The star align and these toys make me . In my opinion the look and the lightness of these boards are spot on.
The 2016 Whiplash LTD Rasta 14 x 25 is an all rounder though I'm mainly use this on calm and flat water days and its fun/faster in this condition. At 10-15knt head wind/little ripples is good though side-on and rear-end dw wind/ripples the board moves around like a bucking bull and I need to gain foot work skill and balance like Slater & Candice.
The 2016 Blackfish LTD Blue 14 x 26 is an all conditions and I use this board on the bay and the open ocean. Tested the board on 15-20knts upwind/cross/angle/mini surf/little dw and I can't stop paddling and smiling on this blackfish!
The stock full carbon fin is nice and low profile with a wide base and I think its 8" height. I could experiment with a different fins oneday, though it's all good.
JEG 82kg 5'6"
Do you have a big garage!!!!
Standard like everyone DaveSandan.
I was on the infinity 14'x26" Blackfish yesterday in a lot of chop, side, up & down Wind & it was super stable with speed.
I was on the infinity 14'x26" Blackfish yesterday in a lot of chop, side, up & down Wind & it was super stable with speed.
Sounds perfect.... did the Blackfish you were on have a single fin or the 4 fin setup, or some variable, like thruster 3 fin, no ventral, or single fin, ventral, etc. ? I am awaiting completion of my Blackfish 14x26 that has the ProBox 4 fin setup.
Single fin set up
Thanks........ very encouraging....... the 2017 Production, and in my case, custom... Blackfish comes standard with the 4 fin ProBox setup........ living 30 miles south of the Infinity shop here in SD County, you naturally see a great deal, and growing number of both the Blackfish and Whiplash boards...... there seems to be an even number of single vs. quad out there.. but as I've learned, the feedback is quite strong on the versatility, performance, and added stability in rougher conditions with the 4 fin setup.
Nice picture showing off the Infinity take on the concave bottom. Have you put a straight edge across and measured the depth of it? It would be interesting to know exactly how deep the scooped out bottom is. I have seen quite a few picture of them but the "brush carbon" finish makes it hard to tell how exactly what's going on... do the hard edges of the tunnel area run straight back parallel to the centerline? How much does that feature minimizes yaw?
Inspiring LucBenac on that condition! It's hot here at the moment.
Nice toy Maxeeboy and good to hear your side.
SDCounty, my bf didn't came with probox and I heard 2017 has and it would be interesting to see and test that board if I get a chance. And your so lucky to be near infinity hq on that custom made and post your feedback please.
rghdc, I'll do some measurements and return post to you soon.
Inspiring LucBenac on that condition! It's hot here at the moment.
Nice toy Maxeeboy and good to hear your side.
SDCounty, my bf didn't came with probox and I heard 2017 has and it would be interesting to see and test that board if I get a chance. And your so lucky to be near infinity hq on that custom made and post your feedback please.
rghdc, I'll do some measurements and return post to you soon.
rghdc, just look at Maxeeboy bottom board pic as references. The channel inclined halfway up the board and at approx 290mm wide at 9mm deep from the tail.
Inspiring LucBenac on that condition! It's hot here at the moment.
Nice toy Maxeeboy and good to hear your side.
SDCounty, my bf didn't came with probox and I heard 2017 has and it would be interesting to see and test that board if I get a chance. And your so lucky to be near infinity hq on that custom made and post your feedback please.
rghdc, I'll do some measurements and return post to you soon.
JEG- I expect to receive my BF around the first of March. And yes, I will post feedback and pics...... we are fortunate to have a variety of conditions here in San Diego including calm flatwater.... semi turbulent harbors and of course, open ocean.... I am not a downwinder but I do paddle open ocean occasionally...... and I will be testing with all available fin setups.......
Be keen to hear from people who have DW the Black Fish.
Its great for ocean ins & outs & touring / racing. Can DW however I believe it's not it's primary function. Anyone got vid footage of DW the board?
Be keen to hear from people who have DW the Black Fish.
Its great for ocean ins & outs & touring / racing. Can DW however I believe it's not it's primary function. Anyone got vid footage of DW the board?
I can only comment on a few runs in lighter conditions and very short period confused chop i.e. under 20 knots as this is what we have here. it does downwind just fine but require the proper fin to loosen the board. i.e. there is a wide fat tail after-all. The board did not feel like a "natural" down-winder until I compared times with a dedicated Down-wind board (my Riviera RP14 DW).
This makes me reconsider and with the proper technique on our type of conditions, I think that board is just perfect. You can show-up at the beach ready for both flat, choppy or downwind depending what happen when you are there by just changing fins. To me that is a great asset.
Note: this is with the 26", I have not tried the 24" yet but it might be over my skill set.
Inspiring LucBenac on that condition! It's hot here at the moment.
Nice toy Maxeeboy and good to hear your side.
SDCounty, my bf didn't came with probox and I heard 2017 has and it would be interesting to see and test that board if I get a chance. And your so lucky to be near infinity hq on that custom made and post your feedback please.
rghdc, I'll do some measurements and return post to you soon.
rghdc, just look at Maxeeboy bottom board pic as references. The channel inclined halfway up the board and at approx 290mm wide at 9mm deep from the tail.
Thanks ...appreciate you taking the time to take the measurements
interesting shape,and hull bottom .
good to see them trying new shapes.and 4 fin boxes ...wow
how would the 4 fin set up help on flat water ?
i could see it being a advantage DWing .
I think its a great idea.
interesting shape,and hull bottom .
good to see them trying new shapes.and 4 fin boxes ...wow
how would the 4 fin set up help on flat water ?
i could see it being a advantage DWing .
I think its a great idea.
The twins on a down-wind do not work very well. They keep the board tracking too much and you loose control of the board to just go straight down the bumps only. On flat water they allow to use fins that are 4" to 6" deep only and give good stability for a narrow board. i.e. I think there is some diminishing return between twins on a 24" and on a 26" that is already such a stable board that you can use a very short single fin on flat.
That is for a very light guy like me (165 lbs) on a 26", for a big guy then this would also apply to the 26".
Be keen to hear from people who have DW the Black Fish.
Its great for ocean ins & outs & touring / racing. Can DW however I believe it's not it's primary function. Anyone got vid footage of DW the board?
I've only paddled it in plenty of chop and ins and outs. Never got it out down wind when I had the demo.
I reckon this what this board is made for all round paddling conditions.
I'd like to think it would down wind well from its ability in chop.
if I borrow the local shops 24 BLACKFISH soon for a down wind ill be sure to strap GoPro to it
Below are a couple of quotes taken from Larry Allison, ProBox Fin System creator and co-developer of the fin setup for the Infinity Blackfish on the value/use of the Ventral fin and and a theory on single vs 4 fin speed vs drag debate:
(quotes are from the StandUp Zone forum)
"A Ventral Fin on a Raceboard performs multiple duties: 1) Helps the board nose maintain a straight line 2) Helps the board increase forward power by creating resists against the pull( torque) of the paddle stroke. 3) Helps with added lateral stability under your feet on higher and narrower board designs. 4) A Ventral Fin allows you to down size the rear fin for added speed to bring the drag noticed by depth of the fins down."
"One thing both Maggie Adams and John Judge experienced in their own tests was that all 4 Fins were never SLOWER than a SINGLE fin. So the trade off is having the options of a MULTIPLE fin board with a wider range of conditions with less fatigue. Or a Single Fin board with a loose feel offering a shorter window range of conditions with higher fatigue. This is FACT not theory, so what will force guages tell us?"
The ventral also works very well when quartering the wind.
I had it on another board (Boardworks Eradicator) and the difference was night and day.
Racers in Australia always state single fin only. Is this different in the states?
I don't know how it is at the pro-level, i.e.... something like the Pacific Paddle Games, but all comer races here in California at least don't have any restrictions on the number of fins..... board size and age categories are of course part of class distinctions.
Is it not a clear acknowledgement of the advantages of a multi-fin race board to want to maintain a level playing field with the one fin restriction ?
For the weight conscious both board with fin:
14 ? 25 whiplash = 9.5kg (20.9lb)
14 x 26 blackfish = 10.4kg (22.9lb)
Anymore feedback now you have had time to settle into these boards would be great Jeg cheers
make sure you get the right size/width base on your weight and the type of board for the condition your going into. Its very important to 1st demo...test if you can (repeated words in this forum = demo..demo!).
I think we all agree here that after $pending time on a few boards you'll soon realised the board that you want and if you haven't figure it out yet then talk to a few sup riders, shops & sup clubs etc..& more demo.
Both boards are soo light weight. The look, design and quality is nice.
hard to tell which one glide faster overall as I use mostly the infinity whiplash (WL) on the flat river and infinity blackfish (BF) on the bay chop days.
The WL & BF overall design are so different to each other as well as WL 25" wide and BF 26" wide.
I feel the bump/chop condition more on the WL but I can still paddle comfortably and the BF is stable.
Windy days is not an issue on both board's low profile shape (10 to 15knts with bay chop). Dw ripples is fun on both boards though the BF is more stable.
Imo the BF design is more stable than the WL and it will be interesting to see and test them at equal width.
get the board that you like then it's happy days!
Had a look at the 12'6 Blackfish last weekend looks like a good board a bloody light too, wouldn't mind taking one for a spin.