Got in 40 to 50 hours over the Christmas break Supping on my new PSH 9-2 AR and old faithful Ron House 9-10. I originally bought the PSH thinking it would outperform the Ron; the results are pretty interesting so I thought I would share them.

I'm 6ft 88kg ex outrigger paddler and mal rider been supping for 7 months and this is my review on the 2 boards.
Ron House 9-10 flyer swallow Quad
PSH 9-2 AR squash tail swallow 8" centre fin with trailers

When I first picked up the PSH I couldn't believe how much heavier it was than the Ron even though it was 8" shorter. At a first glance the boards look entirely different but when you lay them side by side the bottom rocker is almost identical and so is the bottom concaves it's just the nose and tail shapes that make the boards look so different. The widest part of the PSH is further back compared to the Ron and the rails near the tail are alot softer on the PSH this probably due to moulding restrictions , rails on the Ron are almost a resin edge (just how I like them).

Balance wise the PSH was just as stable as the Ron and it had really good secondary stability (which means it is easy to correct when off balance) my first couple of waves were really strange it was hard to control it came around so fast it was almost throwing me off , the board would flick around instead of carving a turn or drawing a line I felt like a rag doll on it , after the first surf I didn't like it , I had a good look at the centre fin and to put it bluntly it was crap , I can't believe a board of this performance standard is supplied with a cheap 8" plastic fin. I threw in a glass Laird 8” massive improvement.

I’m really used to the quad set up on the Ron and feel more comfortable on it rather than the tri fin set up on the PSH. Between the two the Ron is smoother to surf with out loosing anything in performance both boards absolutely rip, love cutbacks and smashing off the lip. The PSH would snap around on a cut back faster than you can bring your paddle over.This board would pull off some amazing manouvers but still nothing I could'nt do on the Ron with alot more control.

Paddle wise the PSH is slow from a standing start but does have a good glide for such a short board , it also does have a tendency to hang a little on the take off compared to the Ron.

In summary even though the Ron is 8” longer it still performs on a par with the 9-2 which I found amazing in fact I’d say it even out surfed it. Plus with the 9-2 even though I wasn’t falling off much in the neutral position I was burning leg power continually and you would really start to feel it after a 2 hour session. The construction of the PSH is bullet proof compared to the Ron, I hit it with the paddle so hard and it barely marked it. At this stage I have to give the Ron thumbs up over the PSH , I’ll keep surfing both and post again in a couple of weeks.

Rob

Yeah thats Burleigh in the background , no more photos as yet hopfully this weekend .My Ron is in the shop at the moment getting fixed I smashed a fin box so I'll only be riding the PSH for the next week.


Rob

Great review Rob, you give some very valid points for anyone on what boards and design features make a board perform a certain way.

Have you been up onto the nose for a bit of styling?.

Mate that six pack you are sporting must be from many hours of paddling.

Waz

PM me for a surf update.....or I'm watching the cricket!

Howdy AA,
I must comment on a couple of thinks I have found.
The hand glassed PSH seemed quite strong. I had mine for 8 months and didnt have any durability problems at all. Not even a scratch. They have I believe 2 6oz top and bottom with a 6 oz patch on the deck. The only downfall I could see is if you had a collision or hit rocks then there was no "hard foam" skin to stop water coming in. Having said that, I think its normal to avoid this type of damage either way. I didnt think the hand glass boards were overly light though and I am surprised to hear the moulded boards are atleast not the same weight but heavier? This should not be the case if they have the technique right or perhaps they are over doing the layup to be completely bomb proof? I guess it depends on the conditions the boards are targeted. Can see many 15 foot days on offer or a huge percentage of customer.
Regards,
Scott

wazza66 said...

Great review Rob, you give some very valid points for anyone on what boards and design features make a board perform a certain way.

Have you been up onto the nose for a bit of styling?.

Mate that six pack you are sporting must be from many hours of paddling.

Waz

Yeah Waz jumped up the nose on the PSH through a close out section at Snapper few days back and made it through the section, it does nose ride well , can't do that on the Ron .Can't call that a 6 pack yet mate thats my Corona storage area

Andrew is there any 9-3's on the Gold Coast ?

Rob

These are from this morning with the Sunny Sides and the 5" center glass fin at 9-1/2" from the swallow tips. Board can pump down the line with ease and slash turns at will.



The below video was done with the DHD sides and 5" center. I felt like that set up was not quite as good as the current one I run with the Sunny sides... Hope this helps to dial in your board... The 9-2AA with the right fin set up for your style and ability will blow your mind. I will add... All boards have different "sweet" fins that compliment its rocker, foil, outline etc. Having a fin quiver is the best way to dial in every board you ride to the best of its abilities or better yet, your ability.




Aloha, Blane

Howzit Blane,

Thanks for the heads up on the fins I did try one of my old 7" mal fins with a set of H2's out of my short board on the sides , it looked bad when I put them in and went even worse....so I have stuck to standard to give the board a chance under my feet.

The smaller centre was my next pick as this worked really well on my Gerry Lopez 10-3. The Sunny sides look great I'll pick up a set this arvo and drop in a 4.5" centre and give it a go in the morning as we finally have some swell around at the moment.

Thanks again for the reply.

Rob

hey piros,

I have been riding my 9'2 PSH AA quite a bit over summer. Im loving, i have been running a six inch back fin with PG 5. I agree with blane, at the start i tried some smaller side fins with an 8 inch back fin. It worked all right but didnt give me the drive in the pocket. I never tried the fin set up that the board came with as i just dont like any plastic back fins.

i will try and get a video up showing my red beast.

Matty

Hey Piros:

Thanks for your review on those boards - I think that maybe the 9'2" feeling a bit wild might be a sign that it is a board you could grow into - as Andrew mentioned it will be interesting to hear another review from you after a couple of months of riding it.

I'm not sure about the molded boards not being able to have the hard-edge tail because I have a molded Naish 10'6" that has it - it must be added after the molding process I guess. Surely if the shaper wanted one it would be there?

tena koe Blane, thank you for your responses to this forum.

Blane, I am looking forward to picking up a PSH 9'10" ripper next week, (Yeeeeah baby!!!) please could you tell me some more about the board - what were you aiming to achieve with the design, what were the results? Also what fin set ups work well with the 9'10" ?.

Mahalo, Kia ora - from Sean.O. in NZ

hey casso, im working on it. Unfortantly with the waves being epic lately all my mates are surfing. dont worry its worth the wait.

AA
Yep fair enough.

Hey Brooko,
Have you tried the Simon A large fins thats what JB had on the demo baord I borrowed off him, they seemed pretty good also

Where is it Rich??

Yep spot on Brooko. Larger fins sometimes make it easier when its choppy and windy also but when its smallish, a bit smaller is better.

I picked up a set of sunny sides an dropped in a 4.5" rear .....different board heaps more drive down the line and it's alot more centered under my feet but since I have take out the 8" centre it's definetly more tippy but nothing dramatic.It now surfs completely different so I'll wait untill after this weekend to give another review agaist the Ron which I pick from the shop today and to keep things fair I picked up a set of solid glass FSC T1 & T2's for the Ron.

Rob