Another Happy Customer …this time from Mark one of our South Wales GONG ambassador’s
Gong Cloud 666
I had been SUP surfing for the best part of 18 months when I finally made the move from a 9’ 3” Single Fin Gong SUP board with 150 L volume. The board had served me well over that period but I was now looking for one that would be livelier on a wave, still be relatively stable while wallowing around waiting outside beyond the surfers and not require me to sweat my nuts off to catch a wave . All pretty reasonable I thought.
After several months of trolling the internet, watching Youtube videos, reading forums and reviews mainly by SUP surfers who were riding waves which I could only dream of I was still not convinced that the boards they were riding were suited to the less than perfect wave we get most of the time in Wales. In April 2012 I came across the SUP Gower web site which was highlighting new boards that were being produced by Gong which just seemed to look ‘right’( to quote a phrase). After several emails and conversations with Matt at SUP Gower, where we discussed the various features of each board and how they suited an intermediate level SUP surfer weighing in at 78 Kg, we eventually homed in on an 8’ 6” Gong Cloud with 135 L volume.
So having bought a board untried and only based on informed opinion how does it perform? Well I have to admit that despite it still being early days it’s proving to be rather good! It can be a little tippy when paddling out but it’s often possible to recover if you feel yourself going in, it also ‘punches’ it’s way comfortably through waves. With a quad fin set up I had anticipated a fair amount of yaw but it does hold its line pretty well. Stability once outside is good and one step back is sufficient to allow you to perform a quick pivot turn. I have been able to keep my wave count up, even in small waves despite the board size although you do have to be more selective over the wave ‘pick up point’ (as you would expect). The sweet spot is over the handle slot to ball of your foot just in front, standing with your heel in front of the slot will see the board pearl. I am surprised with amount of glide you get on a board of this length and you can still ‘pull’ yourself on to a wave when necessary. Once on the wave you can move further up front if that’s your thing, on stepping back the rail design and board width allows you ride more surfboard style. So all in all I’m very happy with the Cloud and it looks like it going to give me the opportunity to develop my SUP surfing ability further.
In summary I would say the Cloud offers a very good single board option for most SUP surfer in most conditions. Even if you were to also own a longer board for those choppy UK wave days and shorter one for the few perfect days I suspect that the Cloud would be the one that you would be riding the majority of the time.
Sadly I’ve managed to get some pictures of me in what I would flatteringly call less than challenging waves. On the day I met two fellow Gong board owners Gary (Cloud) and Sarah who will probably not thank me for including some shots of them. A 12 month ago there would probably be only one or two other SUP surfers out with me, that evening there were 5 of which 3 were Gong boards. A sign, perhaps, of how the sport is growing and the increasing popularity of Gong boards.
Gary Brazier- another 8’6 CLOUD fan !
If you want more information on The GONGSUP 8’6 CLOUD including where to buy one
CLICK HERE
They are available for £649 including fins and deck pad
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