SMIK offers three 'shortboard' options in the range, to suit a wide variety of surfing styles, abilities and conditions. It's not a Starboard-sized range, but it can still get confusing to some.
Hipster Twin, Spitfire, Bonza... Which one is right for you?
As with prone surfboards, finding the right SUP surf board for you will depend on a couple of main key factors: your ability and fitness levels, the conditions at your local break and your style of surfing (or the one you aspire to).
Although experience and fitness levels should be taken into consideration when choosing a board, one could argue that, a less experienced paddler can compensate for his lack of (st)ability by adding more volume under his feet. So for the sake of this article, we'll look mostly at the conditions and surfing styles which suit the Hipster Twin, Spitfire and Bonza boards.
The Hipster Twin
The Hipster Twin excels in knee-high to head-high waves but can actually be surfed very well in overhead conditions.
The wide nose helps to generate speed and lift when paddling into waves, which is particularly noticeable in mushier waves, allowing you to get in early and with speed to set up your ride. When the waves start hollowing out and barreling however, this same wide nose can become a bit of a handful and will require more skill to avoid catching.
Its compact outline provides exceptional stability for its size, which is a plus in choppy, windy conditions, or if you like to stay out for marathon sessions.
In beach breaks, point breaks or reef breaks, the joys of the Hipster Twin will reveal themselves as you step back onto the tail: the twin fin with trailer set up combined with the hip in the outline and the tail V come together to offer unparalleled maneuverability, with instantaneous response and rail-to-rail transitions. Everything seems easier, from tight, boomerang-style rail turns with speed and grip to whippy and looser turns with fin release.
An extremely easy to ride board with superior performance that will instantly improve your surfing in all conditions. It's a board you need to have in your quiver.
The Bonza
By nature, the Bonza likes juicy, down-the-line conditions: anything over shoulder-high and it will feel right at home. If it's on a point or reef break, even better, as it will highlight its hyper speed and rail game. For smaller, beach break type conditions, we recommend switching over to a traditional thruster set-up for more maneuverability and fin driven grip (with easier release).
With its generous outline, it proves to be very forgiving: a very stable platform to start with. Once it gets going on a wave, speed and acceleration are the words that best describe the Bonza.
The bottom shape with its deep concaves creates a flatter rocker through the center line to generate and contain speed, while keeping curve on the rails for maneuverability. These concaves also help to absorb and slice through chop, making the ride smooth and fast.
With the speed it carries down the line and off the bottom turn, the Bonza is more about drawing out your top turns, for powerful rail and concave driven cutbacks and roundhouses.
A comfortable board with blistering speed and control to handle larger surf with style.
The Spitfire
The Spitfire is the more traditional design of the SMIK range, offering uncompromised performance in serious surf. It's an excellent all-rounder that you can trust in waist-high to proper overhead conditions and beyond.
Its pulled-in nose with extra scoop will handle late and critical drops, while fitting better in the steeper, more hollow part of the wave. Perfect for tube time, and punchy beach breaks, but will require more effort to stand on between waves.
The rails are thin and sensitive for fully-engaged, powerful rail carves, and sharp in the tail to provide grip on the steeper faces. The thruster fin set up generates drive to get around sections with speed, and the round tail projects vertically, for 12 o'clock turns on your front and back hand. It can also be set up as a quad for extra speed down the line.
If you want to push your surfing to the next level with speed, power and flow, the Spitfire is the board for you.
