Storm 2.0 - Review

So what has changed with the Storm 2.0 ? Well here is an great little review. Take a read and make up your own mind

You know what, I was bored.  I had surfed since I was 6 and I had been paddling for the best part of the last 10 years.  Paddling became my go to exercise and I was doing a big amount of Ks each week. But then, like other sports you needed boards for lots of stuff, flat water, general purpose, and ocean paddling.  

That sort of complexity alongside the fact that we had downsized our life from a massive house with a big garage to a smaller inner city apartment with limited storage really lead me to question the whole need to keep paddling.  But…. Because the there is always a But, Ange and Jacko rang me and said ‘hey we have the Storm 2 and we made some changes, do you want to grab one’.

The only answer to that was ‘Absolutely’ so I packed up and went down to the shop to pick one up and drop off some other boards. I was lucky that both Ben (shaper) and Ange and Jacko were all there to walk me through the changes.  Are they ground-breaking? No, but the are subtle and do they make a difference – HELL YEA.

So, first things first, to look at the board you can sort of see some little changes around the nose but you are sort of hard pressed to really tell what they are.  The high points are that they have moved around some volume and made some gentle changes to the bottom shape. These changes make a big difference to not only the handling but where you can use this board. It also means you can drop a bit in width to cover a whole lot of conditions

So, what has this meant to me?  Well, its my go to board now, in flat water, does this mean it will smash a dedicated flat water board, no, but its good enough to make flat water training fun (well as fun as grinding can be) it keeps up with most boards and lets you concentrate on the improvement of technique and cadence.   Does it mean that I can drop the need for my Edge Pro, probably not, but there is probably only about 3 times a year I would use a dedicated flat water board.

In our normal bay sessions the board is a bloody joy, short chop and cross swell is sometimes a horribly complex place to have a fun little paddle around but the new Storm has really added to my confidence and so, let me really enjoy some really fun sessions basically surfing around the bay (and if you don’t believe me next time there is a Southerly, or something with a bit of East in it, wander down to Shornecliffe Pier and you will find me surfing the Pier, BIG FUN).  

When it comes to a downwinder, this is really where the board just shines.  I was, up until recently, on a 28 Storm 1, which is an incredible board for downwinding, stable, confidence inspiring.  For us, ahem, more generously proportioned crew it is a sports car, scaled up and ready to deliver. With the Storm 2 I am able to drop 2 inches down to a 26 wide and it is every bit as stable as my old 28, but hell is it fast.  It’s so quick, that my first downwinder I was finding myself behind the board as it just wanted to hunt bumps and go faster. Once, I worked out that there was a different gear this board had and I just needed to adapt a little. The outcome is a faster, more stable platform to play on.  

So, how has the new Storm changed things for me?  I have my stoke back now, I have less complexity in what board I am going to take and I know that pretty much unless I am doing flat water marathons or competition sprinting then I grab my Storm.  I can’t wait to grab the board and do a bay run, or to enjoy some ocean time and I am enjoying my paddling more than ever.

So, if you are in the market for a new board, you really should put this one on your list of boards to look at.  

SEE YOU ON THE WATER 😊

Greg C, Australia