Thank you all for your patience... The results are in.

On Monday the 12th March 2012, RPS The Boardstore in conjunction with SUP VIC, staged a world-first side-by-side test of 14′ current model production stand-up paddleboards available to buyers here in Melbourne. It is important to note that not every 14′ board in the world could be included in this test as we do not have access to all makes and models locally. Furthermore, the conditions decreed that this would be a flat water test and therefore unavoidably favours boards intended for flat water racing. We do not apologise for any of this, however we welcome other groups conducting their own tests in different conditions using other boards as it all adds to the global knowledge base.

The test run was done at Half Moon Bay, on Port Phillip Bay in Melbourne. The course was a 150+150m run with a 180 degree turn at one end and a standing start. At the start of each round, each of the 14 paddlers randomly drew a board out of a hat, to determine the board selection for that round. They were timed manually using line of sight to determine the start and end crossing. Each paddler proceeded to the starting mark and from a stationary start, were counted-down 3-2-1-Go! The starting procedure and stopwatch were consistent throughout the day, with Stuart Thomas acting as chief timekeeper.

Each round, the times were marked down, all paddlers returned to shore, and drew the next board from a hat.

The results:

Accumulative time ranking of each board:

This is based on a clean set of data from 9 of the 14 paddlers who completed a run on each board - The reason for this is that one paddler sustained an injury late in the test process and had to pull out. Another had a pressing engagement and had to leave early. Another suffered from a timing failure in one run, and another accidentally paddled two boards twice and then failed to paddle two of the boards. We also had one paddler fall on one of the runs and the time recorded in that run appeared to be an unfair handicap for that board. With all these factors in mind, the accumulated time for each board across 14 paddlers is somewhat misleading, given some boards have times from 14 paddlers, some from 13 and some from 12. Therefore, in tabulating totals for each board, we have removed the times recorded by the paddlers who did not complete a time on all 14 boards. That leaves us with an accumulated total from 9 of the paddlers. We feel the integrity of the results is still maintained as the 5 incomplete paddlers were not by any means the slowest or heaviest paddlers, and a good cross section remains.

However you are certainly free to analyse and postulate on the results from the raw data as you see fit, which is available on the SUP VIC WEBSITE: www.supvic.com/the-rps-supvic-ultimate-14-board-test/

So the accumulative total (each paddler's time on the board added together) for each board ranked by best time:

1. 19:06 - Starboard Ace 25
2. 19:36 (equal) - DC14 & NSP
4. 19:42 - Naish Javelin
5. 19:48 - Fanatic Fly Race Flat
6. 19:50 - Surftech Bark Dominator
7. 19:51 - Starboard Ace Pro
8. 19:52 - Starboard Ace 27
9. 20:10 - Surftech JM Paddleboards
10. 20:26 - Naish Glide
11. 20:34 - Fanatic Fly Race Open
12. 20:40 - Starboard Pierce Touring
13. 20:45 - Sunny King
14: 21:00 - Starboard Open Ocean AST

As for the paddlers, the top 10 fastest times posted were:

1:52 - CAMO on the Starboard Ace 25"

1:54 - LIGHTNING on the NSP

1:54 - CAMO on the Starboard Ace 27"

1:56 - CAMO on the Fanatic Flat

1:56 - LIGHTNING on the Starboard Ace Pro

1:56 - WOOZ on the Naish Javelin

1:57 - LIGHTNING on the DC14

1:57 - LAZZA on the JM

1:57 - LIGHTNING on the Bark

1:57 - LIGHTNING on the JM

So it's all good and well to say that this board or that board was the overall fastest board, but what does this mean to you? Probably of greater benefit is not so much knowing which board went fastest for an elite paddler, but rather, which board is best for you. Hopefully these results can help you choose, but the best advice we can offer is demo, demo, demo. Use these results to help you decide which boards are most likely suitable for you. Check out the paddlers in the test whose height and weight most closely matches your own and see which boards they set the best times on, all on the SUP VIC website:

A full breakdown of the event, and times per paddler, board, and the raw data can be viewed at the SUP VIC website:

www.supvic.com/the-rps-supvic-ultimate-14-board-test/

Thanks to everyone who participated, to RPS for staging the event, to the retailers & individuals who lent us the boards, to Stu for being the patient timekeeper, to Jamie, Cam & DJ for documenting the event and to PT Woody for helping organise the event & collating the results. Sorry if I forgot anyone.

See you on the water.

Thanks Tim.. Great job with the results..

Watching Cam paddle during that test made me think he was trying to spear a fish with his KeNalu paddle every time he took a stroke.. Gongrats Cam.. you animal..

DJ

well done Tim, Paul and Sup Vic + RPS, considering how much inputing of data there was, that is an impressive layout and result

Camo what a fitness machine...well done

and not to mention the new lad on the paddle,[6 months maybe?] Tom aka "lightning" future's looking good for Vicco, [under the wing of RPS]

I'd like to see a paddle test.

One board, different paddlers and paddles.

Kialoa, naish, SB, KeNalu, quick blade, sunny King, mike Fry...

Good stuff guys very interesting good to see my DC investment is paying off

SASUPCrew said...



Would be great to hear from any of the paddlers their opinions on the turning ability of the boards. i.e. Were the fastest boards necessarily the quickest on the turns?

I've asked for all the Paddlers to contribute their personal thoughts on the boards. Here's a couple:

MJ: Whilst the starboard 25/27 and javelin are fast boards they took a lot more to stay upright and dry, based upon the comfort factor and speed, the fanatic flat was No1, starboard pro and JM boards after that, on looks I would go for the JM

Hoagie: I personally believe that it's all about confidence when you step on the board. I never felt comfortable on the Starboard Ace etc and my times showed this. I like the traditional surfboard shape, they allow you to move around the board depending on the conditions. Bark and JM were my favourites.

Jono: In my opinion the ones that felt the fastest (in no particular order) : The naish javelin, The bark (which in all of my brilliance i managed to fall off, maybe had something to do with the great big bloody boat that cruised by), the JM, the fanatic fly open water, the starboard pierce touring. The easiest to ride (most stable) were the JM, sunnyking, and the naish glide.

Lightning: All my fast times were set early on stable boards that were easy to move around on like the NSP and JM. While boards like the Jav and aces felt fast I didn't have the skill to keep them quick over the course. Endurance was also important I lost time quickly in comparison to most other paddlers, so although I was slower on the fanatic flat it was my favorite board.

Lazza: In my opinion the fastest boards are definitely the sb ace boards, problem is they don't do 180 deg turns too good, so a good 3 - 4 seconds lost there. The best all round imo would have to be the javlin, jm, Bark, and fanatic. In the surf definitely the dc for it's stability , reasonable speed,and great at pivot turns. I was bit iffy about the sb pro, it didn't track as well as the others and when wind or waves caught that upside-down nose, it would quickly want to go off course, I also experienced the same thing on the sb bop. The sunny king, all I can think of is "yellow peril", may be we will see it sitting in some park for kids to graffiti on.

PT: At my weight, these 14' boards are mostly unsuited, with the possible exceptions of the Starboard Aces and the Fanatics. I had my GPS watch gathering top end speeds and the Starboard topped 14.2km/h whereas all other 14' boards were in the 11s and 12s. As a point of comparison, I took a Fanatic 12'6" red rocket out at the end of the test when I was completely knackered and when the conditions were toughest, and I set my second fastest speed of 14.0km/h. So the lesson there is 12'6" boards are actually as fast as the fastest 14' boards when you're a feather weight.

How did you manage to turn the SB Ace 25 180 degrees
The only way I can think of is to kind of back paddle on one side
I have not seen anyone do it well. So I am surprised it was still fastest...
Yes - I am also in the SB fan club...and am happy to see my SB boards not copped heavy depreciation as a result of this test

I found the Ace was one of the easier boards to turn with wide sweeping strokes because the board is like a big spoon underneath and this alowes the nose to be pushed sideways unlike the cutting/piercing nose on some of the other boards that just want to catch and go straight forcing you to get way back on the tail and lift the nose clear of the water.. In a straight line the Ace seems to skim across the surface where the other boards push and part the water.. I was very surprised at how well the Ace went into the wind considering how high it is.. Side winds might me another story.. The deep standing area is not my cup-a-tea..

DJ

Incredibly comprehensive results on the SUP VIC site. There is a lot to digest but I am astounded to see that Jon completed 14 boards and his time range was 15 seconds between fastest and slowest!
Also like the paddler profile though if DJ is 6'7" then Hoagie must be over 7'

Fantastic effort from the paddlers and stats gurus for collating this data.

This will make fascinating reading and is incredibly helpful for improving the knowledge base of the sport.

Bravo!

My thoughts on the boards are firstly how big a gap there is back to the open ocean boards with most of them having high nose rocker which are the Naish Glide,Starboard Open Ocean AST,Fanatic Fly Open and the Sunny King,when paddling these for as much speed as possible I found myself thinking how much I'd rather be on any of the remaining boards,then again they may be better suited to different conditions but the more recently released designs glide great on flatwater, can handle a downwind paddle and choppy seas so I'm thinking it has more to do with the shape.
The Starboard Pierce Touring is more of an allrounder as it glides well for what its name suggest and felt very stable so must be able to float a heavy weight or half the family,
the Javelin is starting to date and to tippy if the wind picks up unless you have the balance of a ballerina,hope Naish updates their 14ft shapes soon like they have the 12'6ers,
that leaves the NSP,Bark Dominator,Surftech JM only separated by price and which ones preferred after demoing,the DC custom with the advantage of any tweaking for personal preference and a locally made product always a good thing also this DC was made for a heavier paddler than me so have to take that into account,the Fanatic Fly Race felt very slick,full carbon and has a slight speed edge over the previous mentioned boards,
I'm liking the Starboard Aces,was a bit surprised how quick they were on the dead flatwater on test day as the design is so different and thought they were better suited at handling the choppy bay conditions we get here so was good to discover how well they compared.

SandS said...

Thanks everyone , the NSP seemed to rate fairly well , how wide is it ?

It's 28" wide but doesn't feel tippy at all... in those conditions..

DJ

looks like a good day and a good test. personally i think the idea of a turn is a good thing.

adds a dimension that everyone has to do on a board.

however, i would rather the results stand alone and speak for them selfs rather then paddlers saying what their personal preferences are, that's when things start unravelling and gets a bit blurry .

it should be another topic altogether imo

laceys lane said...

looks like a good day and a good test. personally i think the idea of a turn is a good thing.

adds a dimension that everyone has to do on a board.

however, i would rather the results stand alone and speak for them selfs rather then paddlers saying what their personal preferences are, that's when things start unravelling and gets a bit blurry .

it should be another topic altogether imo

Just opinions and sharing experiences,
thought that type of thing belonged here

Goochi said...

Was there a reason as to why the starboard open ocean was used instead of the coast runner? It would have been interesting to see how it performed given its flatter rocker and suitability for both surf and flat water.

Great test and very professional results. Well done to all involved.

I was wondering the same thing about the Coast Runner as the Open Ocean has a lot of rocker.

Still a good test and interesting results.

hey guys, the nsp is a surprise packet. how about a review from someone. how fast is it, stability and how much.

also,is this a different board along with the new construction or is it the same nsp that has been out for a bit now

cheers