When I saw that Surftech was coming out with a new line of Gerry Lopez stand up paddle boards, I was excited. But the one that really caught my eye was the 8'11" Lil' Darlin'. Ever since riding the 8'5" Starboard Pocket Rocket back in June I realized the potential of smaller SUP boards for high-performance surfing. On Sunday I took the GoPro Hero helmetcam down to Matanzas Inlet to give the Lil' Darlin' a try. The waves were small and clean, in the thigh to waist high range on the sets. There was the usual longboard crowd out, but Dale, Jonathan and I paddle north to the middle of the inlet to get a peak all to ourselves. Here is the result...and check out the Lil' Darlin' for sale here:
Surftech Gerry Lopez 8'11" Lil' Darlin



Download the IPod/Apple TV version:
http://www.oceanextremesports.com/vid/lil_darlin.m4v

Download the Windows Media Player version:
http://www.oceanextremesports.com/vid/lil_darlin.wmv

Very nice Eddie... So, how would you compare this one to the pocket rocket? Glide, turning, etc...?
I rode John Dodd's pocket rocket this past weekend and loved it. After riding his board, I hated to go back to my 10'6.....

I actually rode the 8'11" Lil' Darlin back to back with the Starboard 9'0" x 30" last week for comparison. The conditions were a little iffy with 15 knot S winds blowing some side chop down the beach. The 8'11" is 28.5" wide, so not quite as wide as the Starboard. When I originally rode the Lil' Darlin it was in perfect glass conditions, when it was very stable and easy to paddle. With a little surface chop it was easier to tell the differences in stability between the 2 boards. I would say that the Starboard was a little more stable due to the extra width, but not much. The bottom contour makes a big difference on these boards, and it is important to have a single concave under your feet, and V in the back for quicker rail to rail turning. Both of these boards share the same bottom contour, which greatly adds to their stability. I would say that the 9'0" is slightly more stable when standing without moving, but once you get moving both boards are very stable for their size. The waves were only knee high when we were testing, so it is hard to judge wave riding performance, but based on my limited experience I would say that the Starboard would be better in small waves, and the Gerry Lopez Lil' Darlin will perform better as the size increases due to the narrower width. Any time you get a wide board out in head high or bigger surf it is tough to get it on a rail, so the narrower the better. With the 8'11" you are sacrificing a little bit of flat water stability for added performance.

When it comes to build quality I would say that they are pretty similar. Starboard has been building windsurfing boards for years and they take that experience into their SUP designs. Surftech similarly has been building quality epoxy surfboards for years, and the same quality goes into their stand up paddle boards.

As far as the 8'5" goes, it is really in a different class of boards entirely. It has been a while since I rode the Starboard Pocket Rocket, but that was my favorite board I have ridden to date in terms of wave riding performance. There is nothing else that compares in terms of looseness and turnability in small waves. That said it does take a bit of getting used to because it is so small, so be prepared to sacrifice some stability and glide. SUP boards in the 9' range still have a fair amount of glide and allow you to catch waves early out the back that are just starting to peak up. The 8'5" requires you to be more in the right spot like a surfer to catch the wave, eliminating the advantage that most SUP boards give in terms of paddling speed. So the Pocket Rocket will require considerably more balance and energy to catch waves that larger boards, but the trade off is incredible surfing performance.

Sorry to say but now that you have tried the Pocket Rocket, your days on the Kites Etc. SUP board are numbered. It is tough to go back to that big tanker now after feeling the rocket under your feet.

When