I’m sure many of you have seen this bright yellow and orange Surftech Bark Competitor out on the water. We had the opportunity to ride this board for over a month and we saw plenty of them being ridden by extreme racers to novice paddlers. This board fits into many different categories, some better than others but, truly a multipurpose board.
The board was rated on Stability, Speed, maneuverability and features.We tested this board in open ocean, gail force winds and everything in between. We even put beginners on it.
STABILITY
The board performed great in heavy swell and large chop. It had no problem pushing through swell and surfed great down wind. The Competitor was able to handle heavy cross wind and chop decently well, with not to much work keeping balance. For novice paddlers they may need some time to get use to the tipsiness but, found that they had an easier time on this board than many others out there.
This board rated a 3 out of 5 on stability.
SPEED
For a production Tuflite board we found this board to be surprisingly fast. Given its no carbon fiber rocket but, fast none the less. Great on acceleration and glide, performed admirably cruising. Was able to penetrate with ease through the wind and swell and didn’t loose to much speed.
This board rated a 4 out of 5 on speed.
MANEUVERABILITY
We know that maneuverability has a lot to do with the fin that is on the board but, we are basing this on the stock fin that came with the board from Surftech. The board turned decently well during regular paddling. It tracked well too. When it comes tom buoy turns we really had to get back on the tail to wip it around. It was fairly easy to turn once we figured it out.
This board rated a 3 out of 5 on maneuverability
FEATURES
We’re not going to necessarily rate this category but, simply give you a couple features that we thought were cool.
1. The handle is great on this board. It is so nice to not have the traditional inset handhold but, a nice neoprene covered approx. two foot strap center on the board. It makes it easy to carry the paddle and board in one hand. This was our favorite feature.
2. Diamond deck pad, this pad was great and prevented slip on more than one occasion. Its black so it doesn’t show dirt and grim, especially in the bay with all our mud.
3. Nose design, this nose performed fantastic in the nasty conditions in Northern California. It sliced through waves and stayed high on down wind runs. One of our favorite things about the design.
This board definitely performs best as a race board but, is very well suited for touring, training or just a short paddle on a nice day.
Specifications:
LENGTH: 12’6″ | 381cm
NOSE: 9.5″| 24.13cm
MID: 29″ | 73.66cm
TAIL: 16.5″ | 41.91cm
THICK: 6.5″ | 16.51cm
VOLUME: 233L
FINS: Single 10″ Center
MATERIALS: Tuflite
WEIGHT: 34 LBS.
PRICE: AVERAGE $2200 USD
January 15th, 2012 at 11:47 pm
Nice review of the Bark. I was just on Oahu and rented one of these bad boys. great all arounder and caught a few waves with it too. Aloha!
November 28th, 2012 at 5:52 am
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