There was a great thread a while ago about these two boards and after not being able to decide for a while which one of these boards I was going to get for the summer I ended up with both of them within a few weeks of one another. I found the SP for sale second hand on-line and when I went to purchase it had been sold. Guttered. I had been looking out for a second hand one for ages as I did not want to pay the full price. I then came across a bargain on a new POD so I purchased that and all was fine. Then the bloke who had sold the SP contacted me to say that he had it back in the shop again and was I still interested.........so I decided to get it as well and then I could always sell the one I decided not to keep. Well that was 2 months ago now and I am in no hurry to sell either. Both of them go unreal and both work in slightly different conditions.
The POD was cheap as it had the team glass job on it and they had stuffed up the resin colour match on the FCS plugs.
Both boards are slighty bigger than I would have liked - I was after a 6'2 in the POD and a 5'8" in the SP. Instead I got a 6'4" POD and 5'10" SP. But when you are after bargains sometimes you just have to take what you can get!
As you can see both boards are completely different. The SP has a lot more of a squashed outline - looks more like a knee board from the 70's than a surfboard at first glance. I get loads of comments about its weird shape. The POD has those classic fish characteristics with a full nose. Tail wise its big fat roundish thing on the SP and a swallow on the POD.
The POD is thruster and the SP a quad. Both have a nice concave through the tail but the SP is a lot deeper.
The POD has alot more rocker through the front of the board compared to the SP which is almost flat in comparison. But the POD looks flat compared to a normal shortie.
You can see the beating that the POD has taken with the super light glass job. I am not expecting it too last!!!
Both boards have some pretty chunky rails. The POD's are a lot more boxy whilst the SP's are almost rolled over like on a 7s - the step is not as pronounced but a fair chunk has been taken out of the shoulder of the rail.
Both boards have a lot of rail thickness all the way up to the nose.
The POD is 6'4" * 20 7/8 * 2 5/8
The SP is 5'10" * 22 1/2 * 2 7/8
I find that the POD works a treat from 2ft to 5 ft (with bigger fins on it) and can really be pushed off the rail although you certainly need to surf it flatter than a normal shortie. I am 92kg so the bigger rails do not bother me too much. The SP on the other hand needs to be surfed fairly flat or it likes to spin out.
The mad fin set up at the back clearly adds to this. I have been surfing quads for aprox. 4 yrs now and this is the first time I have used a setup like this before. They came with it and as it is my only set of futures fins I have stuck with it.
The POD went like a dream from the first surf. Its pretty loose and fast and holds no real surprises. It does everything you would think and does it very well. I have loved this board from moment I laid eyes on it. The SP on the other hand has been a little more difficult. It took me about 5 or 6 surfs to start to really enjoy it. I struggled. Wasted so many waves. It annoyed me. Then one day it just clicked and its become my go to board for anything head high or under. Its the fastest thing I have ever had my feet on. Insane and very very loose. You can slide the tail out very easily with all that surface area under yr foot and at times you think you are a much better and more capable surfer than you have ever been before. I have never enjoyed surfing when its small at my size. But with the SP I am out there with a big smile on my face as I know that not only can I catch anything that moves but when I am on them I have loads of buoyancy under my feet to keep me floating through sections. The SP is an absolute joy to own. Its fast becoming the best board I have ever owned. As long as its not too big or hollow. Once its gets much over head high I find it hard to control the speed and I end up spinning out my bottom turns if I put too much pressure on the rail. The POD goes well up to 1.5 times overhead - we have not had anything bigger than that since I got it and I was not at work!! Maybe next week when I am away I will see how it goes in the bigger stuff if I get the chance.
Anyway if you are thinking of getting either board I would strongly recommend both. They are completely diff boards though I reckon. One is more of an all round board and the other is for the tiny to small days when you want to go for a slide session. The SP is like a rear engineed sports car on a wet track and the POD is like your dependable Toyota in comparison.
I am 92kg and would easy go down a couple of inches on both boards. I would not go down too much though as I really like to have some volume under my feet when its small so I can catch loads of waves and enjoy myself to max.
