I received my new Sunova Pilot this past week and was able to get it out for a test ride today. DIY deckpad with a little hexapro in the front.
90+kg rider with wet winter gear on.
65.7l board
5'9" long
20" wide
9lbs 5oz (4.2kg)
Reinforced deck.
I'm coming off the 5'10"x20" 85l Carver at 10.75lbs so the dimensional differences are:
-1" in length
-1.4lbs (-.65kg)
-3/4" thickness
-19.3l
If you've ridden a Carver before, you'd also notice that the deck is flatter and more squared off at the edge (which makes the deck feel wider). Different tail shape.
Todays session was in:
20 knots
3m Ocean Rodeo Glide AA wing
AFS Silk 1050 with skinny 75cm UHM mast.
I was pretty unsure rigging a 3m with this board in these winds but I like finding the limits of my gear so I decided to throw caution to the wind and huck myself on the first try. Fortunately, it paid off.
I had to fight up on to foil a touch more than usual but nothing that I think anyone would find unreasonable. Once on foil, the ride was dreamy. The board is stiff, crazy stiff. Even in 4mm winter booties I felt like I was pumping one of the stiffest boards I'd ever ridden. This translated into excellent pump and glide on the Silk 1050. The light weight was also a blessing in the air. Rail to rail surfing was playful and responsive to all inputs. Tacks and 360's all felt great on this board. I probably had way more fun on this board than I would have any other in the small swell for the day.
When sitting on the board in gusty winds the deck was fully submerged which was nice for ignoring the hard handles on my wings, on my Carver I had to be careful not to ding the nose with the handles when wings would flap in gusts. Water starts require a bit more patience than my 85l Carver and slogging has to be done from my knees. In the lulls, which the gauges read to be 15 knots I didn't have the ability to get to my feet and had to wait for the 20 knot average or the 25 knot gusts to get me going. On the 85l Carver I would have been slogging on my feet, the water starts would have been a touch easier, but the in flight performance of a brand new Pilot vs my 2600 mile Carver (4200km) felt amazing.
I don't normally froth on the first ride of new gear. It usually takes me some time to get to know it before I fall in love. This is probably because I test so much equipment that there aren't many things that dramatically stand out to me anymore. This board though, this is the only board I can remember buying and instantly being in love with. I felt like a little kid again on the water and am very excited to see where this board will take me in 2025!
