Sunova speed vs flow

Ive been on a 8.10 speed now for 3 weeks and loving it ... Its actually really hard too slide the tail out tho ... I think the flow would be better off there, but it rails hard and fast down the line and heaps of fun .. fairly stable for me at 96kgs with out a wettie..

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damo666 said..

Flying High said..
Hi Supmaori

I didnt try a Flow but I recently bought a 8'8 Speed and love it.
I now have a Naish 10'6, the Speed 8'8 and a Fanatic Allwave 7'11, which I all use in the surf depending on the conditions.
I replaced a JP Surf Pro 8'10 just for something a little more stable in the chop and was debating the Speed 8'5 or 8'8 and went the 8'8 for the stability.
It was a good choice for me. I find the Speed more stable than the JP because of the nose and the manoeuvrability is a bit better because of the less width and tail shape. (My JP was 2013 so not the current shape, which I believe is more manoeuvrable than the model I had)
I reckon if i bought the Speed 8'5 my Allwave wouldn't get that much use but this way i still take it out on those glassy days and enjoy that too.
The speed 8'8 is my all rounder and fits the gap perfectly. I can also take it out with my wife she wants to go for a flat water paddle on the Naish 10'6 so its a good fit for my requirements.
If you go the Speed I reckon the 8'5 would be perfect and the 8'2 could be hard work with any chop.

If it helps any I am 80Kg average rider.

Flying High - great timing, I previously had a 9'2" JP Surf which I loved, and for the last 12 months have been on a 10'6' Nalu.

The Nalu has just sold and am looking for something a bit shorter and a little closer in mavoeverabilty & feelling to the JP, but with some added stability for the lumpy stuff I often end up in - a real allrounder!

I'm thinking an 8'10" Speed will be a really good comprimise between the two boards?
Would love to hear feedback from anyone else who has ridden a slightly oversized Speed!!

Hey Dammo, I had the Speed 8'10 for about ta year and loved it but always felt it was a little big for my 80kgs.
Same as Flying high I pondered the Speeed 8'5 and 8'8 and went for the 8'8 for flexibility as I only want one board. It is surprising what a difference it is to surf and think it is a great compromise. I would like to go down to the 8'5 but would probably need another board for the crappy days.
Depending on your size you would not be disappointed with the 8'10.

Is or has anyone sitting around 88kgs tried the 8'2 speed..?

Thanks flying high ..a big help..I'm leaning more towards the 8'5..I'd like to try the 8'2 but from all accounts it sounds like it mite b hard work.. initially anyway..
Chur

Thanks Gboots that was a good read
Cheers

Good idea CTS67.

i read the same thing. I am still keen on the Skate so that I can learn to surf on. It will be on small mushy waves ?
Hopefully Tino reads this and can answer the question. The Skate 8'10 seems to a great option for someone like me due to the wide tail, stability, and more surf board style nose.

Hi STC.
I know that you have been playing around with the Shroom recently, which would seem to fit in similar conditions as the Skate. Curious as to why you ordered the Skate rather than the Shroom, or was it just that you ordered the Skate before trying the Shroom?

Just so I am not totally hijacking this thread away from its title; I am loving my new 8'7" Flow, it is the perfect board for me. I am seldom riding my 8'10" Speeed anymore, though I still enjoy it when I do. Main reasons are that the Flow surfs more like a short board for me; even at 8'7". Though balance on the Flow is initially twitchier for me than the Speeed, I can stay dry longer on the Flow so I can take it out in rougher conditions. Though the Speeed is faster just trimming along a wall, I can generate way more speed on the Flow by pumping it down the line.
Yesterday was the first day having the Flow out in perfect conditions; shoulder to head high and glassy. Definitely my best day of SUP surfing ever, and one of my best days on any surf craft after 30 years of prone surfing, 32 years of windsurfing, and 10 years of waveskiing. The one thing that I am finding challenging is that I cannot consistently bring my frontside roundhouses around as tight as I would like, and usually can on boards with a narrower tail or a hip leading to a pulled in tail. I think that it is just a matter of figuring out my technique on this move on the Flow since I can get it occasionally. Advice always appreciated.

Nice side story: part of what made yesterday so special was that I had the break all to myself for a couple of hours. This was due to a very accommodating tiger shark who was patrolling up and down the beach inside the reef, keeping all of the other surfers out of the water. Happily he left me alone, and just kept everyone else on the beach. What a guy!

Here is a picture of the Skate vs Surf.
Compliments to STC for this as I needed some analysis paralysis therapy a week ago and he was sorting me out.
The Skate is like a Surf with no butt !!

If you are an Ok surfer/SUPper buy the FLOW. It will go well in most conditions and you can get aggressive on a wave…and it is very pretty. It is a superb board and just a pleasure to ride.

Another question .. sorry guys..I'm leaning towards the 8'5 Speeed..seems from all the advice and people I've spoken to its the must have Sunova board..but before I place my order &just to be sure..the 8'4 flow has a width of over 29" but is the right volume for me ..however it does seem wide for a performance sup...if I dropped down to 8'1 Flow , 28 1/2 the volume is too low for me..does the width on the 8'4 feel that wide when riding it? So hard to make a choice..when I think I've nailed it another awesome flow review appears..but there can only be one

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Supmaori said..
Another question .. sorry guys..I'm leaning towards the 8'5 Speeed..seems from all the advice and people I've spoken to its the must have Sunova board..but before I place my order &just to be sure..the 8'4 flow has a width of over 29" but is the right volume for me ..however it does seem wide for a performance sup...if I dropped down to 8'1 Flow , 28 1/2 the volume is too low for me..does the width on the 8'4 feel that wide when riding it? So hard to make a choice..when I think I've nailed it another awesome flow review appears..but there can only be one

I think I might have responded to this but the key thing about the Sunova boards especially the Acid and probably the Flow is that they have very thin rails so you are the water line rather than feel corky. For example my 8'11 Acid is 30" wide but it doesn't feel wide due to the thin rails and deck shape.

Hi Supmaori...Ive just ordered a 7'10" Acid and I'm 6ft and 70kgs. After talking to Jacy (Sunova team rider) he rides a 7'4" 70ltr Acid and he's 5'10" and 80kg!! He said that the balsa construction adds about 3% to the stated volume. Also the low rails add to the stability so you could probably go to the 8'1" Flow.

Yikes... I'm falling behind! (11 hours of surf in 3 days)
Sunova's are freeking good boards, and the choices get daunting... but that's not a bad thing.

Since I have ridden most, I will attempt to make it even more confusing!
many words are necessary, because the overlap has to be discussed
Disclaimer: I am old and large, so take these observations with that in mind.

Tiggerferret:
I wrote that last post, to answer a request from CTS67, for clarification of the following statement that Tino made:
"there are still great reasons why someone should still opt for a Skate rather then a speeed sometimes".

I wasn't recommending one over the other, simply pointing out the difference's between the 2 shapes.
They really are very different, and both really good boards, but a less experienced surfer would have to ride a 9'5 Speeed to get the same ease as the 8'8 SkateXL IMO.


My attempt to sort the shapes out:
All the below statements are my opinions, based on my experience...hopefully this will help folks who can't demo all of them:

Performance boards"
Acid (very tippy size for size) smallest I ride is 9'4
Flow (most stable, size for size) smallest I ride is 8'7
Speeed (ridden at the same size as your traditional shape) smallest I ride is 8'10

Intermediate boards
Soul (tippy in smaller sizes) smallest I ride is 8'11
Skate (stable in smaller sizes) never ridden one
SkateXL (very stable in smaller sizes) super comfortable on the 8'8, I could easily go 8'2

Some of the shapes are "easier" than others, in terms of balance at length

Parsing out the subtle difference's between shapes is hard enough if you have ridden them all.... but I imagine it is confusing if you have to pick on the numbers alone.

MY take, base on boards I have ridden:
The Acid is flat out, the highest performance in the line... even at a larger size

The Flow is a really snappy, shortboard ride if you stay at your lower limits...
biggest I recommend for performance is 8'10, at that size the width at sidebites becomes manageable IMO
I believe the curve changes at the 9'2 Flow.... then I feel it falls short in "high performance" and becomes a great intermediate board with a ton of qualities that even a smaller surfer would benefit from (super stable, wide tail for easy wave pick up, fast, turn from the middle....)

The Speeed is a ride unto itself... the secret sauce in the tail gives the sweetest tight carves, when ridden on the tail, and a more drawn out "longboardy" lines when ridden forward. That may change when you get down to the "Jacy" sizes, because the Speed gets so narrow that it probably eliminates the "longboard" feel.
The Speeed handles all conditions and size waves with ease.

The Soul is a solid performer that is tippier than the Flow, size for size, but lacks the snappiness of the Flow.
It is a very easy board to surf with no surprises.... it surfs like you would surf on anything, without any learning curve.
The Soul is a perfect board for any surfer who wants predictable performance but doesn't push the performance envelope.
I had some great sessions on the 8'11 Soul this spring and the 9'5 Soul last winter.
The Soul looks more like a surfboard than any of the other boards

The Skate and XL line is a very stable, fun board with a ton of capabilities.
Even though it has more width than my 9'2 Flow, I didn't experience any issues turning the Skate on a rail.

*************************
Today, I had the very great pleasure to ride the 8'7 Flow for the 1st time.
This morning, I porked out at 109 kg... being the fat bastard that I am at the moment
The surf was very clean, and waist high, with good shape.
I jumped on the 8'7 Flow (120 L) for a few waves ( I expected to roll over and sink)

I am very happy to report that, what I have said about the Flow all along is true:
"you can ride a smaller Flow than any of the other performance shapes"

The 8'7 Flow was much easier than I expected for my portlyness
I was able to paddle the 8'7 fine and caught a fair amount of waves on it.
The 8'7 Flow feels like an entirely different board than the 9'2 Flow.
(note: my 8'10 Speeed and 9'5 Speeed share all the exact same surfing qualities regardless of length... just adjusted for more size and stability)
The 8'7 Flow was super loose and snappy. It didn't feel like a potato chip. Nice drive and speed.
I traded my 9'2 Flow... but I'd be happy as hell to have an 8'7 Flow (1st, I better lose a few kgs)

Supmaori
Since your PMs were all in regard to the Speeed, I didn't want to add any confusion to your choice
this should muddy up the decision :

You will get more performance from the Flow than the Speeed, and will be able to go 1 size smaller without issue.
They are 2 very different boards, and honestly, they each have a place in the quiver.
The Flow will deliver more shortboard performance and the Speeed will handle anything you throw at it.

Since you have such nice down the line waves with size, it all depends how you want to ride them.
Flow... lots of pumping and vertical snaps, more aggressive surfing. More yaw on the long paddle out.
Speeed... great bottom turn, long Speed turns down the line and tight carving cutbacks. Solid feel in bigger waves with the kicked nose for security on late drops.

Just get both of them

obijohn said
"Curious as to why you ordered the Skate rather than the Shroom, or was it just that you ordered the Skate before trying the Shroom?"

The Shroom just fell in my lap...
It is a cool board that can be ridden stupid short with ease.
My sessions on it tell me that is a wicked fun board in 1-3' waves
Very snappy turns, even at low speed, carves, goes vertical, very quick.....
but
The bigger waves I rode where very tricky
At speed, the wide boxy shape requires deliberate riding.
I would drop straight out into the flats to scrub off speed before I could lay down a turn.
It carried great speed out of the turns and would rocket up the face, but overall I surfed it in pieces instead of the nice flow it has in small waves.
Any of the performance boards would have been easy in the bigger waves, but the Shroom rides were piecemeal
I think it's a great board for the intended purpose... ripping in small or gutless waves....then it is a blast!

I think the Skate has more overall capabilities than the Shroom, but I need more time on both to parse that out.

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Supmaori said..
Thanks everyone been so helpful..ive got to get my order in to sunova this morning..I've decided to go with the Speeed but now have to decide the 8'2 or 8'5 ..I'm 87kgs...6ft &.ride the 7'8 115L Minion x28"..the safe bet obviously is the 8'5 but just wandering what people's thoughts are.. thanks

It all gets very confusing doesn't it....I started a thread FLow vs Speed a bit before you did and didn't get many replies....Obviously you are far more popular than me..
I have been reading this thread with interest as a result....Anyway after a couple of weeks fretting on which one and which size to get, i just ordered a 7'10 FLOW today through SurfFX...I'm off to QLD in a couple of weeks anyway so thought I might as well get it instead of waiting 3-4 months in NZ and paying 30% more for the board.
Im only light at 70 Kgs, so was after either 8'2/7'11 SPEED or 7'10/8'1 FLOW...Lots of emails to the guys at SurfFX before choosing...I already have a 9'6 STYLE and a Naish Raptor @ 95 litres. Chose the FLOW as its completely diff to both boards I already have. Re sizes..I was initially going with the 101 Ltr FLOW at 8'1, but was convinced that width was more a factor in stability than Vol and given they are not even an inch different in width, I went with the smaller one. Should be a bit nicer on a wave for my size too....just have to get used to balancing on it !!! I seem to remember thinking that when my Raptor arrived a year ago too....Took a few days to get used to but after that it is a peice of cake, so I'm hoping the same will happen with my FLOW...
So, moral of my story Supmaori...Go as small as you can and I don't think you will regret it. Your minion will fill in the gaps on the bumpier days (like my STYLE or RAPTOR). I would also go the FLOW as it seems to be a better "all round" NZ wave board. All the comments point to the FLOW being pretty stable for its size due to low rails etc.
But whatever you decide upon I'm sure you will love...But opt for the smaller of your 2 choices IMO !!!!