Good to see starboard exploring new design. I have wanted a 5” thick touring board hoping it will give a more connected feel to the water. What’s your impression with feel to the water does the Wall offer something ‘game changing’ or more of a nice to consider when buying a new board?
Yes, it really does give you that lower and more connected feeling to the water. I think the only thing you’re going to have to think about is how much overall weight you want to put on the board and if there’s enough physical volume to take that weight, compared to a 6 ” board. But the riding feel it’s really nice if you’re a lighter rider in general. It’s going to be really interesting to see what happens with these types of boards for touring and racing.
jonathan Hebert
2 years ago
Cheers for another great review. Now .. i Love SB, but i find rather than it making me blinkered and love everything, it makes me be more critical, in a good way i like to think. I really enjoyed my short test of the Wall, the way it gave secondary stability felt so good, and i think it’s a fantastic board, and great thinking by SB. However, it needs the shoulder strap put onto the wall, the front handle needs to be swung around, and as a touring board, it really needs that rear handle. I am a little disappointed… Read more »
Thanks for the comment Jonny. Its going to be exciting to see where the Wall goes in the future.
dew
2 years ago
Is touring S so unstable and don’t track so good? I paddle allstar airline 14×24,5 and think that is stable and track great. Is there a big difference between touring and allstar airline with stability and tracking?
Hi Dew, Compared to your All Star the Touring S will be more stable because of the extra width it has, but the board will not have as much straight line track and speed. It wouldn’t be that bad at tracking but any-board that is longer will track better. It still comes with a good size fin that will help the tracking. It will be a board that will take much more weight (gear) then your AS. Thanks Reuben
Kermit
2 years ago
Any thoughts on how The Wall would compare against the Red 11ft Sport? (I’m thinking glide, speed, stability for an under 60kg rider) I love the low volume on the 30 inch Sport, very easy set up for a quick morning paddle, but The Wall being that bit narrower and longer makes it sound very interesting. Thanks.
Hi Kerry, great question. The Wall would definitely suit you as a lighter rider. The glide and speed would be noticeably different between boards with the Wall being faster with less width, longer outline and refined nose. The Wall has low volume too which makes set up quick and easy. As for stability, with your weight the Wall would be fine, but if you use the boards for a touring adventure, then maybe the comfort of having a wider board (11ft Sport) when carrying gear is more beneficial. Hope this helps!
Thanks Beau, that’s extremely helpful. Can I be extra cheeky and ask another question? How on earth did you get hold of The Wall? None of the usual retailers even list it on their sites. I assume it’s distributed by Tushingham in the UK so tried to see if they could give me any ideas which retailers could supply but no response. Too niche for UK markets? Do you ever sell off your test kit?
I think Starboard shipped the Wall over as a special shipment. We know Starboard are continually developing The Wall this was one of their first test models for production as it differed from what is advertised on their site (just valve and patch placements). Keep poking Tushingham on the stock levels but expect The Wall to be out later this year with shipping delays across the world affecting stock. Sorry we can’t be more helpful. We sometimes sell off reviewed equipment, but not this board.
Good to see starboard exploring new design. I have wanted a 5” thick touring board hoping it will give a more connected feel to the water. What’s your impression with feel to the water does the Wall offer something ‘game changing’ or more of a nice to consider when buying a new board?
Yes, it really does give you that lower and more connected feeling to the water. I think the only thing you’re going to have to think about is how much overall weight you want to put on the board and if there’s enough physical volume to take that weight, compared to a 6 ” board. But the riding feel it’s really nice if you’re a lighter rider in general. It’s going to be really interesting to see what happens with these types of boards for touring and racing.
Cheers for another great review. Now .. i Love SB, but i find rather than it making me blinkered and love everything, it makes me be more critical, in a good way i like to think. I really enjoyed my short test of the Wall, the way it gave secondary stability felt so good, and i think it’s a fantastic board, and great thinking by SB. However, it needs the shoulder strap put onto the wall, the front handle needs to be swung around, and as a touring board, it really needs that rear handle. I am a little disappointed… Read more »
Thanks for the comment Jonny. Its going to be exciting to see where the Wall goes in the future.
Is touring S so unstable and don’t track so good? I paddle allstar airline 14×24,5 and think that is stable and track great. Is there a big difference between touring and allstar airline with stability and tracking?
Hi Dew, Compared to your All Star the Touring S will be more stable because of the extra width it has, but the board will not have as much straight line track and speed. It wouldn’t be that bad at tracking but any-board that is longer will track better. It still comes with a good size fin that will help the tracking. It will be a board that will take much more weight (gear) then your AS. Thanks Reuben
Any thoughts on how The Wall would compare against the Red 11ft Sport? (I’m thinking glide, speed, stability for an under 60kg rider) I love the low volume on the 30 inch Sport, very easy set up for a quick morning paddle, but The Wall being that bit narrower and longer makes it sound very interesting. Thanks.
Hi Kerry, great question. The Wall would definitely suit you as a lighter rider. The glide and speed would be noticeably different between boards with the Wall being faster with less width, longer outline and refined nose. The Wall has low volume too which makes set up quick and easy. As for stability, with your weight the Wall would be fine, but if you use the boards for a touring adventure, then maybe the comfort of having a wider board (11ft Sport) when carrying gear is more beneficial. Hope this helps!
Thanks Beau, that’s extremely helpful. Can I be extra cheeky and ask another question? How on earth did you get hold of The Wall? None of the usual retailers even list it on their sites. I assume it’s distributed by Tushingham in the UK so tried to see if they could give me any ideas which retailers could supply but no response. Too niche for UK markets? Do you ever sell off your test kit?
I think Starboard shipped the Wall over as a special shipment. We know Starboard are continually developing The Wall this was one of their first test models for production as it differed from what is advertised on their site (just valve and patch placements). Keep poking Tushingham on the stock levels but expect The Wall to be out later this year with shipping delays across the world affecting stock. Sorry we can’t be more helpful. We sometimes sell off reviewed equipment, but not this board.
Beau why are you keeping board ? Do you love it so much or are there other reasons ? just curious
We didn’t keep the board. Most of the boards we review go back to the brands as this one did