the back and wait for waves no problem. . catches them effortlessly and even better once on wave face...
Hey thanks heaps for all the advice
I was thinking the 7'10" or the 7'8" at around 115 L
i will ill go down and see Simon to order in the next 2 weeks
again thanks for all the help
Select to expand quoteStev0 said..
Well **** me…I have had a moment of madness and gone and done it…I'm the proud owner of a 7'4 x 27.75" 104L Minion!
I knew this was going to happen and I even thought about leaving my wallet behind. But I soon realized that there were only two 7'4s in the country and that it would be next year until I would get the opportunity to get one as the Deep factory apparently have a 12 week lead time for NZ shop orders! So I bit the bullet and broke my cardinal rule of never paying retail price! 
Now I have to decide to wax it immediately or wait to sort out a deck pad - which will be tricky when there is east coast swell on the way and we have had none all winter….
Looks like StevO has already RUDED his minion!
Not sure how this will turn out, as I tried to shrink these photos from 300k each to 50k to not chew up too much space, but here are a few from the one wave my better half captured where I wasn;t just gunning down the line on the minion o/s. A bit messy and blurry but gives a bit of an idea what they're like off the bottom and whatnot. The bloke whose better half took some good photos while we were away is MIA, so this will have to do. Hope they work.
and they noseride alright, too.
