Looks awesome hey, ever since that Instagram video of Groff riding it surfaced I have been keen to find out more... The dimensions look good, I want to know more about the rocker line and bottom contours they used. Should be a fun board. I wonder if there will be one at Merimbula...
Apparently they have a heap made already so shouldn't be too long before shops get then, I'm keen to demo
I'll be shooting Geoff tomorrow on his Slate.The surfFx container has just been loaded and will be here in a few weeks.
Boards are ex factory for all of Australia end of December. None in containers now according to the supplier.
I did enjoy that fella's comment on the facebook page about calling it the "bandwagon"......
I like the look of The Bandwagon AKA Surf Slate - any indication of prices? The finshed product in the Pro Carbon construction will make it ride nice and crisp, plus the deck grip, vent plug and insert for windsurf rig is handy as I would wave sail it. The stock fins are probably **** though.
Select to expand quoteTibbo said..
Looks awesome hey, ever since that Instagram video of Groff riding it surfaced I have been keen to find out more... The dimensions look good, I want to know more about the rocker line and bottom contours they used. Should be a fun board. I wonder if there will be one at Merimbula...
Tibbo, where can I find that vid?
Here is a quick review of the first production Slate into the Country (Keahi's)
Correction:- The largest board is 7-6 x 29 - 110 to 115 litres (not 7-2 long)
Okay folks. Let me ask if we just might be doing this wrong.
1. Sizing
When going from "high performance shortboard" to a "stub nose and tail": You're supposed to drop a bit of volume, a good bit of length, and keep the width the same. For us standup surfers, I think we should keep the volume the same for obvious reasons, but still lose the length and keep the width the same. With the wider nose and tail, losing length is fine when it comes to stability.
Reference for prone surfer:
HPSB: 6'1x19.17 = 73" length
Stub nose and tail: 5'9x19.25 = 69" length
(HPSB length)*.94 = Tomo length
Reference for standup surfer:
Standard "shortboard" standup: 7'6x26 = 90" length
90"*.94 = 84" = 7', therefore:
Double stub style: 7x26
Point being that if you're going to a double stub style board, you've got to lose some length! Otherwise all you're doing is increasing speed, with the huge concave and chopped tail, but losing a ton of maneuverability.
Fortunately, I think that most people are doing this part right. Now on to the next point...
2. Nose design
This is the part where I try to convince everyone that the pointy nose is a better inspiration for standups than is the stub nose:
We're always standing on out boards. We have to poke the nose through waves - unbroken waves, whitewater, chop, etc. You don't want a stub nose for that. You want a point of some kind. We dip the nose into the water by accident sometimes. You want the nose to slice through and pop back up with minimal trouble.
So just extend the nose all the way out. Keep the rest of the board the same.
This lets you keep the length very close to normal. More glide, easier to punch through surf, easier to handle generally, more stable.
3. I'm no expert
I am not a board designer, I'm not an expert. I could be totally wrong, so please tell me where.
The advert at the top says there will be a 7'6 x29 yet you have said all models will be 7'2 long, I am really hoping for something that would float my 105kgs
Thanks for pointing that out
Correction:- The largest board is 7-6 x 29 - 110 to 115 litres (not 7-2 long)
JeanG, my 2€:
- I think you can also reduce a bit the width: as the design is wider at the nose and tail, it adds more stability relative to the overall width. A 28" minion may be as stable as a 30" pointed nose & tail board. Computing the center of gravity of a half board will give you the exact figure.
- for piercing the whitewater, the volume and rail design of the nose is quite important too. And the Vanguard has quite a complex hull in the nose kind of a catamaran. A wide nose may not be so bad if well shaped, and you get extra stability to recover. Plus pointed noses tend to engage the rail on one side. But the Minion and JP noses are not really square anyways.
Select to expand quotecolas said..
JeanG, my 2€:
- I think you can also reduce a bit the width: as the design is wider at the nose and tail, it adds more stability relative to the overall width. A 28" minion may be as stable as a 30" pointed nose & tail board. Computing the center of gravity of a half board will give you the exact figure.
- for piercing the whitewater, the volume and rail design of the nose is quite important too. And the Vanguard has quite a complex hull in the nose kind of a catamaran. A wide nose may not be so bad if well shaped, and you get extra stability to recover. Plus pointed noses tend to engage the rail on one side. But the Minion and JP noses are not really square anyways.
+1
Okay folks. Let me ask if we just might be doing this wrong.
JeanG: Re the nose punching through waves , less is best. These boards penetrate way better than a pointy long nose with lift through foam balls. Regardless of design the less foam you have under your feet the easier you will go through a wave. It might take more skills to stay up but the Vanguard shapes with the more square nose and tail are way more stable than a similar longer board same litres with a pointy nose and tail. Same goes when surfing the pocket the shorter and narrower the board the easier it fits. That's why these vanguard style shapes sometimes get over surfed. Everyone tries to smack everything and losses their timing and rush their turns. Best bit of advice I got from a guy at Noosa Woogie Marsh (Sup Pioneer in Aus) , he paddled over and said you are trying too hard "just slow down and time your turns"
The vanguards make you feel you are surfing like Kelly but you certainly don't look like it. These boards can be ridden on the flat or rail and it's quiet easy to become the "Dishpan King" the shorter and narrower you can go will return best performance , these design let go if you go too wide or too long. It doesn't translate over perfectly from the short board specs.
Not sure if I answered your question but these are a unique beast and far from perfect but it's a fun time trying them all 
Select to expand quotePiros said..
"just slow down and time your turns"
That a very useful piece of advice, for any new board: try to let the board "surf itself" the first rides to get the feeling of its natural tempo...
these still Slated for a Jan arrival to joe public? seen a few more pics post various recent events?!
Select to expand quoteGrenfell said..
these still Slated for a Jan arrival to joe public? seen a few more pics post various recent events?!
Yes
Mid Jan Delivery on the two smaller sizes at least.
cheers
Apologies if it has already been posted somewhere - but do we know $RRP on these yet?
Thanks
Select to expand quoteJeanG said..
Reference for standup surfer:
Standard "shortboard" standup: 7'6x26 = 90" length
90"*.94 = 84" = 7', therefore:
Double stub style: 7x26
i don't know anyone SUPing a board 7'6"*26, not even small women. how can that possibly be considered 'standard'? that's a water ski! but i'm still surprised how narrow folks are going on these Vanguard shapes. I'm most comfortable on a 33" wide board...so reducing width for a Vanguard shape would probably still have to have at least 31" width to be remotely stable. but if you guys downunder are all on < 30" width standard (non-Vanguard) SUP boards, more power to ya.
Select to expand quotejrickta said..
Any videos on anyone ripping this board! ??
Check out Chappo's video of JP team rider James Casey ripping at SPSC comp. I will bump it on General thread.
