Shinn bronq , best all round board made?

Had some solid time now on the bronq,
So for those that's interested here's my thoughts

I'm a big fan of the shinn boards , especially my beloved monk, but I'm always keen for a run on other brands and boards that I think work for our conditions and my ride, I've been keen to own a bronq , thanks to action sports for the ride
Out of the bag it's apparent you've got a 1st class product, the finish is stunning, with a great view of the carbon fire beneath,
The fittings have no slack it's all very precise
The pads n straps have a great feel very grippy and locked in, plenty of personal adjustments on stance and width, a great rib on the pads run under your toes for xtra purchase



The bite fins seem a bit larger than your standard, but in powered conditions they really get some seriouse traction , the rocker I'd say dictates some of this increase in size



There's a fair bit of rocker in this board, which led me to think it would be very power hungry, this though is compensated through it's lightweight and very efficient performance

Weight, it's a featherweight, lightest board I've ever ridden, which puts a massive spring in your step and give you so much confidence to attack and slash around ,

Comfort of ride is as good as it gets, on a par with the monk but with a lot more feedback , you really feel what's going on underfoot

Speed on the water is very very quick but with massive amounts of control, it's also very precise to the slightest of redirection from you

Pop off the water was noticibly improved from the monk, the rocker I'd say let's you load up more prior to release and the increased stiffness in the tips , didn't get to ride a low powered kite to fully check this out though

Carving of this board was the biggest grin maker, from power hacks on incoming swell and sets to flatwater powered rail carves, doesn't budge an inch, dropping the backhand and leaning into it, gets you close to horizontal, again the rocker would play a big part in this




On the wave it was a lot more manoeuvrable than any tt I've had or trialed , the xtra grip and speed was highly noticeable , but for me allowing myself to aggressively attack the incoming sets with a big power hack with no sign of chatter was and felt great

Spray, huge amounts but directed in the right direction, it's a very dry ride,

Landings were as you'd imagine from a board with this amount of rocker, very soft, but at high speed your able to bring it under control quickly , due again to the high grip and bite,


So who's it for,
IMHO it's for high powered aggressive riders, with a high powered kite, the harder you go the better it gets

Who's it not for?
Not saying it wouldn't suit your general cruiser, but honestly not worth that bit xtra cost from say the monk ,

What I didn't like
The weight, it's as light as a feather and went for a tumble down the beach ( is that bad?)
The handle, ( the fact that it'll accomadate one mainly)

Scratching the board, it's such a great looking bit of kit , never bothered with a bag but this board deserves one


The fact that I'll never be good enough to take this board to it's limit









Note the rock, it's really that light





















Next decent session I'll get some on water images

For the doubters , I paid for this board from action sports , wa shinn dealer, speak to Darren , toddy or staff for a demo, I'd recommend the 135/41 for riders below 95 kg in good conditions

Thanks for reading, enjoy the ride

Dry ride? Sounds like you need some lube!

I agree with most of the above: best all-round board in powered conditions for sure! Don't try and ride it unless you're nicely powered though, I do find it powerhungry in sub-par conditions (135x41 @ 75kgs). But when lit up this board is a dream!

@NickT: power hungry in the sense that if it's light I struggle to stay upwind in comparison to my other TT (Liquid Force Focus 2014 in the same size - planes earlier and shoots upwind even when almost no pull from the kite). So not windy enough for the Bronq doesn't necessarily mean not windy enough for any TT in that size. On the other spectrum, Bronq is easier to hold down when I'm overpowered, so pro's and cons!