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2023 Inifinity Whiplash 14 * 21 Hollow Carbon review and compare to SB Sprint

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  I was able to get a good few hours in varied conditions on a new Hollow Infinity Whiplash 14 long by 21 wide board. My primary board is a Starboard Sprint 14*19.75 so I did not have to get used to the balance as it is wider and more stable. Dimensions which really make a difference are as follows:  Internal Standing area Seems to be about 1-2cm higher than my Sprint. The nose is considerably narrower as part of the new designs which seem to be following the old Speedboards and sailboats. The tail and midsection are wide compared to my Sprint. Stability: This board has great primary and secondary stability and in a pivot turn that only increases as the rear is so wide. Pitch: Just like the Sprint this board is very stable not only in rolling but front to back pitch stability. The board seems to just make small 6-9 inch waves disappear with barely moving the board up and down. Larger waves will have the front punching through but since it does not have a lot of front volume larger wave
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Quickblade UV82 review and comparison to QB Vdrive 91 and others

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 I just purchased a Quickblade UV 82 paddle last week and I own a few other paddles that I will compare to this paddle with the reason I am either selling them or did not purchase them. I spent the better part of a month trying to research what size UV I should get as I was concerned that the 82 would be too small. The reason for this concern is I have a Kenalu Mana 82 and I find that that slips in the water when pushing my board above 5.5 mph. I also have a V drive 91 and I love the hard catch and locked in feel of that paddle. I also have a Kenalu Mana 90 which is my go-to paddle for any paddles over 1.5 hours as it has a smooth entry and is a little softer overall compared to the V91.Since I was so used to the larger blades I was still unable to believe a UV 82 would be the right choice. I contacted June the Machine and he told me UV82 was perfect for him and he is heavier than and I also contacted QB and they stated that the UV82 is for anyone under 175lbs. I then reached out to th
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Clearwood VLZ 14*23

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  I was not able to budget for a new board this year so I decided to build my own. I found that Clearwood boards had an actual race board available so I ordered the frame kit in Dec 2017. It took a bit to get to me and had some shipping damage so Randy of Clearwood sent more parts free of charge. I had to build a flat table to build the kit so I started with this which took a full weekend. After test fitting the the kit's ribs I decided that I wanted a little more deck in front of the balance point so I modified the frame to have another 10 inches of forward deck. This added another weekend to the build. I was originally going to build the kit out of Cedar as it is easy to find but after a lot of research and calls to local exotic wood providers I found some Palownia. It took me some time to get to the supplier but it is a lot of work to actually put the frame together and make sure it is strait so I went to work doing that. Well it took months to cut, router, plane, fit and glue t
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Starboard 2021 Sprint Carbon 14 *19.75 review and comparison to 2020 14 * 20.75

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  I have been paddling the 2020 Starboard Sprint 14 *20.75 for about a year now and decided I wanted a new challenge so I was able to purchase the 2021 14 *19.75 Carbon a few weeks ago. In the last few weeks I have been gaining more confidence on the board and comparing it to my 2020 Sprint. The summary below will be comparing this to my 2020 Sprint and I have a review of that board on this forum already. Dimensions which really make a difference are as follows:  Internal Standing area is only about a 1CM difference at most. The rails are considerably higher with the 2021 at over 27cm high in the standing area and the 2020 is a little less than 24 cm. The thickness below your feet on the 2021 is 12.5 cm thick and the 2020 is 11cm thick in the standing area. The deck at the front of the dugout  is 33 cm high on the 2021 and the 2020 is 30cm high. The tail on the 2021 is 14cm tall and the 2020 is also 14cm tall. The total rocker, measured at tail with the nose on the ground, on the 2021
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2021 Naish Maliko Light X27 14' review

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  I purchased an inflatable to allow me to take a board on vacations or other treks that I do not have a car. Stability: This board is incredibly stable. I have not tried to see how far the primary goes until the board flips but I will get this soon. Pitch: The board is very stable not only in rolling but front to back pitch stability. The board does flex a little but it still does not have issues with 2-3 foot waves. I took this out in a upwinder/downwinder on my first day and had no issues. Flatwater Speed: In my latest flat water trial I had a load of gear on the front but I was still able to hold 5mph going into the wind and a good 5.3-5.6mph with the wind or no wind. I did start to do race pace near the end of my paddle and the board responded well. Race pace is 60-65 spm and a lot of up down motion which did not cause the board to go into spasms like some other inflatables I have tried. The speed I was able to hit was 6.3 mph. Upwinding: It is not a hard board but still punches t
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2020 Starboard Sprint 14*20.75 review

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  I have been paddling with stronger paddlers lately and have found that my present boards were holding me back from keeping up with the pack. My present boards are a self built paulownia wood hollow wooden board which is a slightly modified Clearwood VLZ 14*23 which is the first version which has a flat deck. My other board is a 2018 Infinity Whiplash 14*25 dugout. The VLZ is pretty fast and very durable but heavy at 39lbs and tippy due to the slight V in the front half of the bottom and very tucked in and rounded rails which limit the stability and have very little secondary stability.   The Infinity is incredibly stable but the top speed is limited by the width of the board. I have been trying many boards lately but settled on the Starboard Sprint 14*20.75. The reasons for this are as follows: Stability: This board is almost as stable as my Infinity primary stability but the secondary stability feels like i am hitting a wall when the board rolls past 15-20 degrees. I am always surpr
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Black Project Hydro Flow X paddle review

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  I am definitely a gear junkie when it comes to Paddles as I feel that the paddle is the most important part of your connection to the water. Recently the local Black Project rep has had one of the new Hydro Flow X paddles and I was able to pry it away from him for a few hours. Fortunately it was a great day for testing as I had areas with flat, headwinds and downwinds on my 15km route. As I first started the paddle I found that there was a difference and as I continued to paddle I found that the paddle is more stable so the difference I found was not having to do anything but push down and pull back. This is not just hype and as I continued I hit headwinds and chop which created more troubled water. I usually will hit the side of my board at least once in these conditions but never had a single hit the entire session. As I rounded the next corner I hit the headwind strait on. There were quite a few strong gusts at 30kph so I decided it was a good time to try choking down the paddle a
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