Or should I get hooked on Speeed?
I have a Sunova Soul 9'5 which I love, but would like to go down in size.
The Soul is a great all rounder and does just about everything but due to my size, I'd like to be able to get my rear foot to the tail a bit quicker.
I've recently demo'ed the Flow 8'7, the Speeed 8'10 and the Hypernut (9' and 8'6).
Ideally I'd like single board quiver but maybe thats not going to be realistic. (unless I just stay put with the Soul and learn to dance a bit better!)

I normally surf short shore breaks but sometimes point breaks and I go out in just about any conditions.
My appraisal so far is the Flow 8'7 rides like a short board and is fairly stable but seems to yaw a bit when catching a wave. (would probably consider the 8'10 but couldn't demo one).
The Speeed is not so stable however but really shoots down the line. I can make sections easy. I love the ride but it seems to be a board for clean days. Would like one but maybe not as my only board.

The Hypernut is looking like a contender though for the single board quiver.
Although its not as fast as the speeed, it is very stable and turns good enough for me from the tail or the middle.
And I can get my back foot to the tail easy.
The 9' (2017) was too big so tried the 8'6 (2016).
In head high surf - found it easy to pick up the wave - not much yaw and handled a couple of late take offs without pearling.

Handles chop well but maybe not as good at punching through the whitewater on the way out as the others.

I like the 2017 Starlite construction but the Smurf blue is not my ideal colour.
The 2016 board has a terrible handle though and is hard to carry as it is nose heavy.
I think this has been addressed in the 2017 models and the 8'6 has slimmed down a bit.

my two bob's worth... similarly was looking for a bit of an all rounder that can surf responsively but also not be too hard on my body (am supping due to back and shoulder problems making prone surfing too hard). I have a 7 10 deep minion for perfect conditions and love it, wanted something a bit easier for rougher conditions etc, something that i can cruise a bit on but that surfs well too... tried an 8 8 speed, loved it in certain conditions, bit more of a challenge than I was after for this board . picked up a stretch deep minion at 8 4 and am loving it, much more forgiving than the speed (bit more volume, not as thin rails, some gives and takes of course), the minion turns much easier (the speed carves great turns though and really carries speed through cutbacks, but the minion just seems to go where I want without having to think too hard) and I find myself naturally on the kicker each time with it, unlike the speed where I had to consciously keep trying to push myself further back. haven't surfed a nut but would expect it to have a bit less drive and glide than the stretch minion at the same size... in short saying perhaps throw a bigger minion into the mix... but i'm sure you can get another 50 suggestions! good luck....!

Hey xurfxup my mate here in vicco has the 8`10 speed and the 8`6 carbon 2016 Hypernut and i just know hed be real keen to slide you into his Hypa at a very attractive price.He bounces in at 103 kegs and the Hyper floated him fine but he only seems to surf the speed these days,just sayin.

STC. I'm 77 kg 5'6" and 53 with 2 yrs sup surfing experience.
I'm just a hack but trying to get better at transition of turns.
The Soul is pretty damn good for where I am, just sometimes wish I could get the foot back easier.

xurfxup said..
fairly stable but seems to yaw a bit when catching a wave.

You can also learn to counter the yaw when taking off, it is not that hard.

Basically think to keep your paddle shaft vertical by sending your top hand well across the board, on the other side. With some training on flat water, you will see that you can even have a counter yaw easily.
You can also once the board is moving leaning a bit on the rail to make it turn while taking off.

You can see an example a 1:25 in the video:


And just like supthecreek says, you have two options to not move around too much:
- have a shorter board with a wide tail, so you can stay close to the tail without sinking. (the vid below)
- have a more pulled-in tail so you do not have to move your rear foot so far back (the above in the vid)

But I understand you. Having a compact board underfoot where do not have to move around is so fun...

example of the wide-tailed board:


The wide-tailed is the 3rd from the left, the narrow-tailed the 4th from the left:

at your size, the 8'6" Hypernut is way too big. way! and that extra size is probably what you're feeling regards breaking through the whitewater. i'm 93 kgs and completely stable on an 8'0" Hypernut. The whitewater is zero problem for me. Now I also have a 7'9" Sunova Schroom and it's got a thinner nose and is even easier in whitewater, but the tradeoff is that it is much less stable, too. I can barely stand on the thing, but that's a work in progress for me. I don't think you can go wrong with most Sunovas or the Hypernut, but getting any board that has volume equal to almost twice your weight is going to come with issues.

beached56 said..
at your size, the 8'6" Hypernut is way too big. way! and that extra size is probably what you're feeling regards breaking through the whitewater. i'm 93 kgs and completely stable on an 8'0" Hypernut. The whitewater is zero problem for me. Now I also have a 7'9" Sunova Schroom and it's got a thinner nose and is even easier in whitewater, but the tradeoff is that it is much less stable, too. I can barely stand on the thing, but that's a work in progress for me. I don't think you can go wrong with most Sunovas or the Hypernut, but getting any board that has volume equal to almost twice your weight is going to come with issues.

How do you have a schroom already? What's it like? (Sorry, shouldn't hijack!)

cantSUPenough said..

beached56 said..
at your size, the 8'6" Hypernut is way too big. way! and that extra size is probably what you're feeling regards breaking through the whitewater. i'm 93 kgs and completely stable on an 8'0" Hypernut. The whitewater is zero problem for me. Now I also have a 7'9" Sunova Schroom and it's got a thinner nose and is even easier in whitewater, but the tradeoff is that it is much less stable, too. I can barely stand on the thing, but that's a work in progress for me. I don't think you can go wrong with most Sunovas or the Hypernut, but getting any board that has volume equal to almost twice your weight is going to come with issues.

How do you have a schroom already? What's it like? (Sorry, shouldn't hijack!)

i ordered it, and it showed up. (i'm in the USA btw). since my Schroom is only 104 liters, it's a major challenge for me. but i have gotten a few waves on it and it is real fast. I think my Hypernut is fast too, but the schroom beats it by a bit. I sink the Schroom unless i find the exact sweet spot. if i could only have just one board, i'd stick with the Hypernut, but i got the Schroom to test my limits. It really is like a shortboard for me. I'll write a review once i can say more than 'i fall alot'.

Seems like the 2017 starlite 'nuts have improved a fair bit over the earlier model. Dare I say Starboard are becoming a little more Sunova-ish?
I.e thinner profiles, similar construction principles and better value for money?

I too have similar tastes

Started with a 9.2 Speeed

Now have a 8.8 Speeed which I absolutely love and a 8.7 Flow
The Flow is quiet different to the Speeed but is great in really clean conditions
Get your foot back on the Speeed and it turns on a dime
I take my Speeed to Bali regularly and am thinking of taking both boards when we head back over in a few weeks

Love to hear a bit more about the Maldives ??

TWs said..
Going through a similar dilemma right now myself, planning a trip next year to either Maldives (been a few times before) or Pohnei. Surfing my 8'10" speed all the time at the moment & really likin the board, but like everyone says takes a lot to get used to getting that back foot back. Also ride a 8' L41 and took that to Maldives last year.

Have been thinking of a 8'10" Flow and was already to order one, then started reading about the Acid and thinking the 8'10" or maybe a bit bigger. Wondering what anyone's experience is. Any feedback would be great.

Im 90kegs, been supping for 5 plus years, local break is beach, but travel to surf reefs.

IMO.... go with the Acid....it is the highest performing Sunova.
Perfect for steep hollow conditions and just as good in small, weak waves..... it surfs amazingly easily in everything.
It can be turned from the middle more than the Speeed (pics above)
it is very easy to pump down the line as well as go vertical or do snapbacks.

The Acid has decent width for stability, but is much narrower through the hips and tail than the Flow.... I prefer that when in hollow, fast waves.

The Acid has almost as much kick in the nose as the Speeed, which is great for late, steep takeoffs or coming off a floater.

IMO, you need to ride a longer Acid than Flow.... so I would suggest you consider the 9'1 Acid.

If you have good balance skills, the maybe the 8'10 Acid.... it has enough float for you, but I personally find the Acid a bigger balance challenge than the Flow because of the narrower hips and tail.

The Acid paddles straighter, but the Flow's wider hips make up for that when catching waves.
I find the Flow faster on a takeoff, because of the wider hips, but the Acid pumps faster down the line than any board I have surfed.

I also find the narrow tail of the Acid is great when you need to control a late drop.... you can sink it and stall... even on a steep face.

Hi SUPbru and Supthecreek, thanks for the info & for confirming what I was thinking, The Acid looks just what I'm after, i need to spent time getting my balance & core back in shape. Had a lower back injury durning the year & 3months of struggling to walk around the block has taken its toll, and putting on 5 plus kg. Feel like a complete novice paddling around, Falling off all the time, no issues once on a wave which is good.

Well after much demoing and seabreezein decided to sell my Soul and go with the Flow
Picked up an 8'10 and loving it. Not noticing the yaw effect of the 8'7 and find that it's plenty stable for me.
A bit of a challenge when it's choppy but getting better each outing.
The performance improvement over my Soul is similar to when I went from the hobie ATR to the Soul.
It turns like Bert says "with mind control " and I can get my back foot to the kick pad easy.
Have I got my one board quiver?
Maybe..