Have been contemplating getting this board. Any opinions on it?
Steve - I have a 9’5" and consider it a great utility board for medium to large surf. It needs some juice to get going but feels like a solid rider to me. If I had any doubt about the overall design, it would be it’s thinness and lack of multiple stringers… in big stuff, it may be prone to breakage. Mine has a longbox and FCS side bites (no C-5). I just posted a similar (sort of) design by Bob Duncan at Wilderness Surfboards. It’s thicker and has double “wedge” stringers and a much stronger/heavier glass job. It also has dual concaves and an edge under the rail but I put them both in the fun gun longboard class.
Steve - I have a 9’5" and consider it a great utility board for > medium to large surf. It needs some juice to get going but feels like a > solid rider to me. If I had any doubt about the overall design, it would > be it’s thinness and lack of multiple stringers… in big stuff, it may be > prone to breakage. Mine has a longbox and FCS side bites (no C-5). I just > posted a similar (sort of) design by Bob Duncan at Wilderness Surfboards. > It’s thicker and has double “wedge” stringers and a much > stronger/heavier glass job. It also has dual concaves and an edge under > the rail but I put them both in the fun gun longboard class. Steve, I have a 9’6" D.I. by Rusty, and also, a 9’6" Roger Hinds of the same concept. If you are considering a board of this type, I recommend that you contact Roger. The board he made for me is great, and I could not be happier with it’s performance.
Steve - I have a 9’5" and consider it a great utility board for > medium to large surf. It needs some juice to get going but feels like a > solid rider to me. If I had any doubt about the overall design, it would > be it’s thinness and lack of multiple stringers… in big stuff, it may be > prone to breakage. Mine has a longbox and FCS side bites (no C-5). I just > posted a similar (sort of) design by Bob Duncan at Wilderness Surfboards. > It’s thicker and has double “wedge” stringers and a much > stronger/heavier glass job. It also has dual concaves and an edge under > the rail but I put them both in the fun gun longboard class. A friend of mine snapped a virutally new Rusty Desert Island in half a couple days ago in big surf. So the “prone to breakage” comment might be on the money. To be fair, though, I have seen several boards broken lately, as the surf has been pretty powerful.
I had a 9’6. It caught waves easy, paddled great but I sold it and had a similar version made by another shaper but stronger Not enough stringer to think it won’t snap in serious surf (oh, I forgot that is how they make money, skimp here, skimp there). I saw an 10’er in the used rack at the shop with the same skimpy stringer and a zillion stress fractures. Also saw an 11’er with the same skimpy stringer. Worked great in medium sized waves. Good marketing on Rusty’s part.