Just picked mine up and frothing to get it on the water!

Been riding the Airborn all week, below is my take on it

Rider: Sponsored by Starboard (take my comments as you will)
Weight: 78kg

Board Stats:
Length: 7 10
Width: 30 inches (31.5 also available)
Thickness: 3.4
Volume: 97L
Weight: 5.7kg (Carbon)
Fins Set: Quad 4.7F / 4.5R (+ FCS rear center box)

This board is an insane amount of fun in small to medium sized waves. It has been a while coming off the water in Perth conditions and frothing on a great session.

I have been looking for a board a bit smaller than my 8 5 Pro for the cleaner days around Perth, without sacrificing too much float or stability. For me the 8 0 Pro is just a bit small with the more pulled in outline for our metro conditions, I tended to miss waves by trying to balance or working too hard to paddle onto fuller waves.

The stability of the Airborn is probably in between both the 8 0 and 8 5 Pros, however due to the length it does have a small sweet spot for standing. Paddling onto a wave was super easy for such a short board, it tracked pretty well and had ample glide to paddle onto a fuller wave. As the wave goes under the board the tail just lifts and it seems to pick the board up and pull it along.

Once on the wave this is where the board really comes alive, it generates plenty of speed nice and early without having to really pump it along. Initiating a turn did not require getting all the way back as it foot steered pretty well mid rail. With the thin rails it bites hard and you can go into a nice deep carving turn and drive back up the face with ease. Coming off the top and re engaging the fins / rail was really good and this set the board up to just keep going for more. Even in real small white water sections you can push the tail out for a bit of sliding action and just keep going by pumping the board along.

This really is the board I have been looking for, a small board that has enough stability to allow standing around while not sinking below the ankles and plenty of performance on the wave.


Cheers,
Marco

I will have one on the Starboard Demo trailer from next Tuesday so it will be in the Demo trailer for the demos coming up in Huskisson on the weekend of the 8th and 9th June and the Scotts Head Demo weekend on the 22nd and 23 June come along and try the new AIRBORN 7"10 IT IS A RIPPER!!!!!!!

Marco

Board looks fantastic but as Greg i would need to lose a few Kg's !!!! Also based in Perth, North Beach and I am currently riding the 9 ft 5" WP Carbon Starboard but looking for something
more wave bias, with more nose rocker, slightly smaller, less volume especially in the tail and nose BUT still need a bit of width as its a one board quiver so has to work at Mettams,
Trigg and Cott. Been looking at the JP WB Surf 8 ft 2" x 32 as an option but love the Starboard carbon durability and non slip so would love to stay with SB. Loving the idea of less volume
but maintaining width which I am guessing retains stability which we all need in Perth !!!!!

Is there anything in the pipeline that would suit me from the 2014 line sub 9 ft, 31 -32 wide, more nose rocker, wide tail, basically a blow up version of the Airborn

OHHHH MAN......That is the best looking board i,ve ever seen...hahaha
like the otheres though, shes too short for me .....but was wondering is that the new colour for all carbon(starboard) boards....cause at moment i,m thinking off getting a WP 8,10 in carbon,..and i really like that new colour!...

Hi All,

DJC - My main board is the 2013 8 5 pro which is 29 wide and 106L, even at 30 wide I feel that the Airborn transitions as well if not better. The board really does have a looseness to it and the length just makes it pretty maneuverable in a shorter distance. Bit hard for me to comment on a comparison between the 2011 8 0, it's been a while and I have only ridden the 2013 version recently. As I mentioned this board fits in the middle in terms of stability but is incredibly agile for such a short board.

Rossall - Generally we tend to keep product information pretty close to our chests for upcoming models until they are released. All I can really say is there are a few changes to a SUB 9 0 wide model for 2014 and this model does receive some characteristics from the Airborn.
We do have a demo of the 31.5 wide Airborn in Perth, it's much more stable but still runs a low volume 98L / rail thickness of 3.3. Have you tried the current 8 2 x 32 or 8 10 x 32?

Reddog74 - The Orange will be specific to the Airborn

Cheers,
Marco

I will have one on the Starboard Demo trailer from next Tuesday so it will be in the Demo trailer for the demos coming up in Huskisson on the weekend of the 8th and 9th June and the Scotts Head Demo weekend on the 22nd and 23 June come along and try the new AIRBORN 7"10 IT IS A RIPPER!!!!!!!

Hey surfrod66,
Keen to hear more re demo days .Please list in up coming events . I will definitely try and make the husky day.
Red

aus301 said..

Ali Cat said..

In typical fashion, when you pick up a new stick, the ocean goes flat...

And flat it was this morning, not even a ripple at the Alley on the high tide at sunrise, but found some tiny knee-high grovellers at the 21st Ave groyne, and took it out to get wet anyhow.

Even in the tiny waves this board was a lot of fun!!! Plenty of float and stability for me (at 82kg), enough glide to paddle onto the waves and really loose and easy to turn even without much power in the waves.

Now just gotta wait for a bit more swell to give it a real test.

You need to head south Ali, I got some fun waves today at Cudgen. And got buzzed by the biggest stingray I have ever seen in the wild, easily 4ft or more across.

Not enough time to head down there and before work, so fingers crossed for the weekend.

Marco... How do you think the Airborn would go down here?

Can't wait to get on mine tomorrow. Will be interesting to see how it goes after having surfed the 8'5 pro this morning and the 9'0 pro for the last couple of weeks.

Yes Cheers Red contact Aquatique they are taking names for the Demos

surf4fun said..
Just had a fun little session in about waist to shoulder high waves and really glassy and this board is FUN! Was only out for about 25mins but will get a longer session in tomorrow. For me at 75kg the 31.5 was extremely stable.

Are you out on the water this weekend, would love a quick 2 minute demo

Phil

surf4fun said..

Just had a fun little session in about waist to shoulder high waves and really glassy and this board is FUN! Was only out for about 25mins but will get a longer session in tomorrow. For me at 75kg the 31.5 was extremely stable.

Hope you have ok that Time with your boss

DJC said..

marco gribi said.. Been riding the Airborn all week, below is my take on it Rider: Sponsored by Starboard (take my comments as you will) Weight: 78kg Board Stats: Length: 7 10 Width: 30 inches (31.5 also available) Thickness: 3.4 Volume: 97L Weight: 5.7kg (Carbon) Fins Set: Quad 4.7F / 4.5R (+ FCS rear center box) This board is an insane amount of fun in small to medium sized waves. It has been a while coming off the water in Perth conditions and frothing on a great session. I have been looking for a board a bit smaller than my 8 5 Pro for the cleaner days around Perth, without sacrificing too much float or stability. For me the 8 0 Pro is just a bit small with the more pulled in outline for our metro conditions, I tended to miss waves by trying to balance or working too hard to paddle onto fuller waves. The stability of the Airborn is probably in between both the 8 0 and 8 5 Pros, however due to the length it does have a small sweet spot for standing. Paddling onto a wave was super easy for such a short board, it tracked pretty well and had ample glide to paddle onto a fuller wave. As the wave goes under the board the tail just lifts and it seems to pick the board up and pull it along. Once on the wave this is where the board really comes alive, it generates plenty of speed nice and early without having to really pump it along. Initiating a turn did not require getting all the way back as it foot steered pretty well mid rail. With the thin rails it bites hard and you can go into a nice deep carving turn and drive back up the face with ease. Coming off the top and re engaging the fins / rail was really good and this set the board up to just keep going for more. Even in real small white water sections you can push the tail out for a bit of sliding action and just keep going by pumping the board along. This really is the board I have been looking for, a small board that has enough stability to allow standing around while not sinking below the ankles and plenty of performance on the wave. Cheers, Marco

Marco I've been riding 8' pro carbon 2012 which is 110 Lts and love the board . How did the board transition from rail to rail being 30" wide ? Board looks hot. Dave

Any reviews for this board from any of the suppers who got this board on the early bird special......