Nalu 10' LE, my last quiver addition is indeed quite addictive.
Fast, nimble banana, easy to noseride, handles bigger juice as well. Ok, you can also cruise it smoothly.

The only issue... is a little too big.

If shortboard templates are going ridiculously small, why can't longboard designs get high(ER) performance?

Maybe, because it would become effectively a 1 board quiver (at least for someone that prefers longboarding :) )

They can!
I have a C4 Batwing 9'0" *26 3/4"@ 105l. It is a good allrounder. An "older" shape, (2011?) it could do with a bit more refinement, less volume in the rails, a bit less weight and a handle you can get you hand into! It is still a lot of fun, and my go to board.
In some ways a Sunova Speed is an extreme extension of that idea, I think.

Current model Sunova Style 9'6 x 27.5 112L. Goes well in everything!

1fox said..

I love to ride long narrow stuff.
Love the easy entry, the bottom turns, nose riding and the glide back to the peak. Relaxing :)

Couldn't agree more

1fox said..
If shortboard templates are going ridiculously small, why can't longboard designs get high(ER) performance?

They do!
For instance, the Gong shaper is a longboard addict, and he designed both narrow (25-26") ones: boards that can be both prone surfer and SUPed (the IT, see the topic www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/The-Paddlesurf/ ), and shorter SUP but with a longboard rocker and feel, in 8'5", 8'0", 7'0"

I bough the 115 litres 8'0" one (the NFA) for my daughter, and it is impressively fun: you get the glide feel (not the actual glide, obviously) of a 9' longboard, with the nimbleness of a 8'0" board. And it is impressive how a 7'0" longboard-rockered ShortSUP will feel different as a mainstream 7'0 ShortSUPs.
No hang ten with them, as the curl does not "lock" the tail in as on 10' board, and definitely not as early a wave entry as a 10' board, but the feel is there!

Videos:

The NFA 8', shape:



and session:



The NFA 7'0". See how the speed of a flat rocker on weak waves allow you to go all over the place, not limited to staying close to the pocket.



PS: there are plenty of different longboard shapes, depending on how much you want the nose kept low in carving turns, and if you want the board to match the speed of the curl automatically (old school), or have to turn to position yourself (new school)... not all longboards shapes have the same character in the same brand, or across different brands.

1fox said..
Unfortunately, as far as I understood, they switched from narrow to wide production boards.

Well, the problem was there was not enough buyers for narrow production boards. Basically, you need to be sure to sell at least 5 boards of a production model for it to be worthwhile (much more for factories using molds, of course), if you take into account the design costs, the pages on the web site, the confusion that each new model creates in the mind of the average customer...
And I must say, I surfed the board above, and although it is noticeably faster and nimbler, they have disadvantages: less stable, of course, but also you cannot push in your turns like on a SUP: I understand most customers will not find it worth the trouble.

Plus, these boards are so durable (the XTR construction) that if you want one, with some patience and convincing (you can seek on the Gong forum potential sellers), you can find them second hand in pristine state.

For now Gong makes narrow boards as one-off prototypes, and push people that want narrow SUPs to use big prone longboards to SUP them, like the IT (Incredible Ten):
www.gong-galaxy.com/magazine/pics/1-hour-4-boards/
(or other longboards for lighter guys)

Here is for instance an IT (to the right) in vectornet carbon I had the pleasure to try:



So, basically, if you want a narrow board, just go custom: your local shaper will be quite happy to make boards out of the ordinary...