Archive for Tests
September 11, 2009 at 5:43 pm | Spongercity Boards Tests, Tests News
NMD boards are made by Mez in indo, in the same factory that produces VS, LMNOP, HB, SCIENCE, SNIPER, some TOYS, some TURBO, MOREY, BZ, ELIT and even more brands… They’re all really good boards with a solid construction (Buzz Tech Laminators), CNC Machine precision for the cut of the core blanks, and hand shaped finitions for all boards (rails, nose and tail bumpers, nose bulbs & lamination process).
We’ve tested the NMD Ben Player 41.5 PE board in a wide range of conditions and waves. To be honest it’s the board we’ve tested the longer and the better, simply because it felt good right from the beginning and it still feels good today as we write this. Nope, we havent given the board back, we’ll keep it. Click below to read the full test.
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September 10, 2009 at 9:32 pm | Spongercity Tests, Wetsuits Tests News
ZION Wetsuits is one of the new cool wetsuit brand out there, hailing from Australia, and being “The Brainchild of former pro Bodyboarder Ryan Mattick”, who “has developed Zion for purpose built Bodyboard use in mind”. There are quite a lot of bodyboarding-specialized wetsuits brands nowadays which is great (Agent 18, Dunes, Zion, Reeflex, Void…). We tested an AGENT 18 Wetsuit last year, then a DUNES steamer, and now it’s ZION’s turn to be tested by Spongercity. We’ll make the test/review short and to the point:
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September 9, 2009 at 5:38 pm | Spongercity Boards Tests, Tests News
VS boards are made by Mez in indo, in the same factory that produces NMD, LMNOP, HB, SCIENCE, SNIPER, some TOYS, some TURBO, MOREY, BZ, ELIT and even more brands… They’re all really good boards with a solid construction (Buzz Tech Laminators), CNC Machine precision for the cut of the core blanks, and hand shaped finitions for all boards (rails, nose and tail bumpers, nose bulbs & lamination process).
The Ryan Hardy is a fast and narrow board designed by Ryan and Todd Quigley. Its template is very straight in the same vein as its range compadre the VS Rawlins board. The template and curve of the VS Hardy when you look at it is quite close to the template of the NMD Player board but the Hardy board is narrower and it’s got a different curve between the wide point and the nose of the board. The NMD Player for example has a gentle curve that goes smoothly from the wide point to the nose whereas the VS Hardy has a curve that tends to go up higher, in a straight line and then turn at the last moment to meet the nose corners which makes the board very straight.
As a result the VS Hardy board is fast and draws straight lines on the wave. The rails are straight and feel fast and responsive for rail to rail turn, specially since the board is quite narrow. It’s easy to scoop, lock yourself into barrels and control the board in hollow conditions. On the contrary, small and less powerful waves would probably not fit the board as well, it would lack volume (width) a little bit and wouldn’t go as fast or be enough responsive.
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February 3, 2009 at 8:36 pm | Spongercity Boards Tests, Tests News
Early 2009…time for more board tests ! We just tested the VS Rawlins Model – PE + stringer – crescent tail – size 41 – Test conditions: in 12 to 14°C waters. (about 53 to 57°F). Shorey waves from 3 to 5 feet, glassy and hollow. One of the best sessions we’ve had for board tests so far !
Read more about the board in this test.
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November 5, 2008 at 6:02 pm | Spongercity Tests, Wetsuits Tests News
DUNES is one of the rare wetsuit companies building suits specifically for bodyboarders. (Their website is not up to date so keep on reading the review and ask your local shop for the latest DUNES products coz you wont find anything on their site). They’re sponsoring a couple talented riders… mmmh like Ben Player for example or Dallas Singer and they even released a Player pro-model which looks pretty good. Anyway, we’re reviewing the DUNES GLADIATOR 4×3 BACKZIP royal blue color today. Click below to read the whole review.
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June 8, 2008 at 6:09 pm | Spongercity Tests, Wetsuits Tests News
Agent 18 is one of the rare 100% bodyboarding wetsuit company and they seem to make some of the coolest suits around. With a sick team (Glen Thurston, Chris James, Jake Stone and Michael Novy) and a solid brand image we were really curious about the suits and decided to test one of them. Our choice was the Zebra 3/2 full suit which looks pretty amazing (whether you wanna look like a zebra or not in the water… some thought they looked ugly, we think it’s pretty sick to see a suit that is not all black like all other brands out there). Anyway, read the full test article by clicking below.
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February 26, 2008 at 10:55 pm | Spongercity Boards Tests, Tests News
Early 2008, it’s time for new board Tests ! We just tested a VS and a Science board. We’ll start with the SCIENCE 7 here. We tested a SCIENCE 7, Dow core + stringer, crescent tail, size 41.5 in 12 to 14°C waters. (about 53 to 57°F). Read more about the board in this test.
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April 2, 2007 at 12:40 pm | Spongercity Boards Tests, Tests News
VS RYAN HARDY – POLYPROCORE – Crescent Tail – One stringer – Size 41.75 – About 389 AUS. Dollars in Oz – 260 Euros in Europe
Dimensions (approx.) : 41.75 x 11.5 x 21 @ 17 x 17.5
Although this Board has been designed and fine-tuned by Todd Quigley from QCD and Ryan Hardy himself, the VS stock boards are made by Mez and his team in Java with some of the best materials you can find, a hi-tech CNC machine and buzz laminator technology. The PP core and PE deck & rails are the perfect combo for a reactive and fast board in cool to warm water. This year the PP felt stiffer than usual.
The shape of the Hardy PP crescent tail model is definitely prone oriented as you can guess, it’s not that good for DK although the shape tolerates a little DK ride once in a while. The board felt really good as soon as i jumped on it, the shape is quite narrow, fast and responsive. The PP+stringer combo feels a little too stiff at the beginning in cool or cold water but once you’ve ridden the board a couple times it gets a little more flexy and feels good. It will be perfect for summer time and warmer water. If you’re looking for a flexy board or cold water weapon go for the PE core, not the PP core i reckon. Anyway, the board was quite easy to ride although its narrow wide-point will not help unexperienced riders. Good riders will love it, it drives and holds well in hollow waves and works good in both small and big surf. The board is very thin and it feels great in your hand.
The design and details were perfect on the board i tested and the quality of the stock boards / craftmanship is super good. The VS Hardy is a great prone board for experienced riders. It’s available in 41.25 or 41.75. I’m 5′11 and quite light and i felt that i could have ridden a smaller board in bigger waves than the 41.75 However i wouldnt recommand using the 41.25 if you’re 5′11 or more it will be too small and too narrow to be confortable. The tail is quite narrow on those boards and and it works better in bigger or real hollow waves. I felt that narrow tails and smaller waves dont mix as well as narrow tails and bigger waves.
Also available from VS: the Rawlins board which pretty much feels like the Hardy one from what i’ve seen and tested so far; and the PLC board which feels really good (tested in 42 the other day) and really polyvalent actually (prone+dk) because it is larger and has more of an “egg” shape. It’s fast and responsive in PP – suits bigger riders in size 42 than the Hardy in size 41.75 comparatively.
June 7, 2006 at 12:38 pm | Spongercity Boards Tests, Tests News
NMD WINNY – POLYPROCORE – Crescent Tail – One stringer – Size 42 – About 368 AUS. Dollars in Oz – 260 Euros in Europe
Dimensions : 42 x 12 x 21,5 @ 18 x 17 7/8
NMD boards are made by Mez and his team in Java with some of the best materials you can find, a hi-tech CNC machine and buzz laminator technology. The PP core and PE deck & rails are the perfect combo for a reactive and fast board in cool to warm water and smaller waves.
The shape of the Winny model is more prone oriented than dk oriented even if Dave Winchester seems to be riding his board pretty well in DK. I found the board weird when riding in DK but it wasnt too bad. Anyway, it’s a fast and easy to surf board for prone, it generates a lot of speed and carves well, and it’s also quite easy to spin and hit lips with that shape. I think i was slightly too light to use the board to it’s full potential. I recommend it for bigger guys. I’m 5′11″ (1,80m) but quite light. The length of the board is good if you’re 5′11″ but the board was slightly thicker than the board i usually use and i think it was floating too much for me. Heavier guys would’ve loved it though.
Definitly a good all terrain board for prone guys who still wanna drop the knee once in a while. Really solid construction and long-lasting board.
June 6, 2006 at 12:35 pm | Spongercity Boards Tests, Tests News
NMD PLAYER – POLYPROCORE – Crescent Tail – One Stringer – Size 41,5 – About 368 AUS. Dollars in Oz – 260 Euros in Europe
Dimensions : 41,5 x 11,75 x 21,25 @ 18 x 17 3/8
NMD boards are made by Mez and his team in Java with some of the best materials you can find, a hi-tech CNC machine and buzz lamainator technology. The PP core and PE deck & rails are the perfect combo for a reactive and fast board in cool to warm water and smaller waves.
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The shape of the Player was perfect for bigger waves and i enjoyed how easy it was to control the board in bigger waves. In smaller waves the board lacked of speed and i guess the shape was more oriented for bigger waves and hollow pits control. Easy to release the rails, easy to spin, easy to get used to it since it’s quite a basic shape. I even tried to DK with it and it wasnt too bad if you place your knee in the right place.
The board was slightly too small for me, i need a longer board to get more speed but i guess all guys under 5′10″ (1,77m) will love the board. Perfect thickness, super nice construction and long-lasting board.
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