Hi, I have recently got a 8'5 pro. I cant comment on the 9'0 but can give a little feedback on my 8'5. I'm 92kg in my birthday suit, so actually over the limit they recommend for this board especially with wetsuit etc. It is sunk in the water(top of ankles) but on calm/clean days its fine to use. Onshore messy days is a lot more of a challenge, few falls and a lot of energy as need to keep paddling around. messy days I cant just stand there in the one spot.
I really only got it for the cleaner days as I have a hypernut I use a lot of the time due to more onshore surf we get in my region.
My pro is carbon , very strong and surfs unreal(for my limited ability).I had it in some decent size clean waves and its a blast to surf, but very different to my hypernut.
I have thought at times I should have got the 9'0 for the extra 16L of volume to make the not so clean/onshore days a bit easier, but think I made the correct decision with 8'5. If I didn't have the hypernut I would have chose the 9'0 instead of the 8'5 though.




