Note that I am 6'2 110l and 56 years old. I love my Shroom. 8'10 160l x 34. I have had it 14 months. Most stable board I have ridden and super fun to surf. I could go a size lower. I grab it way more then I should but it is just that much fun. You will find it way more stable then the Flow. I wouldn't fret the width. It has a heavy step with and with the concave you don't recognize it. You will be amazed how well it turns. You can be real aggressive on turns because of the design of the step.

It is a mush board and will give you the stability you are looking. It excels in mush and is super easy to turn. I have had it out in everything. It is fast and can bumpy in bigger softer waves. In faster waves, you will out run waves and need to cutback. It does not like steep or hollow waves at all. The square nose can get hung up on turns. The board is not a great paddler but is adequate. It takes a little to get used to the concave on the top of the board but it is that concave that make the board feel narrower.

It is not a quiver killer. When the waves are good, you can definitely surf it but if you have surfed other boards that have more performance you would want to surf them in those conditions.

I will alway grab the board on really windy days. It's just that stable.

Okay so why do I grab my Shroom too much? Stability is never a problem, it is easy to paddle out, it turns way better then it looks, has excellent speed, is great in mush and slower waves but can be surfed in almost everything, and everyone asks me how I surf such at short board at my size. That all equals fun, which is why I surf.

Just my opinion but I hope it helps.

Thanks gents . Some happy clients .
At 107kg against 126L you are at a ratio of 1.17
Af 110kg against 160L you see at 1.45

based on the above I should be able to easily go the 7.3 at a ratio. of 1.3

Hey there. I have a 7'9 Shroom, weight in at 76kg.
Erm.. I love it.

Is that enough?

Well, let me expand a bit then.. I had an 8'3 and it was wayyyyy to big for me, nice board, needed loads of back foot movement to get it to turn, that rear slab tail needs encouragement.. Fine I guess it you are the right weight and size for the board, but it made me feel like it was too stiff, bulky and very hard to turn. So, sold it and bought a 7'9 and that is the ideal size for me. Yes it's still a bit big, and honestly if there was a 7'6 around the UK I'd have gone for that size. But hey, it is what it is right. And what Ive done is use the board in a mix of conditions, nothing bigger than shoulder high and not sucky. That plan shape doesn't really like steep stuff, and whilst the rocker is quite pronounced on the nose and tail its not a design that likes steep sucky waves.
Now then, go out in less than perfect stuff, mushy and those waves with lumps in and its a killer board. Yes the tail is still wide but I move my foot less than I think I do, so shifting between front and backside waves is so easy. The rails are quite pronounced, the waterline flows over the rails so it sit IN the water, but paddle with a bit of speed and it lifts a little and when needed the rails drive into the wave on the turn and grips nicely...

I learned to ride the board by watching Casso & Martys vids on here, the Shroom ones.

I'm not selling it, its a keeper.

HTHs

I have an 8'3 and at 96kegs find this soo stable, I like my ladies with a bit of tail but this is wiiiddeee.... Have been looking for an 8'0 or even 7'9. Funny you mention the fins Mr Creek, this is the only sunova ive owned where i have left the origional fins on... Tried a few alternatives including my fave quobbas but it just didnt seem to suit the board. Maybe the front quobbas were too small, may try again with larger fronts and quobbas in the rear....
Overall a super fun board and have had it out in all conditions, it just like riding a skateboard at times ... its a keeper

Grabbed the 7'3 today . Good price as well. I guess it pays to be a midget sometimes . It really is an odd looking board . Even the guy at the shop looked at me like "did you take your pills this morning ?". I tried to do a mini Burt explanation but it didn't seem to cut it.....maybe it's because i didn't have the sunnies and funky shirt on . What really makes me think this will work is:
a. Large surface area vs volume
b. Thin board and low volume
c. Thin rails
d. Wide nose and tail for stability

supthecreek said..
Sunny.... try something like this on small or mushy days. (only use slightly bigger rears, when more juice)
Really loosens up the Shroom.
I did not like the stock fins.... way too stiff for me!

Ohh, thanks Rick. I have only used the stock fins in it. I have PCC7's in my Flow which I love, but the Shroom has remained stock.. I'll give that a go, definitely..

Neat...

Gboots said..
Given that the board works due to it's fine and unique rail shape I was thinking to not use rail tape on this board as making it thicker defeats the purpose . Have you guys rail taped ?

IMO, It won't notice the rail tape.

Looks ACE.

Nope, no rail tape here either.

Just ride it, dig the rails in and carve hard..

If anyone is considering selling a 8'3 or 8'7 shroom l would be interested

SydneySUP81 said..
If anyone is considering selling a 8'3 or 8'7 shroom l would be interested

If anyone is selling a 7'9 or 8'0 i would sell my 8'3.....

I made a short Shroom video in some very gutless waves last week.
Just to show how comfortable an 8'3 @ 126 liters is, with a big old koot on it (73 YO - 102 kg)

Linkus said..
My dream is a faster Shroom with a thinner tail. I had an 8.7 and now I have an 8.3. Great board but in the steep, fast, short mediterranean waves when it becames bigger is useful something faster. But when i ride a more traditional board I wander the concave deck and the stepped rails of the Shroom that are so useful and confortables. Especially the concave deck. I cant understand the reason because it's so rarely used. I dont' think that the centre volume of the doomed deck it's useful.

My 2 cents:

- For short mediterranean waves, try to reduce the length of the board to the max for instant acceleration, and have a wide tail to tap the most of the wave juice for an early take off.

- I have found that a lot of people use concave decks (or pads with raised edges) as a crutch to compensate for bad technique: try to keep your feet closer to the center line. Concave decks push the volume into the rails, something useful for stability on beginner boards, but detrimental to surfability.

supthecreek said..
I made a short Shroom video in some very gutless waves last week.
Just to show how comfortable an 8'3 @ 126 liters is, with a big old koot on it (73 YO - 102 kg)

Great video. At 59-60 seconds, 1.00 minutes, it looks like you caught the ripple long before it got steep and without much paddling heroics. It seems unusual for such a short board to do this? Am I missing something?

The boards does look low in the water.

billekrub said..

supthecreek said..
I made a short Shroom video in some very gutless waves last week.
Just to show how comfortable an 8'3 @ 126 liters is, with a big old koot on it (73 YO - 102 kg)

Great video. At 59-60 seconds, 1.00 minutes, it looks like you caught the ripple long before it got steep and without much paddling heroics. It seems unusual for such a short board to do this? Am I missing something?

The boards does look low in the water.

Thank you BillyK!
As Colas noted, timing and foot pressure are key.

The Shroom has a wide kicked up nose, so if I was too far forward, I would cause it to "plow"
All boards have a point of "maximum trim", where the board will have the most glide... learn where that is on each board you have.
Maximum trim and keeping your body "silent" will help you be most efficient at catching waves.

Note my paddle stroke is short.
I am not reaching too far forward on the Shroom, which would pust the wide nose down to water level and cause it to plow.

The paddle comes out at my heels and quickly and quietly reaches forward for the next short stoke.
What this does is keep my body "quiet" so I don't not upset maximum trim with too much body movement.

On my boards with flatter rocker or less nose kick, I can be way more aggressive when paddling in.

Howzit! Got myself some nubsters on Ali. Will post what that does on my Shrooom 8'3" Cheers, Rob