Hi Mac,
You asked for my opinion so hear it is warts and all!
I have tried the following PHS boards over the last 6 weeks and 7 others to boot. I am not going to the surfing olympics or a gun surfer just someone with a lot of passion for the sport and also recovering from a spinal injury. I wanted a board I can ride in all conditions but would challenge my skills and fitness.
my Specs 6ft 105kg used to ride big ass longboards couldnt ride a shorty to save my life.
I tried 13 boards before I chose the 10'6 wide AA, which gave me stability but also loose performance once i changed the fin set. I put in PC7 inside foil fins and replaced the center fin with the PC7 and used FCS to finbox adaptor.
This is what I discovered in order of tests:
The PSH 10'6 AA I had it for 1 week surfed it 5 times Floats me with absoutely no problems. Can paddle it fine in the flat water, kick turns easily and I was impressed with the quality of the finished product. Can paddle it in the surf but need to paddle hard all the time to avoide the death wobbles and in wind cross chop etc, not practicle for me as it just wasnt much fun. Would be great for someone with more skill and fitness or less weight.
The 11ft PHS had it for 2 weeks surfed it every night and 3 to 4 times on the weekends. I had 2 different guys try the board that were over 120kg and it floated them easily. A friend Adam tried it after his NSP 11 and would not give it back he loved it so much (ferrari VS commodore) I surfed the board in all conditions including: 25kn offshore, 30kn onshore in 4ft slop and cross chop and could still stand on and catch the crappy waves on offer. The guys in the line up that day were pissing themselves laughing watching me being blown backwards if I stopped paddling for a second.
On the 25knt offshore day Robdog also rode the 11 as we swapped boards and I tried his PSH 10'6 Wide AA. Robdog liked the PSH 11 too as it performs in the worst conditions imaginable and for a board that size if you fit PC7 fins and use a thruster set up it rocks! IMHO its far better than the laird, the Kalama and the naish and I tried them all over about 3 months.
The psh 11 caught small waves easily and I had one session at Urqharts in 1.5 overhead that will be in the memory bank for all time. The bigger it got the better this board went i loved it. BUT you need 105kgs plus in my opinion to get the board to work due to its volume. Paddles fast in flat water and to me is a great beginners board because it covers all bases,flat water surf and throw a cild on the board with you to paddle on the river no problem at all.
PSH 10'6 Wide AA Well after riding Robdogs I bought this board! The reason is it was really loose for me again I have 105kg to motivate it, I could paddle it and catch waves in all the conditions (almost as easily as the 11) I usually get around here. It was a challange for me initially as it was quite unstable compared to the PSH 11 but I wanted something that I could eventually rip and this was far looser for me. I have now surfed my one 8 times and I love it. I also changed this board to a thruster set up and for me it works really well and turns on a dime. Others say it shouldnt work with these fins, I dont give a SH1T i like i that way and it works for me.
PSH 9'6 Wide AA I paddled Rich's board at 13th beach in less than ideal conditions with wind and cross chop and it was hard to paddle onto waves on my 10'6 wide AA. I was amazed how stable it was and how easily it floated me at 105kg. Dont get me wrong again I had to paddle all the time but it paddled really fast probably faster than my 10'6 wide AA no idea wide it just did. In clean conditions I beleive I could easily paddle this into waves and it was extremely loose underfoot for me. It is my goal to progress onto this board but I lack both the fitness and the skill to do it justice at this point. I would buy one in a heart beat when I get fitter.
I have to say the PSH boards changed my mind totally about what I could and could not ride. I was able to nose ride the 10'6 wide AA and I have no skill at all in that area, it just locks in allows my 105kg to sit on the nose. The hard rails etc suggest this shouldnt happen but hey it does just go figure.
You hear all the BS about stability with surfability,well for this black duck the PSH boards deliver on that statement.
Mac that's my honest no BS assement, I'm no team rider just a hack.
Best regards
Phill
the PSH 11.0 would surf better than my 11.4
Well maybe dry!
