Ok guys to get us back on track...just come in from the beach..first test drive on the minion baby.
Before I start... to put things in perspective ..the conditions were less than average..onshore winds...cross chop and very poor small surf. I usually wouldn't even look twice at going out on a day like this..especially on my pro wave.
However I figured that this was the best time to try the minion first up...if I could dial in balance in such poor surf..then in the good stuff I'd be sweet.
So...sure enough... to sum up in one word my immediate and first impression. WOW.
These boards are exactly as others have reviewed them. They kinda change the rules and they way you previously thought about sup.

First and most obvious observation was how short they are...14" shorter than my pro wave. So that's the first thing you got to get your head around...standing up , looking down and realising theres nothing in front of you. Second most obvious thing to me was ...having to change your stance on board from traditional to more surf stance. The first few times getting up felt a little strange getting used to this and trying to find the sweet spot...for me it was back foot behind handle and front foot just in front of handle. Looks like your way up on the end of board but I'm sure its more of an optical illusion I think..
Keep in mind the conditions..so there was a bit of trial and alot of error at first. BUT once I got the hang of it...I was amazed at how stable this board was...i was ok standing out the back after about 30min turning for wave...my prowave at 8'10 would have struggled in these conditions . IMO the minion was as stable if not more than the pro wave. I kept thinking 'imagine what it will be like in clean good conditions ..frothing.

Paddling- yes you do lose a bit of glide due to length which is expected...but I found you don't need alot of plane speed to get into waves. Once the tail lifted a little from on coming wave...it just takes off with next to no effort. One good paddle strong just before wave and she's away.

Now the most amazing thing, to me anyway was the speed and turning ability ...holy sh#t..in crap surf this thing just floated effortlessly over anything in its way..it felt like I was surfing in glassy conditions..which it was far from. Turning the board was smooth and you just fizz on the potential it must have in good conditions Blew my mind really.

To sum up I'm so stoked I shelled out the considerable amount of coin I did for this minion. I can't wait to get it in good conditions and in reasonable sized surf. I'm excited but also anxious because this is like riding a formula 1 compared to anything else I've surfed on..however in saying that I'm really confident and comfortable I'm going to quickly step up to the mark based on my experience today in surf I would rate as 3/10.

I can also see (like any new shooter) the more time on it , the better you get ..the more you learn..the easier it gets. Good news is some nice surf is hitting east coast in a Couple of days....boom..can't wait now.

Hope I have done the minion justice with this review...and repaid the help and advice people gave me when deciding on getting one of these. This hopefully will help others too

Chur brothers and sisters.

Will let you know how the glassy session goes..will try get some photos or video too

Supmaori,Great review mate. Was very interested in your observation as to how effortless the board is once its starts to plane on a wave. It is this feature which clearly all of us are most looking forward to. It is something that I have been saying for quite a while now on this thread but these boards really do require a shift in vision. I can remember going from a 9'6 down to my current 8'2 and it was a real shock at the time. I have to think about things in terms of dimensions and certainly when the opportunity presents itself I will demo one of Casso's boards but I think I can get very good mileage out of a sub 7 foot board with this design. Lets wait and see.Cheers Ozzie

Some great detailed reviews of the board, thanks guys

I want one of these.
Im 5.8 and i carry 85 kegs around with me.i was thinking about a 7.10 board.

with my weight and size would the board sink while paddling ¿¿

Does the the board hace a flat deck or a dome shape to it ¿

I want oneGod knows when theyll arrive here in Chile

ghost4man said..

husq2100 said...
Stev0, I must apologise for ruffling your feathers. I did not think you would take a stupid comment so seriously. Granted I thought being stressed by deck grip pretty stupid. But it seems I am now confused as to the actual problem with having to install deck grip???

Is it stressful?
Is it just a "hassle"?
Or is it just the extra $$$ that burns?

@ghost4man, Im must apologise to you also, sorry I did not get my logic across. I see installing deck grip as a simple task that requires only basic motor skills, I see paddling and surfing these lower volume boards as a more complex task that requires co-ordination of multiple body parts and senses…. I figure if struggling and stressing over the easy one, the more difficult of the two is going to be something that is going to need a whole lot of work.

then again I may be confused over which one is the more complex activity…..but hey I only use wax on my board.

To show my redemption and to try and appease the SUP gods, If any new Minion customers are troubled with deck grip install, ill happily apply their grip for them.

For what it is worth and I hasten to add it may be worth little but you earned my admiration and respect for your capacity to apologise. Ten thumbs up mate.
Peace.
Ozzie

No worries mate. I appreciate your candid response …my girlfriend just remind me I say dumb things all the time

The deck pad thing is a hassle and SUPMaori took 4 hours to do his deck pad but he made a beautiful job of it. You have to source a suitable deck pad and pay another $100-$200 after already paying $2700 - then cut it to size and then really carefully stick it down. It sounds easy but there is little room for error as it has to go down straight the first time otherwise you risk tearing the pad, getting it crooked and/or generally ****ing it up. A number of times I have put full length deck pads on 11' boards using Ados glue and painting rollers - that is a terrifying experience as it is so easy to tear the pad or get it on crooked and then you have ruined the pad and wasted $ and time. The 3M self adhesive pads are heaps better to put on but are expensive.

The future is here

Wavesareus said..
The future is here

Steveo , have you asked asp re grip, I think it's computer cut so maybe able to do a custom grip

Well **** me…I have had a moment of madness and gone and done it…I'm the proud owner of a 7'4 x 27.75" 104L Minion!


I knew this was going to happen and I even thought about leaving my wallet behind. But I soon realized that there were only two 7'4s in the country and that it would be next year until I would get the opportunity to get one as the Deep factory apparently have a 12 week lead time for NZ shop orders! So I bit the bullet and broke my cardinal rule of never paying retail price!

Now I have to decide to wax it immediately or wait to sort out a deck pad - which will be tricky when there is east coast swell on the way and we have had none all winter….

wax it and get amongst it…..other wise you'll be there for hrs

Geez Ozzie, haven't you bought one yet?

Funny seeing one standing up next to a bloke, too Stevo - it looks bl00dy huge next to you but when it's under yer feet they shrink away.

Now what fins are you lot running on yours? I have young kids (so limited time to chase fins) and have been having a Barry Crocker lately with injuries but have tried a few combos with different results:
shapers s7 fronts and shapers MGX-1 rears with darc drive - good smooth control, fair bit of drive
shapers s7 fronts with starboard hexcel 4.7" with darc - bit stiffer, bit more drive
xl cdrives fronts with large cdrive rears - great top to bottom but whizzed a bit (as I said a while ago)
xl cdrive fronts with shapers s7 rears and darc - ok but not right.

I'm wondering what gets the best out of them from others' perspectives?

Cheers

By the look of that photo StevO you shouldn't use wax as that will just get all over your sheets when you sleep with that little beauty!

The Good Dr made a good point about saving weight with wax however this can get a bit hard under foot. If you do go with a pad perhaps try for a segmented pattern (like Casso) which looks cool and saves weight by not having a solid design.

Well done looks like a keeper!

Chile..that advice came from Simon at deep boards..as a general guide for those wanting to purchase a minion but can't demo..my previous board was at 119L ..skill level plays a part too..if unsure you could always go the 7'10 124L

Just with these boards you really need to have you feet slightly in surfer stance all the time . Just play around with it and they become alot more comfortable to paddle and turn catching a wave. You have a big nose so lean on your front leg a touch more to hold stability and it also pushes it onto the the wave.

Tang said..
Geez Ozzie, haven't you bought one yet?

Funny seeing one standing up next to a bloke, too Stevo - it looks bl00dy huge next to you but when it's under yer feet they shrink away.

Now what fins are you lot running on yours? I have young kids (so limited time to chase fins) and have been having a Barry Crocker lately with injuries but have tried a few combos with different results:
shapers s7 fronts and shapers MGX-1 rears with darc drive - good smooth control, fair bit of drive
shapers s7 fronts with starboard hexcel 4.7" with darc - bit stiffer, bit more drive
xl cdrives fronts with large cdrive rears - great top to bottom but whizzed a bit (as I said a while ago)
xl cdrive fronts with shapers s7 rears and darc - ok but not right.

I'm wondering what gets the best out of them from others' perspectives?

Cheers

Bump!
cmon, c'mon......

Kami said..

Piros said..
Just with these boards you really need to have you feet slightly in surfer stance all the time . Just play around with it and they become alot more comfortable to paddle and turn catching a wave. You have a big nose so lean on your front leg a touch more to hold stability and it also pushes it onto the the wave.

Hi Piros please, what paddle length while paddling on a surfing stance do you reckon

For short Sups you need a short paddle a rough guide is head high or plus and inch. A lot of the pros run really short around nose to chin height. What this lets you do is change sides on the wave without moving your hands. You need to be able to do this on these boards as they turn so fast from side to side especially on cutbacks.

Tang fin wise go with what Simon says , basically run as a quad keep em small and run a nubster in the rear (really small keel type fin). I haven't really found a good thruster set for these boards yet. You can ride these boards two ways flat or to the rail if you find you aren't getting to the rail you made need slightly bigger in the front to stop the slide.

Not sure what you guys weigh or size of board etc. but I'm loving the fcs k2.1 quads in the 6'10. I've also used the fcs Matt biolos I think there called. They're yellow and have mayhem written on them. They were nice too but a little big for me.
Both these front fins are a flat inside foil and fairly upright fin. The k2.1 rears are 80/20 foil I think. Some shops will let u demo them.