My aim is to review boards for the average knockabout surfer (or ‘kook’ like me), without all the technical terms and manoeuvres.
After constantly borrowing my wife’s Salt Gypsy longboard ‘The Dusty’ I decided it was about time to get a longboard of my own. (Click here to read The Dusty surfboard review)
When it came to size and shape, I was after a board that was only going to be used when the conditions were really small. I just wanted to be able to catch anything that remotely looked like a wave that rolled through with the intention of having only one goal and that is to just get to the nose. No fancy turns or anything like that, its purely just attempting to walk up and down the board.
So after shopping around for a bit, I finally found the right board, a 9’8 ‘Loggerhead’ by The Critical Slide Society. This board is a contemporary version of an old school longboard design. Right up my ally!
The Critical Slide Society boards really caught my eye with their funky alternative colours Honey and Kiwi. The ‘Loggerhead’ that I purchased is a beautiful bright honey colour. So you definitely won’t miss me out in the surf.
Critical Slide is all about the simple joy of surfing. They design boards that are not going to win a world title, They are designed to get every last drop off fun out of wave. Exactly the same reason I surf. I can’t do any of the manoeuvres that the guys at my local board riders can do but I can appreciate the feeling of frothing a fun wave just as much.
Even though this beautiful board comes with a fin, I decided to upgrade to a Free Fall longboard fin straight away. There was nothing wrong with the Critical slide fin, (It is a pretty generic shape and ticks all the boxes) I just wanted a fin that had more base to it so I can attempt to nose ride easier. I would suggest to definitely try the fin out first before upgrading, however, I’m just lucky as I stock Free Fall hardware on my online store and had one readily available that I wanted to try.
When I first bought the Logger Head, I took it down to one of my local beaches, called 7 mile beach. This wave is perfect for longboards! I still remember the first wave I caught on The Logger head so clearly. The conditions were perfect, the sets were a generous 2ft and breaking super clean. I spotted a wave, turned and paddled, I prepared my self to pop up, I looked down the line got to my feet and was like OMG, this is long boarding, this is what have I been missing out on!
I had been so used to ridding Mrs Kook’s ‘The Dusty’ which is a great allrounder and perfect size for her but a bit on the skinny and thin side for me. So it is still a bit of work to paddle onto the smaller waves and super tricky to navigate to the nose. The ‘Logger Head’ especially the 9’8 is super buoyant and made walking up and down the board so much easier. It gave me the feeling I have been looking for with my long boarding.
My favourite thing about ‘The Loggerhead’ is paddling for a wave and setting my self in that ready position and having the time to decide which way on the wave I am going to go or keeping an eye on the person on your inside to see what they are doing first without losing any momentum.
Now, I am a terrible long boarder and happy to admit it. Riding the Logger Head made me go back to basics. It is super forgiving and so good to actually practice things such as cross stepping and longboard turning. This is also handy if you are learning to surf because The logger head is noticeably a thick board which makes for a stable landing for your feet.
To be honest, Even though I wanted a board that was going to catch every wave available, When I decided on the length I was stressing that 9’8 was going to be a bit too much board to be able to navigate on the wave. After surfing the logger head a heap, I definitely have no regrets with the sizing. I am 6ft and roughly 85kg and have no problems at all steering this board down the line. The extra length also give me the ability to even knee paddle around out the back. Which is good if you want to mix things up.
I recently went on a surfing road trip from Kiama to Noosa and packed a whole bunch of boards. And to be honest the board that got used the most was the Logger Head. It absolutely loved those long point breaks. I even got the longest wave of my life at Cresent head on this beautiful stable board. I left the trip with the desire to get better at long boarding.
They retail for $1295 and comes with a fin which may seem like a lot of money but in the world of longboards its actually very fairly priced
I give this awesome Log a solid 9/10. This score maybe a bit bias as the logger head reignited the longboard flame inside of me. Click here to buy yours today!
To learn more about the amazing company Global Surf Industries , Click here to listen to the podcast episode I recorded with the CEO Mark Kelly.
I appreciate your ongoing support of my small business, by purchasing a surfboard through the Global Surf Industries Link, you are helping the South Coast Kook podcast continue to run. To say thanks I would love to send you a small token of appreciation to help you get your stoke on your new board. Simply contact me directly at southcoastkook@gmail.com after purchase and I will gladly send you a FREE GIFT!
Disclaimer - This Free Gift has no connection with Global Surf Industries. You will only receive the gift if you contact me directly via email.
I am more than happy to answer any questions you may have.
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