Here is a review of my latest ride - a custom made DTM 8'0" x 28" 95 litre weapon.
I have been lucky enough to have test ridden many different brands of surf sups over the last 3 and a half years. I picked this up a couple of weeks after the nationals (this is about my 6th DTM) and is without doubt the best of the best I have owned or ridden (and by quite a large margin).
The goal for Dan as a designer/rider and me as a rider is to get a board that will combine the best attributes of SUP and that of a shortboard (or at least as close to as possible). We want something that paddles reasonable well that still allows the rider to get over whitewater and into waves early but will fit into the pocket of most waves more like a shortboard.
As you can see from the pics although it is 8'0" the nose is reasonably pulled in and there is a generous rocker, what you can't see is the single concave running the length of the board. It is this combined with the sweet rocker that gives it not only incredible drive but the ability to turn in a very tight arc off the bottom if necessary. This is the holy grail of SUP IMO and a design feature that is difficult to achieve in longer and or flatter rockered boards.
This board does not wash off speed through turns it actually accellerates even in marginal conditions. It also releases exceptionally well off the top or in whitewater allowing for controlled 'drifts' if required. The best feature is it's ability to do tight 180 degree carves in the pocket and still maintain enough control to bring it back around even in quite hollow waves. This is easily the best board I've had for this.
This type of board would suit a rider from a shortboard background that likes to surf off the back foot (or drift off the front) and uses the rails to drive through turns. I'm 50+ years young and 80 kg so to be able to drop board size 8 inches AND still maintain a relatively narrow width has been a revelation. While a little slower to paddle it actually climbs whitewater as good as my old 8'6" and 8'8" - by keeping plenty of volume where its needed in the centre/middle of the board. The rails are a little thicker also, still thinning out a lot at the extremities. Tail width has also been kept to a minimum.
I'm running standard FCS plastic G5s that have plenty of flex - the same fins we both runs in all our own boards. The other surprising thing I've found with this board is that it is solid on bigger waves - even more so than my 2 longer ones. Even in lumpy conditions it cranks off the bottom and being shorter I'm not worrying as much about foot placement as you tend to put your back foot closer to the tail naturally on a shorter SUP.
Here's a few pics, I'm hoping to get some action pics and vid soon:
