SUP INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINESTARBOARD SPICE 8’8 LIMITED TEST REVIEW

STARBOARD SPICE 8’8 LIMITED TEST REVIEW

Verdict:

The Starboard Spice is a real ‘look no further’ surf SUP that will keep you coming back for years and years. It’s obscenely efficient at returning you to the take-off spot but when you’re into a wave, it seems almost to shed a few inches and litres. Underway the Spice bellies its size and goes places you wouldn’t expect. Absolutely practical for the majority of surf most of us will find ourselves in.

Overview:

The Spice has an outline similar to a buffed-up performance mid-length. A full, pointy nose flows through a curvy plan shape to a winged rounded-pin tail.

The domed deck blends 4.7” of mid-point thickness into a refined, high nose rail that progressively sharpen and tuck till they are low and hard at the tail.

Underneath, a single concave jets water towards the fin cluster. You can choose a quad FCS or thruster (2 plus 1) set up.

Our Limited version had a fresh black on white aesthetic. The deck pad is a joy and well contoured over the tail.

The Spice is built very strong: it features twin-stringers, bi-axial glass and pine deck reinforcements, extra glass fibre wraps on nose and tail, and a further 200g fibre glass along the rails to resist paddle strike.

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Brand Claim:

A quiver killer that blends performance and fun in one.

The Spice is an all new wave range that gives you incredible rail carving, impressive speed through sections and instant drive out of turns.

The design brief focused on offering more performance and progression than the Wedge, while being more user-friendly and forgiving than the Pro.

The 8’8 Spice is sure to be a favourite among riders that want to save energy and maximise surf time. Long enough to get you into waves, yet compact for you to whip around and fit into tight sections.

Performance:

We were fortunate to surf the Spice on a series of waist-head high days at various Cornish beach breaks. Immediately the ample plan shape reduced the chore factor of what is often a gruelling paddle out. We used the quad set up and even at 140 litres, this is a remarkably stable board so I would encourage anyone thinking of ‘stepping down’ to take a look.

The Spice automatically picks up waves and the rocker provides an ideal blend of allowing rapid forward motion and fitting the board into the wave. After take-off, a small check turn sets you up for a sprint towards a throwing section where you can quite easily go full send into a showboating floater or aggressive smack. The 8’8 Spice has lift and wants to project back up the face of the wave.

We also found the Spice has a beautiful rolling turn off of those quad fins, it felt like a contemporary twin fin at times. It maintains speed and flow with a complete absence of the dreaded slash ‘n’ turn style. This is a fresh feeling surf SUP that sits very comfortably in the current style of practical surf crafts that rip.