What can be done on a Minion in the right hands...
Rider: Jackson Close
Photos: Tony Elliot
Select to expand quotewindara said...Tang said..
My 7'8"x28 1/4"x4 1/4" 110l already feels too big for my 6'4" and 85kgs. Go smaller and smaller again! 
Hows the waves over there Tang? Had my first surf today. Quite different to what I have been riding. Feels a little stiffer so I might take the numbster out and try the C-Drives. Got a couple of waves across a hollow section and it has nice speed!
I'll be brief or I'll whinge too much. Developed tendonitis in both wrists week before we left, arrived friday arvo then waited til Sunday to surf and test wrists. 2ft and flawless, me and lovely wife out alone, 30 degrees. Surfed it with shapers fins and darc drive, flies and turns beautifully. Was taking it very easy with wrists so-so. Catch a wave from top of the break towards the lower section to come in and wave closes so I crouch to stay up and my right arm goes into breaking lip, and the force pulls me just over to the right and forward and hey presto, something goes in my back. A 2ft wave. That was 48hrs ago. Lucky the surf is ****e the last 2 days, at least I can swim. Might come good but hopefully will be ok by next week for plane home...so you'll have to wait for the minion contribution from me, windy. but it is the 2nd/3rd day which is always the worst when something gets hurt....
Cheers
Tang 
Hang on, can't edit posts from this old iPhone. Didn't mean to have so many sad faces, either.
Back to the main game, I surfed rincon before my wrists went and wig cdrives and board went better IMHO than standard fins etc. I rode shapers here first so I could compare properly. Getting back on the shapers and comparing to cdrives at rincon makes me think my original comments earlier were right ie the cdrives extra base area covers the stability of the knubster but give the board extra looseness. I'd be really keen to get casso on them and hear his feedback after a few surfs on them. Let me know how you go windara.
Cheers
Casso,
For a bit of added perspective but how tall is and how much does Jackson weigh and what are the dimensions of the board that he is riding?
Select to expand quotetoppleover said..
Picked mine up today, it's 7'10" x 28 3/4" x 4 3/8" 119L 
Yeeew!
Select to expand quoteTang said..
I'll be brief or I'll whinge too much. Developed tendonitis in both wrists week before we left, arrived friday arvo then waited til Sunday to surf and test wrists. 2ft and flawless, me and lovely wife out alone, 30 degrees. Surfed it with shapers fins and darc drive, flies and turns beautifully. Was taking it very easy with wrists so-so. Catch a wave from top of the break towards the lower section to come in and wave closes so I crouch to stay up and my right arm goes into breaking lip, and the force pulls me just over to the right and forward and hey presto, something goes in my back. A 2ft wave. That was 48hrs ago. Lucky the surf is ****e the last 2 days, at least I can swim. Might come good but hopefully will be ok by next week for plane home...so you'll have to wait for the minion contribution from me, windy. but it is the 2nd/3rd day which is always the worst when something gets hurt....
Cheers
Tang
Nooooooooo. Spewing. 
Hope you're OK for the tail end of your trip.
Toppleover
Love the dimensions of your board, I'm looking for something similar. Really like to know how it goes!!!?
Yep that was a bit reminiscent of what I screamed I underwater after I felt it, Casso! Here's hoping. 4 full days to go and hopefully I'll have a shot at a surf on Sunday......cheers
Select to expand quotechapo1 said..
Casso on the 7'2""Minion today
That's the best footage yet . Well done to all . Absolutely ripping . I definitely want one .
Nice cutty at 2:23 .
Excellent footage.
Casso, for me the best section was at 1:37. You take off and then all of a sudden the board just hits the nitro button and accelerates at a rate of knots. This board just has speed to burn. It's no wonder it can handle the crappy stuff.
Select to expand quotetoppleover said..
Picked mine up today, it's 7'10" x 28 3/4" x 4 3/8" 119L
Looks really tidy toppleover. Hows it feel for weight? Mines 115 L and I was hoping it would be a little lighter. I think mines about 8 kilo. Ive changed the fins to medium sized C Drives but yet to test them
Just put it on the scales now - spot on 8kg, inc fins + deck pad also mine has the vacuum bagged deck (stronger but also a bit heavier).
Havn't got it wet yet - yes, I'm still talking about the board.
Select to expand quotetoppleover said..
Just put it on the scales now - spot on 8kg, inc fins + deck pad also mine has the vacuum bagged deck (stronger but also a bit heavier).
Hmmmm….8kg seems pretty heavy for a small board!?
Is there much difference I weight between innegra and vacuum bagged ? Casso are yours innegra for lightness ?
Select to expand quoteroachy said..
Is there much difference I weight between innegra and vacuum bagged ? Casso are yours innegra for lightness ?
I don't think my Minion is vacuum bagged. I haven't weighed it but feels fractionally heavier than my 8'0" (one litre less volume) which was 5.8kg without grip or fins.
Select to expand quoteCasso said..roachy said..
Is there much difference I weight between innegra and vacuum bagged ? Casso are yours innegra for lightness ?
I don't think my Minion is vacuum bagged. I haven't weighed it but feels fractionally heavier than my 8'0" (one litre less volume) which was 5.8kg without grip or fins.
I reckon your board is hand laminated because i wonder you can't have so clean over lap of glass/carbon wrapped on the rail with bag process.
Nice job on the construction of the minion
Guys a question..these are coming o NZ shortly..been riding prowave 8"10 119L as my go to board and hoping to get the 7"8 115L minion. How easy or hard is it to jump on one of these babies and get riding. I won't b able to demo before I purchase so just wondering what progression I can expect first time up.
Thanks... any tips or advise be most appreciated
Kia ora
Select to expand quoteStev0 said..toppleover said..
Just put it on the scales now - spot on 8kg, inc fins + deck pad also mine has the vacuum bagged deck (stronger but also a bit heavier).
Hmmmm….8kg seems pretty heavy for a small board!?
I weighed it again today & got consistent readings of 7.9kg - Simon did mention that the vacuum deck was a little heavier than the carbon innegera only.
Select to expand quoteSupmaori said...
Guys a question..these are coming o NZ shortly..been riding prowave 8"10 119L as my go to board and hoping to get the 7"8 115L minion. How easy or hard is it to jump on one of these babies and get riding. I won't b able to demo before I purchase so just wondering what progression I can expect first time up.
Thanks... any tips or advise be most appreciated
Kia ora
You'll be fine on the 115. You should be able to jump straight on - just watch out for the extra acceleration when she gets planing!
Select to expand quotechapo1 said..
Casso on the 7'2""Minion today
Casso,
I just had another look of the video and I paused it around the 1:37 mark which initially interested me due to the speed you were generating. But this time around it occurred to me that it almost seems like you did NOT actually paddle onto the wave. Rather it almost seems that positioning and the wave picking you up resulted in the board planing by itself. Would that be correct? If that is the case then this board really knows how to plane when required. My 8'2 JP Pro would never react this in this way, at least under my feet anyhow.
Cheers Ozzie
Select to expand quoteghost4man said..chapo1 said..
Casso on the 7'2""Minion today
Casso,
I just had another look of the video and I paused it around the 1:37 mark which initially interested me due to the speed you were generating. But this time around it occurred to me that it almost seems like you did NOT actually paddle onto the wave. Rather it almost seems that positioning and the wave picking you up resulted in the board planing by itself. Would that be correct? If that is the case then this board really knows how to plane when required. My 8'2 JP Pro would never react this in this way, at least under my feet anyhow.
Cheers Ozzie
Ha ha - I would've done a couple of paddles to get into that one but, as you have observed, once the board gets a little lift from the wave it starts to plane and you are off.
This another reason why you can take off on steep, sucky waves on these low rockered, square nosed puppies - you don't get hung up in the lip and therefore need to freefall over the ledge. Early entry due to the early planing to shoot you down the face before everything gets too critical.
Thanks Casso..for you feedback, great video too..Casso how much do these babies go for in the GC. Just wandering as a comparasion to the boards coming to NZ. Mite be a chaeaper option to come across the ditch.
Cheers Mate
Thanks casso..your help is greatly appreciated. Im amping to get my hands on one of these. I think they are going to be $2695 when they arrive on our shores in late October. Pricey but by the looks of things well worth the investment.
Kia ora
Casso is the Minion that your riding the pinstripe carbon/ innegra model? what about the one JC is riding in the above posts? Im assuming like conventional sups that carbon is the lightest option? Although the photo is not of a minion shape...being custom they will design and make one for you?cheers again
Select to expand quoteSupmaori said..
Casso is the Minion that your riding the pinstripe carbon/ innegra model? what about the one JC is riding in the above posts? Im assuming like conventional sups that carbon is the lightest option? Although the photo is not of a minion shape...being custom they will design and make one for you?cheers again
Yeah - mine is the carbon pinstripe/innegra glass job. Same as the one Jackson is riding. The carbon pinstripe isn't really lighter but adds a bit of rigidness and some longitudinal strength - like a series of mini stringers.
Those photos on the SUP Gear Australia site are just indicative as they are customs. I don't believe the Minion shape costs any more than a regular shape of the same size.
Select to expand quoteghost4man said..
Casso,
I just had another look of the video and I paused it around the 1:37 mark which initially interested me due to the speed you were generating. But this time around it occurred to me that it almost seems like you did NOT actually paddle onto the wave. Rather it almost seems that positioning and the wave picking you up resulted in the board planing by itself. Would that be correct? If that is the case then this board really knows how to plane when required. My 8'2 JP Pro would never react this in this way, at least under my feet anyhow.
Cheers Ozzie
From the original review in this thread:
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.
