Me: intermediate/advanced, 63kg
Coming from: directional 145 x 41 custom
Bias: I'm pleased with it! bought second hand on BKSA forum
conditions: waves, chop, flats in the shallows
First impression: nice shape, lovely graphics, average straps/pads. Quite a heavy board. squarish fairly thick rails. There is a concave in the bottom with a small longitudinal concave at each tip for water release. Indents and deck grip on top for grabs. If you didn't already know, it's designed to be a biased twin tip (or mutated mutant) one end has typical TT fins, the other had foiled 'dolphin' fins that are bigger but not as big as surfboard fins. Not very much flex. 133 x 39 cm
On the water: hard deck pads - I need to use booties or my heels get sore. THe straps are fine, adjustable and usable either side. They're mounted in the midline. The board has loads of grip, is easy to edge. It rides either direction with ease, but you can detect the greater efficiency in the 'directional' direction. It is very fast in this direction too. The TT direction feels....like a twin tip. It is easy to jump either way, but easier to get jumps off the bigger fins with the increased speed. The special water release tips seem to work very well. It's quite wide so planes up nice and early - same as my bigger directional.
Toe side - no probs. Jibing the board is very easy and the straps being quite stiff helps here. There's no real need to do it, as it goes so well in reverse, I just like doing it! Wave riding - got some of my best waves on the board's first outing. It's much looser than my directional (with a fin between the feet) and smacking a lip or two is easy. The riding is generally very smooth. It gobbles up chop, but easily throws spray right in your face as you ride out to sea. The front fin bites in but doesn't make the board catch at all.
Overall: I'm very pleased with this board so far. I've not used it in big winds yet, but certainly in light- mod winds it's brilliant. You can hold it down in the gusts by stomping on the back foot and using those fins. I'ts a very pleasurable ride, especially for wave riding when you can easily transition rail to rail. No need to worry about jibing unless you want maximum efficiency in both directions.
Bad points: bit weighty, hard deck pads, makes surfing look too easy.
Hope this helps people decide...
Regards
Ben