After getting frustrated at the almost great conditions on offer and the next weeks forecast not looking great I went on a mission to find a longboard to rent. The only thing I could find of any substance was a brand new NSP - ummmm - I had never wanted to ride one of these things ever and generally despised people who do but sometimes you just get forced into the corner and have to make do.
First impressions
Firstly it is brute. Its 3 and 3/16 thick!! Jeepers. But when you pick it up its not as heavy as you might think, but its up there. Then you see the plastic fins - you bend them just to see how flimsy they really are and you are disappointed at what you find. You hold the board under your arm and it just feels wrong although the overall shape is not too bad. You know this board is not going to have you flying down the line - but you are just hoping for something.
The ride
Well after deciding to rent it for 8 days with the swell forecast looking marginal I jumped in the tok tok for the ride back to base wondering if I had done the wrong thing. After the first sessions on it I was pleasantly surprised at its performance. Sure you could not rip it off the top like my sweet potato nor could I manage to get right out on the nose - but it was dependable and handled the variety of conditions with ease. I never nose-dived it once despite many late drops. It was a very stable on take off and seemed to enjoy any bumps that came its way. It did throw me off a few times on the more windy afternoon surfs when it got a bit of air under it. Top turns were a struggle. Yes you could do them but you really had to throw your whole legs and shoulders into them and time it just right or you would be hung up in the lip. Cutties were great fun but very slow - so when you bounced back off the white water you really had to hope the wave did not run away from you whilst you picked up speed again. The board is slow - yes you can get some additional speed by walking up the board but just not too far! Riding this board really made me concentrate on being in the best part of the wave at all times. A challenge that I enjoyed.
The Shame
I was embarrassed about being seen on this board and its fair to say that most of the decent surfers I came across that week looked down on me when they saw the NSP - but they soon changed their tune when they realised I had the right board for the conditions and was catching 3 waves to their one. It had incredible paddling ability which meant I was getting more than my fair share of waves - also helped by the fact that the majority of the people in the water were Swiss, Swedish or French and had no idea about reading the spot.
Post thoughts
So after spending just over a week riding this board - sometimes 3 times a day its fair to say that I feel like I know it. Would I buy one ? Never in a thousand yrs - would I rent one again? I would say most probably but it would not be my first choice. Would I recommend one? To beginners for sure. It pretty much does everything a learner would desire. It is also incredibly durable. After 15 odd surfs on it - it still looks absolutely brand new. Not a single mark or pressure ding or anything. I reckon I could pull the wax off and it would pass as a brand new one.
The main confession I have to make though is that I thoroughly enjoyed riding it. It was the best thing I could find for the conditions and it has served its purpose very well. Yes it would have been nice to have something else but I am not complaining and if I was being truthful I might just admit that I favoured it over the sweet potato several times - oh the shame
I got home at lunchtime today and am just back from taking my old girl out for a ride - so wish I had her over in SL
