Got some good waves on the weekend and got to go back to back on these two boards.
Me - 105kg, 2 years sup, 30+ years surfing, previous boards Naish 11 6 and JL 10 8. I own the Ripper.
Ripper - Very stable for its size but does get effected by chop due to its outline and has a far amount of yaw. First time riders, myself included coming from a larger board will struggle if you are near the 0.1 tonne club. Had my best surf yet on the weekend as close as I will get to short board style - cutbacks, off the lips even a little barrel or two. Not in Dogman's league but good for me. This really is a performance board. If you want to go vertical this is a good choice.
Wide AA - I thought I would be taking a giant step back in performance jumping on a 'All Rounder' after my Ripper. Getting up it felt a bit more stable than the Ripper but still a challenge in less than perfect conditions. More stable at a halt front to back. Glide was much better, the more parallel rails must help here as it has a surprising amount of tail rocker maybe even more than the ripper.
On the wave it was very lively and performance was close to the ripper with the only limiting factors being the slightly fuller nose and less rocker in the nose. Vertical manoeuvres where definitely more challenging in the small waves. Larger waves would be ok I think but the wider thicker tail may be a limiting factor. Very nice carving back into the foam on the small waves and bouncing out.
It really did surf well which surprised me, it would be an excellent board for someone into surfing but still wanted the glide of an all round board.
Sorry no action shots
Rocker Shot
Both boards were fitted with better quality fins which do improve the performance.
