Amundson 12'6": Land Review

So, I finally replaced my Exocet Eggshell with a recommendation from Jim Karabasz, an Amundson 12'6" TR. I'm going to give my first impressions of the board, then get it out on the water in the next few days. The water is still about 40ºF and the days have been pretty windy, so getting out is kind of dicey.

The construction — something I was very concerned about — looks solid. Jim has assured me that this is a very solid boar that can take a couple of knocks. The sales material calls it “Rhino-Lite” construction. What made me choose this one over the Bic Wing was the fact that he described this is much more repairable than the Bic. I'm still going to baby the hell out of it, but it's also good that it can be repaired. It feels relatively solid, although time and the Hudson River will tell. The bag hadn't arrived yet, so before transporting the board, I slid it inside the big board sock which was shipped with my Eggshell. (I still don't know it's purpose. It's too short for a fourteen-footer and doesn't fit well around anything.)

It's strange going from a 14 footer to a 12'6". This board is obviously smaller than that Marlin but it's also thinner. At 239 liters, this model is over 100 liters smaller than what I'm used to. I'm not terribly upset about this. A fourteen-footer can be a whale of a board, and it's nice to have something smaller to shlep around.

The board is relatively flat with a vertical nose. It seems kind of “surfboardy”. The rails are rounded hear the nose but get pretty sharp about halfway back. If I wasn't looking at the nose, from the bottom it looks a lot like a big wave board. The rear is square. My guess is this will be a very good flat water board with some ability in chop.

The top is a nice bright yellow. This is a good color for a place with a lot of board traffic. Yellow is a really easy color to spot, unlike red or blue, and I'm glad about that. The styling isn't too bad. Like most Amundsons I've seen (my wife has an old 11'3"), the styling is kind of modest but tasteful.

There's a ridge extending from the nose almost to the deck pad, which I assume is to put a little extra volume in the nose. The deck is slightly recessed with a plain grey pad. In front of the deck are four attachment points for bungies or a bag. I wish it had more, but four is probably enough for 95% of what I do. There's a threaded point for a windsurf mast or GoPro right in front of the handle and a vent plug behind it. There's a sight concave to the decks which goes back to the tail, letting water drain easily.

The handle is that new style which goes into the board an extends underneath the board a little. I like that a lot. What a difference that small thing makes with carrying a board! All SUPs need to have this.

This seems like a solid, medium-sized board. I'm looking forwards to taking it out.