does anyone know something about this board? not sure if I have ever seen something this conceptual that works. it's interesting.<br /><br />
I've seen dude ripping on these in the lineup. In most cases I was able to ask how they like it and all have said good things.
Can it grovel?? Any personal experience? Also [video=youtube;8BDZwESf--M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BDZwESf--M[/video]
I saw a kid shredding on chest high waves last week with something similar. Looks good for going real fast and launching airs and it looks forgiving on the landings with the angled nose.
i've never ridden one, but have had a few chances to fondle one & i don't think it would grovel real well...lots of rocker relative to its length. a solid stomach high + board, IMO. a replacement/alternative to the traditional good wave hpsb. as much of a board fiend as i am, i don't see a place for one of these in my quiver. i like what i've got filling that niche already & don't get to surf really good waves all that often.
these boards are interesting. if you think about it, only a certain portion of the modern shortboard is interacting with the surface of a wave. think about the last time you put your board on rail and did a hard cutback, only the top 2/3 of your board did the work. the remaining portion towards the nose was buried, and that's being generous. therefore, the nose of your board is aesthetic, not functional. the same when it comes to paddling/flotation. it's not always about total volume, rather, it's about where the foam is under your sweet spot of the board. this design is minimalist, yet high-performing. the same could be said about a mini-simmons or a fish, but the performance of those shapes doesn't match these Vanguard shapes...and that's where I get lost with my understanding how the shape works LOL. maybe because they are based off a thruster and the fish/simmons approach is strictly twin/quad. there's no substitute for the pivoting qualities and bite of the training fin, i suppose.
Mini Simmons and Fish are a lot thicker and wider thoughout. Giving it less of a shortboardy feel. Thats why they can go so short and still be super effective in smaller surf. Flat bottoms as well to maximize planning speed. Ive see people riding these in most size surf (the vanguards). They ride them small, like under 5'8" range. Ive only seen them set up as quads tho. No thrusters here.
It won't grovel well?? A modern "Planing" design with nearly 17' wide nose and tail widths and about the average thickness sounds like it would work pretty good... Idk tho, Definitely think personal experience would help.
after checking out the video above/below, I would assume that this 'IS' a grovel board. Not so much for knee high slop, but surely not your step-up-pipe board.
neither of those videos show groveling. the stuart kennedy video is what many would consider decent to good surf. more goes into making a good groveler than a wide nose & tail. the vanguard has a pretty deep single concave from just before the front foot to just ahead of the back, where it transitions to a deep single channel through the fins. this is not a combo that encourages good groveling in small or weak surf.
I have seen those boards for about 5-6 years now. The idea, like someone else mentioned is that a large portion of the nose of a shortboard does nothing. I have seen guys with broken noses just saw the thing off and reglass the front and it works just the same. It looks crazy, but it is not that radical of a shape... I would say for sure that you could get one that "Grovels". Not the one in the picture or video, but the design theory would translate into a perfectly ridable small wave board. It would just need tweaked dimensions throughout the rest of the board.... They look strange, but guys in OZ and CA have been playing with them for years..... Its not far off from what kelly was doing riding 5'2s and sh** on huge waves on tour. It just looks crazy.
I'd like to lay a straight edge along the stringer... A flat rockered board with a deep single concave means that the stringer rocker is likely dead flat.
yeah the only thing i heard is the Rapid fire version from firewire is having a high percentage of breakages. maybe the future shapes tech is better.
