Report on new Sunova SP25

Today was the first day on my new Sunova 8'8" SP25. First, I want to thank Supthecreek for all his help in helping me make my decision on this board. If you don't like long reviews, just click out of this one and no worries. Conditions today were perfect with glassy waist to just overhead surf over a shallow reef. No wind and just some rebound rollers off the beach with lots of cross-rollers on the inside to challenge balance. The bottom line is that the board is perfect for me and is everything that I had hoped for. This is the seventh board I have purchased in the 8'6" to 9' range and this one looks to be a keeper. For background, I am 71 years old, 5'11", 163 lbs (74 kilos), surfed my first waves in Hawaii in 1959 and switched to SUP surfing about 10 years ago. Stability: This is one of the most important aspects I was hoping for in this board and I am delighted. The key for me is the difference between primary stability and secondary stability. Primary stability is the initial tippiness of a board and describes how quickly and easily it rocks from side to side. Secondary stability describes how much a board wants to keep tipping as one of the rails starts to go under due to something like a cross-roller. I was not looking for more primary stability which is why I went to a shorter length than my current 9-footer but I was looking for a lot more secondary stability from the rail profile than I have on my 8'7" Sunova Flow and other boards. My experience is that the total bottom surface area on the water controls primary stability and the rail profile controls secondary stability. Because the SP 25 is shorter than some of my other boards and has a much more pulled-in nose than any of them, when I first got to my feet I felt a little less primary stability than some of my other boards which was fine with me. As I slowly rocked the board from side to side I felt the great secondary stability kick in from the awesome rail profile which was one of my main goals with this board. The rail is more pinched at the bottom than the original Flow for carving penetration and then gradually slopes up over a few inches to the thick middle of the board where the center thickness provides the secondary stability; they nailed it. At the end of my morning session today the usual wind and chop picked up to the point where everyone paddled in as I previously would have done. On the SP25 I was completely comfortable in the wind and chop and surfed by myself for another hour. Volume: There has been some concern from myself and others about the high listed volume in the 8'8" SP25. My last three boards were 120, 120.5, 124, and 125 liters. Going up to 137.7 in the SP25 seemed pretty scary since that is near the volume of my very first SUP, a Fanatic AllWave 8'11" @ 140 liters with horribly boxy rails that I outgrew and sold in three weeks. Supthecreek was familiar with the old AllWaves and told me that the SP25 surfed nothing like that; I would completely agree. The SP25 feels closer to my 120-liter Flow than to anything else. The main place I feel the difference is in the secondary stability, the lack of which is why I am selling the Flow and another similar board. If I were blindfolded, I would guess the functional volume of the SP25 for my weight to be around 127 liters, not 137. I (and Creek) were also concerned about the very pulled-in nose and how that would affect stability and fore/aft balance. I found it to be totally a non-issue and I love the pulled-in nose because of the reduced swing weight on the wave. Paddling: The paddling speed is comparable to my 8'7" Flow which means not particularly fast and significantly slower than my 9-footers. I think the very round outline of the SP25 makes it a little slower than a narrower board with more parallel rails like my old 8'10" Speeed which was a very fast paddler. Punching out through white water: I hate it when wide-nosed boards get the nose kicked up when trying to punch out through white water. The narrow nose of the SP25 punches right through and under the white water with very little resistance which works great for me. Catching waves: Once the wave starts to push, the full-width single concave and wide tail with moderate rocker immediately create lift and the board starts to glide very early. I would say it is a fairly easy wave catcher and will catch small sloping waves far better than most. Speed on the wave: If you pump the curvy rails, fins, and concave bottom, this board can generate a lot of speed and I was making sections that I would not make on my other boards. If you just stand and trim along the wall, the speed is mediocre since this board was not meant to ever be surfed that way. That style of surfing is where the Speeed really shines with its long straight rail outline. Bottom turns: If I got my rear foot right on the stomp pad, the board would accelerate back up vertically to the lip before I even had time to think about it. If my rear foot was ahead of the stomp pad by even a couple of inches, I could still get some smooth rolling turns down the line but I could not tap into the board's vertical potential. As a habit from windsurfing, I like to drop into a bottom turn in a wide stance with my rear foot on the stomp pad and my weight on my front foot up near the handle to engage the midsection of the rail while the rear foot drives against the rear rail and fins. This board loves that approach. I found that if my rear foot was on the stomp pad and I weighted that foot without leaning forward to engage the front portion of the rail, the board would make more of a pivot around the wide tail rather than carving and accelerating off the whole rail. For me, this board requires a wide stance to unlock its potential. It wants to be surfed like a shortboard, not a longboard. Off the top: I was able to nail floaters off the white water that my other boards might have stalled on. Roundhouses: The board pulled some amazingly tight roundhouses today but a number of them were too flat due to operator error that I need to work on. The tail is quite wide at 19 ?" which is wider than any board I have ridden (the 8'7" Flow is close at 19 ?"). This promotes early planing and carrying speed on slower parts of the wave but it means you have to be dialed in about how far you need to move your back foot from rail to rail. I would encourage people not to be too concerned about the listed 137.7 liters of volume being too much but make sure you are okay with the advantages and disadvantages of a wide tail. It's working fine for me as long as I move my rear foot far enough from rail to rail. Fins: I am still in the experimental fin phase. I usually prefer thrusters on all my boards. The one exception in the past was the Flow because of its wide tail. With the tail on the SP25 being even wider, I am currently leaning towards a quad setup but need to experiment some more.
My goals with this board were to improve my vertical surfing with tighter lip hits, to generate more speed to make it around sections, and to improve on secondary stability to better deal with cross-rollers trying to suck the rails under. Paddling, wave-catching, and primary stability were not concerns and all happily worked out fine as bonuses.

Great review Obi.... thanks for taking the time to put that together!!

Sounds like a winner John . how have you found the rocker line and nose kick on the drop ,with the flows being a flatter rocker a good nose dive is always luring ,so on the tail is where you need to be ,when i saw this board come out I had thoughts of it being similar to the 8'7 flow ,which I loved but sold due to being to small for me ,this SP might rekindle my love for that board ,I was also concerned with the 137.7 litres, as it could be my next board ,but it sound like it is not a issue ,good review ,I'm sure it will come with more surprises down the track the more you surf and get use to it ,its a great looking board

Nice Obijohn, I am enjoying your review and the conversation around this board!
Didn't see it till late nite because I was too busy riding my 8'8 SP25 until sunset... after a sunrise session on my 8'10 Placid.

IMO, The volume discussion is correct on this board.... I have 3 of them and even the 177 liter one isn't corky in the least.

Pic of the 8'8 SP25 tonight

I need a nap.... more waves at dawn
May have to pull out the 9'5!

I just purchased a used SP25 8'3" 118 liters. (It isn't a standard size, but it is basically exactly what I was looking for). I am 54yo, 90 kg or so, and 5'10". Sup surfing for 4 years and qualify myself as an intermediate. Took it out today in the Rockaway's in NY in 3-5 foot swell. It was side shore at times and got a bit choppy. I am coming off of a Sunova Steeze, 8'10" at 125 liters, which is a "fun board" shape, with a thruster setup. So I was a bit anxious taking it out for the first time in conditions that weren't perfect offshore light winds with 2-4 footers. But that rarely happens here.

Conclusion: loved it. Easy to balance on it. Definitely took some dives into the drink as it has a very different paddling feel. Also, getting it into waves was definitely different. But on the wave, it was brilliant. I mean, I didn't channel the real Sean Poynter or anything, but definitely got several waves where I really felt the capabilities of the board. Did some nice cutbacks, and turns, and took it down the line a few times. When I first bought my Steeze I had buyers remorse for the first month as I was worried that it was too big of a jump from the Allwave, but I did adapt, it just took me some time. Also, I switched in the winter, a terrible time to go down 20 liters of volume for an advanced beginner with all the gear that I had on.

The comment above about secondary stability, I understood immediately on this board. It was actually a bit tippy side to side for me, but definitely had a stability that kept me from going over all the time. I just had to brace deep with my paddle. But after a few sessions, I have a feeling I will be as stable as I am on my Steeze! Also, was quite responsive. But I will have to adapt to this, as I feel that I can do turns on a wave that I couldn't do before; but I need to figure out how. And even the turns that I do now how to do feel very different. It will take time.

One question, has anybody run the sp25 as a thruster? I didn't mind the quads, but it is the first time I have ridden quads. Had some good speed down the line, and seemed quite responsive. Should I bother to try them as a thruster?

thanks for the response. I will have to buy some to try. Maybe some quobbas.

I run my SP 25 mostly as Thruster. I do have a bigger SP 25 than you. I find it loosens the board up and turns amazingly well at 9'5 as a thruster. When the waves get a little steeper, I switch to a quad as I find it gives me more hold allowing me to get a higher line on the wave. Although it is not my go-to board in smaller mushier waves, I imagine that would also be a time to go quad to get the additional speed. My overall opinion of the board is it has plenty enough speed and hold and that running it as a thruster allows you to take advantage of the shape of the board (the curvy outline) and really surf top to bottom. Give it a go.

Ordered the thruster mixed set from Quobba. In an email they asked if Rick had recommended this setup which is impressive. We will see how it goes.

Okay 2 more days on the SP25, and what an amazing SUP. Balance is pretty good. Still submerging the front tip a bit too often for my taste when trying to get on a wave, and its still not as easy to go from prone or knee to standing as my Steeze. But overall really reactive and fun board. Even in small waves, I felt that I could really get up vertical easily, and made more turns that I could on my other board. Plenty of glide and speed, and gets on the wave quite easily. My only issue is that it has such a pointy nose. Makes me nervous that its going to hit somebody in the head. (I am already super careful, and just need to be even more careful) I think if I could afford a custom, I would round the nose a bit.

I finally picked up my new (secondhand) 8'11 SP25 yesterday. First impressions are that it is a light board, lighter than my 8'8 flow, and it looks sooo good in the XXX finish. I cant wait to get it in the water....

I am 6'2 110L and 58 years old. While I have not been on the Avanti, I have the 9'5 SP 25, have owned several size Allwaves including the 9'7, and I am familiar with the Speed. The 9'5 SP 25 is a no-brainer for you if you are comparing the two boards. The Speed is a great board but 10 foot 34 wide and 193 liters is way more than you need. The Speed has an aggressive rocker and therefore in IMHO will be less stable even though it is bigger.

The SP25 is plenty fast and way faster than the Allwave. It is also more stable. The 9'5 performs well in all conditions.

The Speed will not turn from the middle of the board. AT 10 feet you will have to get way back to get over the fins to turn it. If you don't surf from the tail you are missing the benefits of the design.

The SP 25 can be turned from the middle of the board.

Based on your post, I am assuming you are surfing a smaller wave. Not to add to your decision but based on what you wrote you may want to consider the 8'11 Shroom. It is only 159L. Not my best board but by far my favorite, and most fun board. Most importantly, it is the most stable board I have ever owned. It has parallel rails like the Speed making it fast but a flat rocker. The reverse V in the bottom makes the wide board super easy to turn. Its limitations are in bigger and steeper waves in part because it is too fast. You will love the stepped rails making 34 wide seem more like 31 wide.

I prioritize stability above everything. Because of this if I could only own 1 board it would be the Shroom. I have had boards that were 200 liters that were not as stable.

Regardless of the board you choose keep in mind that volume is only one factor in stability. Rocker plays a huge factor. Generally, more rocker will have much less front-to-back stability regardless of volume. Shorter and wider is generally more stable and faster. The SP 25 and The Speed are two very different boards in this regard.

G'day Castaway and Tardy

Thanks very much for your input.
I'll scratch the big Speed.

The Shroom stirred my curiosity. Never considered one before. Watched Rick Week's short Shroom YouTubes. When I look at the Shoom it reminds me of my quad kneeboards and I wondered if it would glide and surf smoothly from the middle, kind of like my kneeboards. Also wondered how it would go minus the rear fins.
Rick Weeks also saw me post on Sea Breeze and sent me an email about a new board that he's been working on with Bert Berger, the "Ghost".
Rick's criteria for the Ghost sound perfect to me:

comfortable for old guys like me;
fast; and,
drive from the middle of the board.

He's doing some more testing soon so I'm staying tuned for that.

Thanks again

Mike

PS Here's my kneeboards. I've been on these shapes for about 40 years. (Scary when you realise that!)

"Sup Fever" . Yep. Got it bad! ??

I would trust Rick.

Couple of more thoughts for you.

I have 100's of sessions on my Shroom. As I said, I am confident it has more glide than any board you have surfed. The reverse V gives you incredible leverage when turning. You at 6'4 and it 8'10. You would never surf it from the middle.


I do not think surfer height is talked about enough. At 6'4 you have a lot of surface area against wind. Enter must-have features of boards that work well for me at 6'2.

Stepped rails: While the board is 34 wide you are also only surfing 32 inches of it. More importantly, the step rails sit in the water. Water clamps down on it. This equals more stability. Additionally, the step rails are thin making it easy to turn.

Parallel shape: Simmons or Tomo shapes have parallel rails which have excellent down-the-line speed. At 6'4 you naturally create more drag. You would like the speed. Additionally, because the shape is parallel these boards offer excellent stability front and back. When you are tall you need this.

Flat Rocker in the front: This gives you good carry and lift at entry again helping to counteract your height.

After surfing many, many boards I settled on a Tomo shape, a progressive Simmons shape, and the SP 25. The nose flip on the SP 25 is unique giving you a flat rocker but allowing you to make steeper waves. l will wait to see more info on the Ghost but the board has my interest now is the Infinity Wide Speed.