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12’ Laird Stand Up Paddle Board – Flat Water Review |
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By: Stand Up Paddle Surfing Magazine
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Thursday, 18 December 2008 |
The Laird series of stand up paddle surfboards by Surftech will forever have their place in the history of the sport as one of the earliest production models available to the general public through retail outlets. Designed by Ron House with input from Laird, this board has for a long time become the measuring stick for stand up paddle board that followed in terms of stability and performance. We recently had occasion to try out a brand spanking new yellow 12’ Laird right off the shelf, shiny and new. For this review we had two riders, one experienced stand up paddler of about 175 lbs and another complete newbie, never before been on a stand up paddleboard paddler of about 230 lbs. The fin installed was the stock 9” single fin that comes with the board. The waves were down so we took it out into the flat water. In this article we’ll cover the shape, stability, and overall impressions.
 The outline of the 12’ Laird was a lot more performance oriented than we had originally thought. The nose is 21” wide which widens to 31” at the midpoint and pinches in to 19 1/4” in the tail. Most of the volume is in the nose of the board while the tail appeared to be pulled in compared to the overall width. With the minimal rocker of this board it’s a fast paddler and with the slightly pulled in tail should surf nicely, though we didn’t take it into the waves. (However, our 175 lb paddle did ride a ripple for about 50 yards on a non-breaking wave/ripple.) The stability is quite consistent throughout the mid section of the board. Some boards have a noted difference when you shift your weight a few inches, but such was not the case with this board. The board is only 4.13” thick so the overall volume didn’t feel unruly or overly buoyant.
The deck is mostly flat. It seems that the center 1/3 of the deck is pretty flat with the outer 1/3’s sloping toward the edge of the board. Our advanced paddler found his foot placement comfortably near the centerline of the board while our new paddler struggled to keep the board level. After some discussion we concluded that the rounded rails of the board try tend to slide your weight over the sides instead of keeping it flat on the board. When you’re a new paddler you tend to take a wider stance and your feet end up closer to the curved rails thus drawing your center of gravity over the side. This particular board had a Surftech deck pad on it. The pad felt comfortable and is denser than most deck pads on the market. Whether that’s a pro or a con is debatable but it is what it is. The pad was comfortable under our feet but maybe a bit harder on the knees in a kneeling position. For surfing a dense deck pad such as this may allow for better power transfer to the board.
In terms of stability, the primary stability, or the measure of the boards stability on the textured surface chop of the water is average, not overly tippy and not completely stable. The board has great secondary stability, meaning that it does actually take quite an effort to actually tip the board over. You are more likely to fall off from your own balance than for the board to actually release the fin and tip over upside down. All-in-all for our lighter paddler of 175 lbs, the board was stable, but for our new 230 lb paddler, the board was tippy and somewhat difficult to manage. However, with some practice, we’re convinced that our new paddler will get his sea legs and be able to paddle and maneuver the board with skill. He plans on surfing the board eventually, and we think it’ll be a great stick for him when he gets to that point. The 12’ Laird was once thought of the as the most stable of all stable boards, and it probably was. However, with the advancement of equipment and the creation of boards with more stability, we’ve found that the Laird is about average and a heavier paddler may not be able to up and paddle one with ease on the first try.
Our overall impressions of the board are good. The board paddles fast and as was mentioned even caught an unbroken ripple of a wave without too much trouble. It definitely has glide on its side for the average size paddler. In fact, not too long ago Tom Jones set the world distance stand up paddle record when he paddled the entire California coast on a Laird.
The outline has much more of a performance look to it than we had previously envisioned before actually paddling out on one. The slightly pulled in tail may contribute to the paddling speed and should be helpful in the surf. For a paddler up to around 200 lbs the board will most likely be a stable platform in all conditions. First time paddlers over 200 lbs will be able to stand and paddle the board but may jump into the learning curve at a point where some water time will be needed before a graceful water journey is achieved but could be a happy median for those looking for an even balance between stability and paddling speed and surf performance.
Most surf shops have a couple 12’ Laird models as part of their rental quiver so it shouldn’t be too much of a hunt to get one out on the water and try one out before making the purchase. Next, we hope to take one out in the surf and round out the review, but that’s all for now. For more specs on the 12’ Laird stand up paddleboard visit www.Surftech.com.
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GEAR INSIGHTS 
June 09, 2009
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