Review by: Dom Gaud

Construction: Blue Touch

Size: 8'5” Long, 30" wide, 4,2" Thick, 126L volume

Fin's: Quad fin

The boys from Starboard sent us one of their famous Pocket Rockets to try out over the last month.

First impressions:

The graphics and board colouration is very attractive. The board I was given to ride has the Starboard Star Touch deck, which allows for traction when wet.

The board has a mono concave nose section which runs to a double concave back section with fish tail. With the board only being 8’5 in length meant I could easily throw it into the car and head off to the beach.

In the water:

I must admit that I was a little apprehensive about the board floating my 95Kg with only a volume of 126L, but from the moment I jumped on it I felt like it would easily hand me with an extra couple of 6 packs and pizzas. This board is extremely stable even in choppy onshore conditions and paddles well. The width makes paddling over white water effortless. Taking off a little late or on steeper waves does take a bit of concentration as there is not a lot of rocker in the nose, but this is manageable. On the wave it had plenty of speed and was very maneuverable and assisted by the quad fin setup made for some great tale slides, which are always a crowd pleaser ;) This board excelled in onshore or choppy conditions. What I really liked about it was that you can surf any conditions and any style. The board loves you getting your toes over the nose and then you can cross-step back onto the tail and snap the board around in any direction. I would conceder replacing the standard fins it comes with and put a tailpiece deck grip. Although the Star-Touch works well I found that I still had the urge to wax up the back of the board for that extra traction with more progressive surfing.

Ratings:

Appearance :                      9/10

Quality and Finish:             10/10

Paddling:                            5/10

Surfing:                              8/10

Stability:                             8/10

Manoverability:                    9/10

Conclusion:

This is a really fun board and it is a great option for the bigger rider who is looking for a small and responsive board that can be ridden in any conditions including those onshore and choppy days or a fun day out at your local point break. This board is one for the quiver!