billboard said...
Personally I hated the 8.10 - too wide - too corky - too hard to get any rail hold when you need it cos its just way too fat a board unless you are maybe 90kg plus. I surfed the board in fairly sucky and shallow and unforgiving shoulder high waves and the board was a handful and did its best too kill me by not holding on the face. The converse however is a much friendlier board - paddles better - way faster on the wave - less corky - just as stable - better rail to rail and holds in on a steeper face much better.
The 9'1 pro is way better than both tho IMO
When faces are steep and over shoulder high it means it's blowing 25 knots and I'll probably be windsurfing. I'm looking at 1-3 foot waves mostly, often weak (i.e.) not jacking up steep but you need to paddle quite hard to catch the wave and super choppy due to all the wind. Paddle speed pushes me towards the Converse, stability in wind - 8'10.
After readin the comments here and on other forums I think most people who like the 8'10 and weigh 80kgs surf bad waves a lot of the time. Those who get better surf and bigger waves seem to prefer something more narrow.
The Pro models are just not optimized for my conditions. The Surfa has slightly thinner rails and 10 litres less volume. Way cheaper than the carbon SB and almost as light...
We shall see...
