LOCO
EL DIABLO 8’2
TEST REVIEW

Verdict
In the SUP market place, there is a confounding array of surf shapes to choose from. But when you want to surf with power and speed, there’s one shape that beats all others: it’s called a shortboard, and Loco’s El Diablo is a very impressive version of it. El Diablo is full of good surprises: it combines competition-level shortboard performance with great stability and mobility between waves. This is a fast, controllable board that turns great, starts going in 2ft groundswell, shines at 3ft plus to well overhead; highly recommended.

Overview
At 28” wide, El Diablo is a touch slimmer than rival 8’2’s on the market which gives it a slightly sleeker look but other than the tail pad, the deck is bare (wax it up) and very flat so you lose nothing in space or balance. There’s more scoop than last year in the pointy nose and the rounded square tail all sends the signal that this board is here to rip. The offset ledge handle is a treat, and you get five FCS boxes with premium fins for thruster or quad config supplied.

Brand claim
The El Diablo has been gathering support from riders who appreciated a high performance paddle surfing outline over the last few seasons. With sizes ranging from 65-140 litres we have pretty much every size rider covered. The ED comes in full carbon to be as light as possible and so it feels more responsive whether you’re competing or free surfing at your local spot. 

Performance
The first thing we’ll say is how easy El Diablo is to paddle and stand on; try the size you’re after and the one below – you’ll be surprised. This is down to the increased flat spot in the rocker line which also promotes wave catching – you can literally tip this board over the ledge and into a take-off sooner than you’d expect. El Diablo is controlled on even very late take-offs, there’s no skittering out into the flats but it delivers real section-making speed out of the bottom turn which sets you up perfectly for a crack off the lip. Which is where this board wants to go; it’s light and projects willingly back up the face. The refined nose scoop clearly helps with hard landings as we didn’t manage to pearl it once over several sessions of testing (this is remarkable). El Diablo’s flatter mid-section and slightly more parallel rails help you cover ground quickly when searching for peaks or reaching for wide outside sets; there’s a real sense of increased mobility which converts into more waves caught, less time caught inside. Lastly, the price. This is a beautiful, durable full carbon board and you’re saving considerably against similar products. There’s also a cheaper wood version available on pre-order. El Diablo gives you an easy time between waves and proper high-performance surfing potential holding speed through turns; we strongly recommend intermediate and above surfers to try for themselves. 

www.locosurfing.com

OTHER BOARDS IN THIS TEST:

Aqua Inc Air Rider 14’
Fanatic Allwave VNT 8’9
JP Foil Pro 7’0
Loco El Diablo 8’2
O’Shea 10’8 HDX
Red Compact 9’6
Red Whip 8’10
RRD LongSUP 9’8
Starboard Longboard 10’0

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