So I’ve committed–I contacted about all the board manufacturers I know of, or that you folks recommended, or I could find with a Google search who appeared to have progressive and/or interesting products. So far I haven’t had anyone say they weren’t interested, though I certainly haven’t heard from everyone. At the very least we’ll have the latest boards from most of the big players. I’m really hoping to have some smaller companies exploring alternative shapes and technologies though, there’s a lot of creativity there, and it’s harder for them to get exposure.
I suspect people don’t really understand how much more influential blogs can be than magazines. It’s mostly just timing and credibility though there is sheer volume as well. If someone writing a blog or posting in a forum says they like a product, its because they tried it that day, and there’s no commercial interest involved. This blog had over 40,000 unique visitors in less than a year, and 32,000 of them read the funky little board comparison I did last year. I bet that sold a few boards. Now that I’m actively wrting in the blog again (prepatory to being back in Maui) the daily visit rate has risen back to the 500-1000 per day level.
Then again, if you do a search for “Stand Up Paddle Surfing” or other similar phrases on almost any search engine, Ponohouse comes up in the first five or so listings, generally first page. That was kind of cool when there were 50,000 search results, but with 450,000 it’s pretty significant.
Anyway, the test will start February 15th at Kanaha Beach Park in Maui.
I also plan to do a paddle comparison, but in the middle of planning for it I realized I had no reasonable methodology for doing the testing. I need to work on that. I’m thinking about a combination of technical aspects and subjective opinion. But even the subjective part will be problematic if I have multiple testers since paddle length is critical. I’ll figure it out.
So I need volunteers on Maui. I know enough people there to be able to pull together the group I want, but it makes a sense to make sure beforehand. I want at least two volunteers in each of these catagories: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and experienced longboarder that has not tried stand up (I’m sure there are some that still exist). I won’t be testing officially–I’ll be running around shooting pictures and coordinating. But I’m going to get on every board that doesn’t sink like a stone when I step on it. I’m also looking for varied size–it’s fairly easy to get light weight surfers, but I’ll need a couple of 200+ pounders.
If you want to do it and can commit to at least three days of steady riding, paddling and filling out surveys, then drop me an email Billbab$$$@mac.com (without the dollar signs, those are just to screw with the spambots). I’ll need to know your height, weight, sex (“yes” or “frequently” is not a valid answer), skill level, and a phone number to get in touch with you in addition to email. There’s no money in it (well, you can have half of everything I’m paid–nada) but I’ll spring for breakfast and lunch at the beach. It will be a blast, but it will be work. Hope to see you there.
Sounds like a fun few days. Can’t wait to hear the results. Just make sure you have a 6’4″ 250 lb newb with balance problems so I can get a good comparison….:)
and a 180lb flabweight with balance problems, too. btw/i pulled the trigger on the 12-6 starboard; should be here by early next week. next up: something that has all the good qualities of the jimmy11 with none of the issues, and maybe a little shorter, for summer 08. bob’s comparison should provide the answers!
and, hey, bob: don’t forget to look into how different fins effect the boards. going from the 14″ jimmy fin to a 9.5″ farberow flex hugely improved the jl11, and there’s probably a better fin for it out there right now. what fin do you use on the starboard, the stock one?
Hehe…I think you’re getting us mixed up linter. That’s OK…you’re in good company our Dad once went through all 5 of our names before he finally got to the dog’s name to tell him to stop barking.
Bill gave me his 1st Starboard with a 10″ farberow flex but I’m a long way from comparing fins. Do you plan to test fins as well Bill? Are you going to be testing a Starboard 12-6? I assume you’re leaving your new one in Portland.
I’d be interested to hear what you find out about fin and the effect on turning abilities. I’m getting there but turning is still a struggle. Every other time I weight the rear I fall in.
sheesh, bob, sorry about that: with age, things sure do get mixed up in the ol’ noggin pretty often! btw/ i went out in some perfectly clean 2-3′ surf yesterday evening and basically caught 3 waves in two hours. by an hour in, the frustration had me cussing as loud as i could; an hour later i was so close to bashing my board with the paddle that i got out of the water and went home to mope. the waves were perfect, too. some days i think i’ve got a mental block against catching what i should so easily have been able to catch. ah well, there’s always today!
You wouldn’t believe how many people call me Bob. I think it’s just more alliterative: Bob Babcock–two plosives, just kind of rolls off the tongue.
I don’t know what we’re going to do about fins. I’m asking Giampaolo Cammarota and Jeff Henderson to participate and both of them have a lot of knowledge. I expect there will also be a fair number of the designers present, several of them have asked to come, though I made it clear that we’re not going to let them rank their competitor’s boards
I will do interviews of them, video podcasts for the outgoing ones, written for the camera or mike-shy.
Incidentally, the Faberow Flex that’s on your board Bob (or Bill–now I’m confused) is one I got from Wardog. The guys at Trident forgot to include the stocker in the package and it never managed to catch up with me on my travels, though they tried twice. The stock fin is interesting–I haven’t measured it but it’s about 8.5 to 9 inches I’d guess and is kind of “football” style, with a narrow base and a elongated tip. Seems to work well, though I haven’t extensively surfed it except that one time at the Oregon coast and one long wake ride next to a barge.
Don’t worry about it Linter. Like I said..good company.
I feel your pain. I went down to Nauset today for about 4 hours. It was pretty clean with some nice sets coming in, knee to chest. I could hardly kneel nevermind stand. Anytime I’d take my eyes off the horizon my head would start to go south. I was doing better at the end of the day headwise but by then I was beat. I did manage to catch a few for very short rides before I’d bury the nose or peel off. I did leave on a high note. A nice ride to the beach, a short one but at least it was controlled.
I started to watch the sunset over the beach and decided to head in so I wouldn’t be fumbling in the dusk…bad mistake. The sky looked like it was on fire over the dunes as I was at the truck changing. Would have been spectacular from the water.
I running my own little test on my blog.
I’d like to see levels placed on the test boards similar to what I’ve done on my blog. It tells a lot about a board.
http://ncpaddlesurfer.blogspot.com/
Be interesting to see how the level indications relate to the rest of the more subjective methods. Somewhat boring to be the tester for that one though…
Коллеги , подскажите , кто знает или сталкивался.
Есть желание приобрести подвеску с бриллиантом массой более карата, но осознаю, что это стоит безумных денег и мне не по карману.
Но читала , что есть облагороженные бриллианты, которые ничем не отличаются от обычных, но стоят дешевле в
три раза.
Кто-нибудь вообще держал такие в руках, они правда прекрасны ?