Hi All,
My 10' Lopez Glider Twin arrived last week - I was so very close to having it for Xmas.
The board looks great in person, I'll try and take some pics over the next couple of days. The 'NFT'/Flax finish is very nice. If nothing else, it's not the standard Surftech/pop-out 'solid colour' finish. Looks like a 'real' board in person.
I put a set of XL upright twin fins in it (5.5" base, 6.5" tall) - their supposedly 'flex' fins, but seem to have a whole lot of flex.
I haven't had much luck with the board just yet. First surf was last Wednesday, where I'm gonna argue the swell was bigger than forecast, to a point where I wasn't overly comfortable on a new board, let alone a 10 footer. That said, the single wave I caught, the board screamed.
The following sessions have been ankle-high mush. There's been a few moments of brilliance, albeit fleeting, but mostly feels it's like not the right board for those conditions... that said, no board is the right board for those conditions!
My gut feeling is that this board is going to be very similar to the Munoz gliders, in that they need a bit of momentum to rock and/or roll, not the small, slow rolling waves one typically associates with gliders.
With the outline and the way the foam seems to be distributed (even ignoring the twin fins), I've been messing around with paddle position and foot placement. There's definitely some magic in that board, I just haven't yet figured out how to tap into it consistently.
I need a couple of sessions in the right waves - hopefully at Noosa this weekend!
Cheers!
I'm really enjoying my Lopez Twin.
I actually think it glides in better than both the 10'6 Lopez and 10'6 Munoz, seems to have a big motor and has surprised me with some of the waves I've been able to get into.
I'm using the JS keels and am getting that classic fish feeling, which was my aim albeit on the bigger board / older body.
Thanks SurfAnimal!
I've got the XL Modii flex twins in mine (cheap, as a reasonable starting point), so a bit more fin area than yours.
But, it doesn't 'feel' over finned.
That said, I still haven't had mine out in anything to give it a decent run - had a few surfs at Noosa recently, but mostly onshore slop.
As noted earlier, there's moments of brilliance, in between a whole lot of getting ready to give up surfing!
I think I need a couple of decent sessions on workable waves to figure this board out.
Select to expand quoteunclethirsty said..
Hey Dammed, have you had the glider out again ?
I have indeed! Today even!
Took it for a run up to Noosa again today - hoping for a lovely 1-2 ft bunch of waves.
Didn't get there until about 7.30, and while unloading from the car, I couldn't understand why so many surfers were coming back to the car park - It was a Sunday, so unlikely that they were off to work... then I got to beach. Twas not 1-2 ft. Solidly head high when I hit the beach, and breaking quite straight. People were getting their asses handed to them. That said, it did calm down significantly after about 45 min and a tide change.
As with my very first surf on this board in solid head high (+) waves, the board performed exceptionally well, and I caught many more waves today than the first session (which was essentially one to the beach).
I'm still struggling with my paddling position on the board. I don't know if this one has more nose rocker than I'm used to? So positioning myself forward, but I keep finding myself paddling for waves, and then burying the nose on the take off - or damn close to it. If I shuffle further back on the board, I feel like I'm too far back and pushing water and dragging the tail. I'm still trying to find that sweet spot.
That said, I really loved how the board performed today, it's agility was really highlighted- was a lot of fun! And walked up the beach, at the end of the session, thankful that I bought this board. That said, I really want to have it out in some nice 1-2 ft peelers, to see how it goes under my feet in those conditions. They're the conditions that I really enjoy.
