DEEP Oceanboards 7'2" Minion // Review

Got my new 7'8" minion on Monday and have had it out in 1-2ft and 25kts yesterday and today in well overhead with 15kts. I'll take it to the maldives in 2 weeks before posting a proper review, but for now I have to say I cant believe how tight the turning arcs are, and how much squirt there is thru turns. or how well it paddles into waves for its size. Or how stable it is.

even got a hoot doing my first real reo in 10 years. Stoked.

Tang said:- "and how much squirt there is thru turns"

That's sums these boards up in a nut shell and that's what makes them so much fun to ride .

You need to think outside the square on these boards , litres just go out the window .It's the door shape that make them stable , 6ft & 90kg can ride a sub 100 litre board.

Gday Windara and Mick,

I've only ridden it twice and that was on the fins Simon provided - I thought it best to have a go on the fins recommended by the man who shaped the board first (a darc drive, shapers S7 on the front and shapers MGX1 rears) and get the feel of it so I could compare properly. I'm still getting the hang of it, but I did a few turns on Wednesday that surprised me, and it hung on pretty well on a couple of bigger ones where I thought there was a good chance I was going to lose it through a bumpy bottom turn. If my neck improves I'll have a paddle tomorrow and then transition over to cdrives over the weekend.

At this stage, the starby pro 8'5" with cdrives still seems to have the edge off the bottom - it just feels really secure into a bottom turn - but the minion has this speed thing going on when you do a proper hook/cutty and the turning arc is so tight. The smaller size seems to make it easier to bring it up into a good section and hit the lip. It seems to me that the two of them are a great travel combo for the moment - I'm taking them both away, with the minion for sub-4ft and the pro for 4ft +. The thing that I notice is how easy it is to get your back foot right down the back of the tail, and once you do it just comes alive. Might have to tell Simon to put a big G in that spot for your foot......

I need to ride it in some good 2-3ft waves to see how it compares to the airborne - I found the airborne went really well in the small stuff, but it's a different way of surfing. And the airborn is 3.3" thick and a lot lighter. It's 98litres, and I'm already wondering how far down I can go around that volume on my next minion.

In short, it gets into waves really well - I caught a couple of overhead waves that I wouldnt have gotten into on the 8'5". The glide is good but not great, as you;d expect for the length, but the wave catching makes up for it (and the 25kt offshore had me powering back out), and stability is as good as the 8'5" and possibly a bit better front to back. It doesn;t yaw much either, I can do 4-6 strokes a side no worries, often more. Do bear in mind that this is my first custom board since 1998, so I've got a bit of froth going on.

And Mick, come say gday next time we're in the water together.

I reckon Piros is right about volume - mine sits pretty high in the water at 110litres with my 85-90kg on it, and I was already wondering whether I should have gone thinner from 4 1/4" and down to 100 litres or so. Have to do that for the next one.

Marcus, I reckon your 6'10 will be unreal - that's almost the size shortboard I used to ride!

Thanks for that comparison mate. I'm Mick on the red JL striker just in case you're wondering. Can't believe you've been out in that wind over the last couple of days. If you can catch waves in these conditions you can catch them in anything. I've been thinking of getting one of these boards as well so it's really good to get some feedback which will help me decide how wide and long to go. Looking forward to having a chat in the water next time you're out.

No worries, boys. See you in the water, Mick.

I timed it pretty well on Wednesday, the wind was only about 20 on the gusts unlike yesterday/today with gusts around 40-50kts. We'll be trying for a not-so-secret spot on high tide today so there won;t be any need to paddle back out with the wind like it is (though I note that the apparent temp is -5.5 at Aireys now). I saw on swellnet that they recorded gusts off the south coast of tassie of 92kts on Weds night I think.....shame it was all going NW or we'd have a 15ft swell.

Having seen boardbumps' post on the SUP thread and his 6'10" it's already making my 7'8" seem like a mal.

And I'm off to the maldives in a fortnight, have to wait til next year for Indo! Yahoo!

Thanks marcus that would be great.

Front & Rear.





Contact Simon at Dolphin Industries.