Gong SUP 8’6 Cloud pics

Written by matt on Wednesday 22 Feb 2012

With GONG SUP boards now in the U.K , if you’re in the market for a Stand up paddle surf board and are not sure which model to get , please give us a ring or pop in to our showroom for a look.
Check some great pics of the GONG sup 8’6 Cloud below and a review by John Harris.

This is what I found out today!
First some explanations and excuses, I weigh 76k, 173cm, thats 5’8 in real money, have been on SUPs for about 4 years, kitesurfed, windsurfed, surfed, for 25 years, I’m old. Comparing this board to Starboard 9’8, Starboard 9′, Gong 9,9, PSH 9′?.
Today at Saunton, conditions perfect, very little wind, head high to overhead, 14 seconds wave period, sunny, damn it’s February what did we do right to deserve this, it was beautiful.
For me the Cloud is less stable than the other boards, with the exception of the PSH which was not much fun in anything other than flat glass, the stability is not at all bad, certainly easier than a Gerry Lopez 8’11, but at 30.5 wide the Cloud should be stable, although it has a more curved plan shape than the Gerry Lopez.
Getting out through the white water was no problem, the nose has more lift and is more pointed than I expected it to be, it cuts through the foam easily. now to get into position,
Maybe it’s the rocker, and the constant curve of the rails but this board spins round easily, so much so that it’s better to at 45 degrees to the wave when you start paddling to take off. Foot positioning was as standard, back foot back, and front foot were it originally was (approxiamately by the hand hold), As Patrice has said before it’s not a good idea to walk to the front of the board while paddling to catch a wave (maybe on the 9’9) but not on this one as it causes the rocker to plough water and doesn’t help the take off,
Today I was surfing with Paul who was riding a Starboard 9’8 and we were picking up on the same waves, so the Cloud does get going quite early, no problems there.
So its on the wave and surfing, yes Surfing, it was fast, loose, responds well to foot pressure, doesn’t seem to bog down, maybe the wide-ish tail helps, feels small, fun, and feels like you could be “out of control” on this board but still be in control, I love it,
I wrote Surfing twice, the Cloud feels like a slightly more curved “Fish”, for me it feels like a proper Surf board, Patrice was either lucky or he knows what he is doing, definitely the latter, he certainly knows what he is doing!

Custom Scarfini fins available at CUSTOM FINS

lovely double concave before the fins giving this board lots of Lift, speed and drive down the wave face.

All Gong boards come with a camo 3M adhesive deck pad (pictured) – here a Tail pad has been custom fitted in the tail area of the board for added grip in surfing.
Check our tail pad selection TRACTION PADS here

With 130 Litres of volume the board is ideally suited to 85Kg and below intermediate SUP board riders, but will accommodate larger experienced riders up to 16+ stone.

Call us on 01792 367 453