Old School Feel with All Around New School Performance

There has been some incredible paddle surfing conditions on our coast this past fall and I have been spending a lot of time surfing the Sunova Steeze.   After years of dropping down in size and volume with my boards it has been refreshing getting back on a board like the Steeze. It reminds me of the early days of standup when everyone was paddling those big all arounders. They were so fun in the surf because they caught every wave and many of those earlier boards had really good surf design built into them because that was the heritage of the sport. The Steeze reminds me of that feeling yet this board performs so well owing to the incredible design performance of legendary shaper Bert Burger. It surfs really well, feels great and puts a smile on your face in the right conditions.

According to the Sunova website, “The Steeze is the ultimate all-around in performance board. A traditional outline that maintains width and volume, increasing stability without sacrificing performance. A refined performance rocker that maintains paddling speed but lets loose when required.”

I have been surfing the 9’6″ x 31 at 144L. It is a very smooth board and catches waves easily but where I really noticed the performance was when I stepped back to the tail of the board. This board is very manoeuvrable and it turned easily with the nicely foiled tail. I had so much fun surfing it in the Longboard division of the Tofino ISUPiesta Paddle Surf Contest. A big thanks to organizer Jake Collard for adding the division this year which I know will grow in years to come. It sure is nice standing on a board that has a little more volume and chews up less energy while waiting for waves. Conditions on the BC coast can be windy, choppy and challenging and it is great having a few more litres of volume under your feet.

For me this board is a perfect compliment to the Sunova Speed which I ride a lot as well and absolutely love. I surf the 8’5″ Speed and having the 9’6″ Steeze is a great compliment. A few clients tried the board on our Tofino Surf Weekend and the feedback was great. Even beginners seemed to have pretty good stability with the 9’6″ and the design and length allowed them to paddle well in order to catch waves easier. Smaller paddlers will love this size and more experienced  paddle surfers could look at dropping down to the 8’10 which I would love to try as I think this one board could be the perfect one quiver size.

If your not familiar with Sunova Surfboards have a look at their website. Their combination of performance, durability and lightweight construction is second to none on the market. One of the biggest standouts for me is the balsa wood construction and “how it feels” on the water and when you are surfing. This board comes with a two plus one high performance fin set up with the longer centre fin providing stability and direction while the smaller side fins help with the turns. Although these boards are lightweight they are really well built with excellent attention to detail.

If your looking to demo, purchase or if you have questions send me email and I will be happy to help out.

See you on the water….Norm