SUPbru said..
Hey tannaman.....I've owned an 8'5 Speeed for approx 18 months & I've previously owned a 7'9 VBOX (Evo2) & 7'10 Minion & IMO, the Speeed definitely brings something quite different to the party e.g.
- you can spend time on the nose (no, it's not a true longboard ride because there is a lot of rocker + the nose is wafer thin however, a bit of hexa traction works a treat)
- it's a great board for carving/sweeping turns but at the same sime, it matches the VBOX & Minion for speed down the line
- 1 of the main advantages (which is pretty much the most important thing for me aside from actual perfomance on the wave) is paddle power onto a wave i.e. my wave count always felt higher on my Speeed but to be fair, it is a slightly longer/narrower board
- it's almost impossible to pearl/bog the nose down
- the domed deck takes a while to get use to but once you've it dialled, flat decks will start to feel weird
- unless you order a custom, thruster is your only fin option vs presumably quad or 5 fins on your Minion
- you probably have to get your weight further back on the Speeed to generate the same kind of turn vs your Minion but that is less of an issue on the smaller size Speeeds e.g. I previously owned an 8'10 Speeed & I definitely find my 8'5 easier to turn
Bottom line, both the Speeed & Minion (& VBOX for that matter) are great boards but if you want more of a short board feel, your 7'2 Minion is probably the go. SUPMaori mentioned he's got a bit of a paddle to 1 of his local breaks so by default, the 8'5 Speeed seemed like a good choice & it still feels like a small board when you're on the wave. If you currently ride a 7'2 Minion, you might also want to consider the 7'11 Speeed so if possible, demo. PM me if you have any questions - cheers
definitely agree with you on the wave catching. As soon as u start to pick up the wave it takes off!
