Scenario…a wedgy reef break with cross - offshores breaking at about 3 - 4 ft, three out one of whom (not me) - an excellent surfer on a salomon board.
The guy on the S-core just didn’t seem to be surfing at anywhere near his usual level, his bottom turns seriously lacked projection and it seemed to be flapping around instead of snapping from rail to rail.
Intuitively - it just seemed too light for the conditions… maybe lightness + offshores ain’t so good?
He just gotta get used to driving it down the face, getting slightly more forwards, keeping his weight on it rather than releasing.
Narrowness of nose should allow offshorewind penetration, as I’ve surfed with lotsa guys who ride light epoxy boards.
Watch him ride one week from now, and he’'ll look better. Then ask him what he thinks.
Big guys sometimes favor epoxy light and stiffness, smaller riders usually don’t…
Heavy offshores plus heavy board is very good indeed ! (penetration)
While the Salomon’s are very light it is important here to distinguish between them being lightweight and epoxy and the surftech type lightweight epoxy.
Surftechs are light and stiff (dead stiff almost) , Salomons have a very nice flex pattern. This is not dissimilar to a pu pe type flex although the carbon fibre inner layer of the hollow side of the board gives it a very positive return that can be adjusted for the surfer at a rate that they claim would last longer than a Pu Pe especially of the same weight.
Maybe the guy surfing that wedge was just getting used to that board, they do surf a little different but in my opinion a damn site better than those poxy (not epoxy) surftechs. Those things blow hard in anything else than crap beach breaks. I have spoken to countless people this year that have taken them to Indo only to nearly die on them in good waves as they get held in the lip and then eventually skitter down the face only to be unable to bury the over buoyant rail at the bottom. Geez I’d love that in 6 foot waves over 3 feet of fire coral…
Maybe they would be a viable option for someone who can actually surf in good waves if you could take them back to the shaper and adjust the rail volume and work on design and volume. BUT you can’t, so I guess unless by some stroke of fate there is one in the range to suit you exactly you’d be better off talking to someone who’s boards don’t come from Asia.
Support your local shaper or make it yourself.
Riding PU thrusters is not a crime!