I dont fully get why people ride the Shinn Boards so small... I understand its not about length, but about the surface area for which the width is more important...
If you take one size bigger, you get better lowend, easier to ride for beginners, calmer ride, etc... I doubt that for freeride (for which the MF is mainly for), the board would then be not suitable anymore and you cant do a trick anymore or jump as high..... Of course, if the board is wayyy too big, you wouldnt be able to hold the edge anymore BUT especially the Monk is THE board that knows no upper-end and never looses its edge...
--> so in that case, I would have expected ppl taking either at least the exact recommended size or maybe even a size bigger... but it seems the opposite is true... where is my thinking wrong?
As an example - I ride my 165*44 Mako King well overpowered without any issues - I chose the King for its feel and how it behaves in the waves... Following the "logic" of Shinn riders, I should weigh 200kg to ride this board....
But even my girlfriend with her 68kg loves the King!!
I also want to order a Monk Forever and I weigh 95kg - I would have chosen the 136*44 without hesitation, but now I got all "confused" by the size/weight I read on the web...
So going "smaller" would mean to take the 134*42... but the Monk should replace my Best Armada which is 138*42... why would I go smaller? If I would have asked for the proper size on the Armada, there would have been no doubt its the 138*42...
Please enlighten me... Maybe I'm missing the point somewhere...
Here is a theory - it might be cool to have a smaller board since it looks more like a pro... maybe even take the handle off to save weight...