DEEP Oceanboards 7'2" Minion // Review

Casso said..
Whilst holidaying in the Sunshine State recently, I caught up with Simon Hunnybun, the mastermind behind DEEP Oceanboards, for a surf. We went to a quieter spot on the Goldy and he brought along his mini quiver of strange looking "Minion" quads. I wasn't sure if these weird looking things were really my cup of tea so I didn't borrow one then and just took out my standard 8'0". Halfway through the surf, my curiosity got the better of me and I asked him if we could swap boards for a couple of waves. Long story short, after few waves on his little 7'0" - I HAD to have one myself and consequently had one ordered by the time we got back to the car park.

One word: Speedy

The board is 7'2" x 26 7/8" x 3 15/16" x 92L



My own little baby arrived a few weeks later and I wasn't disappointed - and that was just based on its looks. The pigment tint impregnated, carbon striped, innegra glass job turned out beautifully. The glasser at the DEEP factory sure knows what he is doing - especially with all those sharp edges, channels, bevels and concaves that go into these crazy Minion designs. At only 5.6 kilograms, he obviously also knows how to squeegee out the excess epoxy to reduce weight while still maintaining strength.

I woke up at 4:30am after a restless night's sleep (way too excited to sleep) in order to make the journey to a secluded river mouth which was forecast to be cranking. I knew the waves at this place would make the ideal proving ground for the new 7'2". We were greeted with fast, mechanical, walling lefts peeling down the bank for over a kilometre - an epic canvas to work with. The super long break is great until you have to paddle a 7'2" the 1.4 kilometres to the take-off zone. I don't like paddling that kind of distance on my 14 footer!

After about 20 minutes I arrived at the peak just as a decent set arrived. Being the only one out there, I was able to take my pick. I chose the second one and stroked into it. It was a feathering, just overhead, super smooth, left hander and I was in the perfect position for it. The 7'2" picked it up nicely and I was reminded of my surf on Simon's board that these things actually paddle into waves very well - they seem to start planing even with the slightest lift provided by a wave before it even breaks.

Dropping down face of this gentle giant from the depths of Broken Bay felt great on the little sled. One would think I was under gunned (an 85 kilogram guy on a 7'2" in overhead waves) but the Minion stepped up and handled the drop and subsequent drawn out bottom turn with the grace of a much longer board. I guess the parallel rails allow her to impersonate a semi-gun and perform appropriately when required. Banking back up the face after the loooong bottom turn, I was presented with the first speedy section of this aquatic journey to the channel. A quick redirectional top turn was in order before slamming the little girl into overdrive for the race to the cutback section. BOOM - this is where you really see the relatively huge planing area kick in and the Minion took off. A few little pumps for good measure and in no time at all I had outraced the lip and covered the 50 or so meters to the next section. Wow, this puppy is quick! Buckle up and hang on peeps.

Being a natural footer and this beast being a left, I was about to conduct the first official backhand cutback assessment of the 7'2". The words swooping, grinding and smooth come to mind. A clean, flowing, round house cutback ensued which felt so lovely. The rail dug deep and held all the way through and the board maintained speed until it had come around a full 270 degrees where I was confronted with wall of foam. I stomped on the tail to lift the big square nose up just enough to clear the bottom of the foam and the Minion proceeded to rise vertically up the white wall almost magically levitating above the turbulence below. A quick crouch down and a transition of weight to my heels had me spinning my snubby friend through a tight pivot at the top of the foam which ricocheted me back onto the green wall of clean water again. These foam climbs, along with white water floaters, was one of the most surprising things about this board - it deals with the turbulence and bounce so well with that large planing area maintaining stability so beautifully. In conclusion, the 7'2" performs exceptionally well in a big wave backhand cutback scenario. Exceptionally well in indeed.

A couple of nice big s-turns were next on the menu where I was just feeling out the rails and the lines they would draw with differing levels of push and tilt. Again, a very smooth response with heaps of speed maintained through the turns that utilised the rail.

After a plethora of different sections offering ample opportunities to experiment with different turns, the end section eventually arrived. I had plenty of speed (not an unusual situation to be in when surfing this SUP) and the crumbly close-out was just asking to be slapped. I swooped into a critical backhand bottom turn with my paddle on my heal side and drove up the face towards the lip. A quick paddle transition and weight distribution to my toe side rail just as I reached the foamy crest resulted in me being in the perfect position to test out the Minion's dish pan potential. I sank the big double swallow tail to begin the whip then flattened out the deck and pushed hard with my back foot. The tail spun, then slid as it lost resistance in the white water and came all the way around until both my heals were pointing towards the shore. The fins then bit into a bit of green water and I managed to reverse the spin direction and bring the 7'2" back around so it was facing the right way again. That felt nice, really nice and gave me a glimpse of the versatility of this funny looking duck under my feet - not only is it great for long drawn out carves but also for critical whips and controlled slides. Woo hoo, what a great combination.

I got a heap more waves before the tide eventually swallowed the fading swell and every one of those waves consolidated my feelings I had about this board after that first one. This is one super fun board with so much speed to burn, so much potential and so much versatility.

Highs:
- Super fast
- Planes through dead sections beautifully
- Holds a rail all the way through big carving turns
- Floats over turbulent foam nicely
- So light and easy to throw around
- Super strong construction
- Very stable for its width
- Paddles ok for its length
- Works great in tiny or large waves

Lows:
- Can take a few waves to feel out its nuances if you're used to a traditional shape
- Too short for my toes to push off the tail when jumping to my feet from a prone paddling position (makes that process slightly awkward)
- Scary looking tail that has potential to do some damage to one's head during a legrope fling-back
- Too popular (everyone wants a go so it reduces my time on it)
- Too interesting (everybody wants to stop me to have a chat about it).

A few more pics: