I’ve been riding Sunova surfboards for many years, and I still genuinely get excited every time I get a new board from Bert, Greg and the team at Sunova. I know getting excited about a new board is not unusual and pretty universal amongst us surfers, but the guys at Sunova always go that extra yard to make sure I’m getting exactly what I want. Maybe I’m a bit fussy but as far as I’m concerned, “When you on a good thing stick to it”! Anyway my board is the SN66 or the 6”6” Nitro by 20 ¼” and 2 3/8” thick. It’s also got that awesome “Mike Mac” design on the deck. What I will try and do is answer some of the questions relating to the design and performance aspects of my board.

• What’s the shape like?

The Nitro has a fairly conventional short board performance shape. Interestingly even though mine is over 20” wide it doesn’t feel too wide, in fact overall it feels shorter, like a 6’4”!

• What’s the weight like?

This board weight’s in at 3.4kg’s incl. tail pad and FCS PG3’s, which is certainly not heavy, nor is it too light. It feels solid, and it’s bloody strong! My pet gripe about my old fiberglass boards was that after a couple of months of use, I would crush the deck and rail around and under the back foot area, thus letting in water and damaging the foam and stringer. Not anymore, thanks to Bert’s design combination of balsa and epoxy that damage is now only a distant memory.


• What’s the performance like?

The best way for me to describe this is to say that after I got this board, I had to raise my own performance level to try and keep up with the board. In other words the Nitro will perform any maneuvers that I’m capable of doing, easily! If I focus and raise my own performance level, then the Nitro happily responds to my challenge.


• What are the best points about this board?

Clearly the performance (including its speed and power) aspect is the best for me; it makes me want to push my own surfing boundaries. My favorite set-up maneuver/combination is doing a strong compressed forehand bottom turn, then rotating and extending straight into a fast vertical re- entry with speed to burn! After that, the quality finish and very “easy on the eye” look of the balsa. Finally the longevity and strength of the construction. This board will last and last!

• What size waves best suit this board?

For me anything in the “chest to head height and ½” range is ideal for this board. Like most people I prefer to surf forehand waves, but this board goes great on my backhand too.

• Are there any drawbacks with this board? If you were to damage the balsa somehow then it would require special care to repair it properly. Otherwise the main drawback is I don’t get to surf enough quality waves on it. • What fin combination do I use with this board? For my style of surfing I prefer the

FCS PG3’s with my Nitro because with the smaller fins I can control the amount of slide I want from the tail, it’s easier to dial it up or back it off. They assist the board to release quicker off the lip. I also have some FCS PG5’s which are better for “over head” size surf.


• What surf conditions or locations best suit this board?

For me, whenever it’s a clean offshore, uncrowded, with “A- framing” head height peaks. These are my favorite conditions and the Nitro simply does what it does best, Goes Off!!!

Kind Regards,
Mike McMonigal
High Performance Manager
Surfing Western Australia