Starboard Hyper Nut 7’8″ 2018 cold surf testing – snow, what snow?
Forecasts may be suggesting this week will be the coldest on record for a while but when there’s a wave you just have to go. With sunshine and fun waist high surf it’d be rude not to get out there and make the most of it. Here we’re putting Starboard’s Hyper Nut 7’8″ 2018 sled through its paces, the actual review write up to be published in our second issue of this year (look out for the test of its bigger 9′ sibling coming in the first mag of 2018) – stay tuned for that. In the meantime keep warm, and remember spring’s just around the corner…
So I can’t comment on the 7’8 as I have the 7’4 2018 model which I brought new earlier this summer and got a deal on it. Before this board I had a 9’5 160L so I was nervous about stepping down. People told me to demo the board first but I did not have a place that would allow me to demo near me and borrowing from someone else was not an option. I’ve been surfing for 25 years and started my surfing journey on a 6’3 competition shortboard (obviously the wrong choice of board) so I was confident I could surf the board would float me or I would be able to balance comfortably on it.
So this is my first 3 surfs on the board.
1. Day 1 – Went out in flat conditions. Stood on the board and was amazed how stable it was. I fell in a few times but it was more just getting used to the shape of the board rather than the stability of it. Felt pretty good and that it was going to be a good purchase.
2 Day 2 – 2-3 foot and clean. I was super excited to get out on the new board. This was short lived as everything went wrong. It’s very different to the 9’5. Tracking was something I had not accounted for. With the 9’5 you just paddle straight and off you go. On a board this short it’s difficult to track straight meaning I wasn’t able to paddle into the waves properly. Left the water thinking hmmmm how much can I sell this for.
3. Day 3 – 1-2 Foot – Before this day I went onto Youtube. Looked at lots of How To videos and learnt about C Stroke/J Stroke how to paddle in on shorter SUPS and voila. Had a better experience. Not perfect but I felt if I spent some time on it, I could get back to my wave catching count.
4 months later. I surfed a lot and I can honestly say I cant remember why I could not track straight on the board. The board on the wave is an absolute game changer. Yesterday I surfed 2-3 foot glassy waves and I was pulling off cut backs re-entries and all sorts of slidey maneuvers where on my old board I was just the average surfer gliding around having fun.
If I had tested the board I probably would not have brought it. It takes time to adapt to a shorter board. I probably spent a month flapping around int the water looking like an idiot. Worth the time to break down what I did not know, learn something new and progress in the sport. I could have still being gliding around on my huge SUP but to be honest I would not go back to it… From anything from 1-4 foot this board is awesome. I’m surfing beach break and it really comes alive over flat sections.
Hands down the best board I’ve purchased in 25 years and it has elevated my surfing in a short amount of time.