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Oxbow 10'6" Review + Video

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Created by Casso > 9 months ago, 13 Sep 2008
Casso
NSW, 3764 posts
13 Sep 2008 2:44PM
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Yesterday I was lucky enough to test out the very new Oxbow 10'6". A demo board from Bevan at Glide Industries. It was the first production board to arrive in Australia.

One word: Missus.

The board is: 10'6" x 29" x 4.25".

I'm 86 kilos and ride an 11' Oxbow SUP about 50% of the time. The other 50% of my surfs are on a 6'4" shortboard, a 5'10" fish or a 9'2" performance longboard.

I'm using my one word descriptor as "missus" on this board, not because it misses the mark (on the contrary, quite the opposite ... more on that in a minute) but because it would be great for the missus. A light weight SUP rider who wants a board that will perform well in the surf yet is not into big powerful hacks should try and get their hands on this board.

Now, Oxbow have done a very clever thing here and really hit (not missed) the mark. They have created a mid-quiver board with a nice bright yellow spray job and orange and grey graphics. Some of the patterns on the board are almost floral. A very attractive board if you are lacking testosterone. Fantastic if you are a female SUPer or you are one of those sneaky male SUPers who are looking to add an extra board in the middle of their quiver and are selling it to their wife or girlfriend as a present for them - just because we love them. Whether or not she ever actually gets to ride it is irrelevant - at least now we have another SUP in the garage.

On first glance, this is a very nice looking board - apart from the afore mentioned feminine colouring, the Oxbow 10'6" shares the same clean lines, pulled in nose and diamond tail as the outline of the new Oxbow 9'6". If you have read an earlier review of mine on the 9'6", you will know how much I like the look of this very functional shape. The rails are relatively low for a SUP and the slightly rolled deck make this board look just like a really big shortboard.

So let's take it for a surf...

I went out at Collaroy (on Sydney's Northern Beaches) with 2 to 3 foot of swell running and an increasing onshore breeze. Quite fat waves, fairly long rides and a bit chop out the back.

Paddling out was fine - not super stable but not too wobbly. I'm sure if I was lighter than 86 kilos it would be much more stable - I bet my wife or daughter wouldn't have any problems (see theory above). Getting over the whitewater (relatively small) was a breeze. The pulled in nose allows the board to shoot up and over the broken wave with little impact.

My first turn on the first wave, the Oxbow 10'6" felt a little tighter than I was expecting. As I leaned into the forehand bottom turn I got that horrible sensation when you're leaning ... leaning and the board's not coming around quick enough to counter-act the lean. Oh oh, I'm going to face plant here. Luckily the board did, eventually, come around just in time and I didn't go over. I must have looked like a kook though as I flailed around in my recovery. I must have been trying to drive the turn while riding too far forward. The following paddle assisted heel-side cutback was in much more in control even though I hadn't really moved my feet yet. This was probably due to the paddle doing a lot of the work as I swung the 10'6" around. On the next bottom turn, I smartly decided to step back, quite a bit, and the board responded as anticipated. A much sharper and smoother turn. As the wave reformed I changed directions and went left doing a couple of those little baby floaters on the crumbly bit of semi broken wave. They felt quite nice - fluid, fast and smooth. Then a bigger backhand reo on the shorey which I didn't make - but I'm not that good at the old backhand re-entry (I'm never too sure what to do with the paddle during these).

The next wave was a bigger right-hander from out the back. Pumping the 10'6" to generate speed was a little tricky because you need to be quite forward to maintain planning speed yet the 10'6" wants to turn off the tail. It's just a little stiff for that and would be even more difficult for a lighter surfer. But the Oxbow 10'6" planes well anyway, without really needing to pump it. The wave sectioned ahead of me so I went for the big hit. Again, I probably wasn't back quite far enough (slow learner) and struggled a bit with the bottom turn / top turn combo. I didn't come unstuck but it was far from a stylish manoeuvre. This time as the wave started to reform I decided to go for a bit of a walk. This proved quite easy, a few cross steps up to the end of the grip and then a very carefully placed foot reaching out towards the slippery nose (no wax up there on the demo board). I could imagine it would nose ride pretty well for a pulled in nose, mid length, semi performance board.

I didn't have a set of scales with me but the board felt quite light - to guess, I'd say about 11 kilos. Construction and workmanship seemed OK, however, foot compressions were already starting to appear.

This board isn't for the radical SUP surfer looking for a very loose high performance board. However, a heavy-ish power surfer could throw it around, I would think, but they would also need quite good stationary balance. As I have eluded to, I think this board would be great for a mid to light weight SUP surfer who's not too radical ... “Honey! - come and have a look at this, I think you'd really like it".

Highs:
- Good planning speed.
- Great looks for the missus.
- Tracks well when paddling.
- Relatively inexpensive.
- Good all rounder.

Lows:
- Hard to throw around.
- Small sweet spot for carving turns.
- A little unstable, especially for the bigger rider.


Here's a short clip of some of the session:



SF
NSW, 161 posts
14 Oct 2008 10:58PM
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I tried the Oxbow 10'6 on the weekend and I thought I would add my impression to Casso's. I was particularly interested in this board and Bevan sent me the specifications so I can add that the volume is 145 litres.

I am 6'2 100kg low intermediate and I was paddling the board in flat water on Terrigal Lagoon. The board was from ESS Board Store.

I like the appearance of the board, it looks nice and fresh with the white deck pad on white board and I particularly liked the fact that the graphics on the nose are not covered by the deck pad.

I jumped on and and paddled out, it tracks well and paddles fast for its size, the waterline is very close to 10'6 with me on it. It had enough volume to float me, but it seems concentrated in the centre of the board and it feels unstable at my weight. I didn't attempt to take the board into the surf, but I think it would be possible for someone with a higher skill level than me.

I hope this helps.

Steve

Casso
NSW, 3764 posts
15 Oct 2008 9:44PM
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Thanks for the additional info and perspective, Steve. It's great to know the different volumes when trying to compare floatation capability.



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"Oxbow 10'6" Review + Video" started by Casso