Takayama 'In The Pink' Surfboard Review (with surfing at the end)
Reviews 6 years ago 11,215 views
An in depth look at what makes the "In The Pink" so easy and fun to surf *YOU CAN SEE ME SURFING THE BOARD AT THE END OF THE REVIEW* The board I'm riding is a 9'0 x 22 7/8 x 3 (stock dims) I would consider myself an intermediate longboarder, I've been surfing for the past 8 years and riding longboards for about 3 The clips of me surfing the board were shot over a couple days back in February here in Nosara, Costa Rica I hope this gives anyone interested in this board a good idea of how it works and who it will work well for. If you have any questions on this board or if you like the review please leave a comment below!
Regards and keep on! Great work!
I am 5'7 and about 135lbs. If I was you, I'd go 9'3 just to have a little bit more rail in the water for stability when nose riding.
As far as size, I would say anything from 9'0-9'4 for a board that will both nose ride and maneuver well. I've seen smaller and smaller versions of this board at Icons of Surf in San Clemente (as small at 7'6). It all depends on how you want to surf the board. If you want to surf the board heavy on the tail and do big swooping turns but still ride to nose a bit, something smaller is better. If you are more interested in spending time on the nose and are not as concerned with big cutbacks or off the top maneuvers, I would say go for the longer rail line in the 9'4+ range. With this board, shorter will be more maneuverable & longer will generally be better for nose riding.
If you are looking for something that trims and nose rides well but are not necessarily as concerned with quick/aggressive turns (i.e. performance long boarding), then I would go 10' because the added foam up front and extra rail line will really help with paddling, as well as speed and stability down the line.
Also, if you are surfing more of a lined up, point break style wave, you can get away with a bigger board and really use it to your benefit. If you are planning to surf the board at a beach break primarily, I would say shorter would be better. But 9'6 to 10'0 would put you in the right volume category. Hope that helps!
10. comment for Takayama 'In The Pink' Surfboard Review (with surfing at the end)
It seems like the most unique characteristic of that board, that would set it apart from most other longboards I have seen or ridden would be the bottom contours.
Many longboards will be flat or even convex through the back 2/3s, with a slight concave through the nose to generate lift and stability when a surfer is on the nose. Since longboards have so much surface area to capture and redirect the flow of water up the wave face (which is where you get your speed from when trimming down the line) there is no real need to add concave to the middle or back half of the board (a concave bottom like you'd find on most shortboards will help ensure that any water captured by the bottom of your board will be redirected out the tail versus off toward the rails, generating more down the line speed). However, the Redline 11 carries the concave all the way from the nose back past the mid point. This should help generate even more lift and stability when up on the nose. The downside of too much concave is that it often makes a board feel "sticky" because it can make the board track (stay stuck traveling in one direction) and be difficult to turn and tip rail to rail. It seems like Stewarts solution to that is the aggressive V off the tail to help with controlling the board off the tail.
It looks like the outline is quite curvy, which would also make it more maneuverable, yet potentially less stable when on the nose. The aggressively pulled in tail will definitely free up the board and give it more of a performance longboard feel. Yet you do still have quite a bit of foam and surface area up front to help with paddling and stability on the nose (also aided by the deep concave).
The rails sound closer to those of a performance longboard and so may like a bit steeper of a wave to really trim and get speed going down the line, but will be easier to break free from the wave in order to turn (more maneuverable).
Overall, I would say this could be considered a hybrid between a nose rider and a performance longboard much like the In The Pink. But whereas the In The Pink could be considered more heavily a nose rider than a performance longboard, I would say this board looks like more of a 50/50 split. Looks like a super fun board, I'd love to try one some day!
It is hard for me to say much more than that without actually having seen the board in person or ridden it myself. But based on the description of the board and the video of Ryan Engle surfing the board (on the Infinity website), it looks like it delivers on its promises. You can see how the board carries smoothly through turns and he is able to hold the board on rail through cutbacks rather than quickly pivoting, stalling, and getting to the nose. This is more typical of the type of surfing you would see on the In The Pink which has many of the same characteristics.
So, ultimately, they look to be very similar in concept, basically a nose rider that can also be surfed off the tail, something you would want for more of a beach break style wave where you need to maneuver the board quickly as the wave changes, or for a point or reef where you also want the board to be able to surf on rail through turns, or if you are just learning to nose ride and you want something that is a little more forgiving and user-friendly than a strictly nose riding model would be (classic nose riders can be difficult to surf if you are less experienced). Anyway, I hope that helps! *Also, if you live in the OC area, I'm pretty sure Infinity does demo days at Doheny, so maybe you can try one out before you buy it. Let us know how it works if you end up trying one out!
20. comment for Takayama 'In The Pink' Surfboard Review (with surfing at the end)