catch from what I’ve seen and the turns
aren’t noticeably better in 8/10 cases.
What’s your most popular piece of
equipment?
9’5’’ – 9’11’’ All-rounder aka the Amigo have
been our most popular boards since we
started, although the new Inca, El Diablo,
Aztec and Motions are proving increasingly
more popular as sub markets grow in size.
In terms of racing, I think there’s still lots of
work that can be done. For me, using
computational hydrodynamics software to
test race shapes in different environments is
where it’s at and it’s something we’ll be
looking at in the near future.
Give us your thoughts on SUP kit in
general.
As far as inflatables go, we’re already seeing
brands trying to make them stiffer or retro
fit hard rails so we’ll probably see some
interesting developments over the next
couple of years. Whether they’ll ever replace
hard boards…?
There’s good and bad in every industry and
SUP is no different. Having seen some of the
£299 iSUPs off eBay and some of the
‘premium carbon race boards’ and
everything in between, price can be a
helpful indicator but it doesn’t always follow
that spending more means you’ll get a
better product.
I think there’s massive scope for
developments with paddles and other SUP
accessories and this again is something
Loco is looking into. I know there’s a lot a
promo around hydrofoils at the moment,
which is terrifying. I can see taking a metre
high machete into any line up ending in
disaster. It’s not like the turns even look that
good, even when ridden by the pros. They
should remain the bastion of big wave tow
in chargers and downwind enthusiasts,
unless the whole safety issue can be
regulated, in my humble opinion.
In terms of where the sport is going in
general, I worry that the surf side is fast
disappearing up its own backside (like
windsurfing did) with sinky boards that no
one can ride unless it’s glassy calm. Surely
the whole point of SUP surfing was to get
out there when the waves weren’t suitable
for surfing proper? I take my hat off to
riders who can balance on super tiny
boards, but they scratch more than they
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I think there’s
massive scope
for
developments
with paddles and
other SUP
accessories and
this again is
something Loco
is looking into