I have owned two Mk1 Monks a SuperShinn, a Monk II and I have ridden the Luigi II and the Gintronic. Today tested the 135 Shinn Street against my 132 Monk II so......

The Monk or the Street…..

Rode them both back-to-back today on my 9m Airush Razor from barely powered to overpowered and what do I think… overall the Monk is the ‘better’ board. Which one do I want to keep… the Street!

First things first the Street feels slightly heavier than the Monk and this is not due to the extra 3cm. If you lay the boards on top of each other then up to the new cutout tips of the street they are very similar in shape and surface area - so very little difference. However, as soon as you get on the Street it feels instantly stiffer underfoot and you are aware of this in the really choppy stuff – it still retains that Shinn feeling and does not splash, but compared to the Monk it is definitely not as smooth feeling and can be a bit jittery.

As an aside Shinn boards in chop:
• Luigi II– Glides over and just finds the best and easiest route through it
• Monk – Cuts through it like a ballistic missile (screaming “is that all you got”)
• SS & Street – Blast their way through (more Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now as opposed to The Foos – The Pretender)

You also feel this extra stiffness in the carve, don’t get me wrong the Street carves good and stays locked but compared directly to the Monk it feels a tiny bit dull. When powered it has more control than the SuperShinn and in many respects is similar to the Gintronic as it just handles it with aplomb; however it does this with more speed – not Monk speed but speed nonetheless; however the speed and control the Monk has, is to use a marketing cliché insane!

This all makes for a very good board when hooked in, but again it looses out to the Monk when powered in chop as you need to have a bit more finesse and timing to realise maximum boost so in this respect the Monk is far superior. So why do I want it – unhooked pop and landings! The stiffness that makes it that little bit inferior to the Monk when hooked in means it has some serious pop – unhook and load the tail and it springs back pinging you off the water. Also when uhooked and coming in to land the twitchiness is gone and it is really composed, whereas the Monk can sometimes bite, grip and throw you.

This year, before I get too old I’m going for air passes and that is why the Street is my choice. If I was mostly riding hooked-in with the occasional railey or s-bend then it would be Monk every time; however the Street offers enough of the Monk and enough of the SuperShinn for the bastard offspring to be my current favorite… maybe it should have been called the Middle of the Road!

Strangely I still genuinely think the Monk is the better board – the grip, speed and control are just sublime and it is the most fun you can have have on a twin tip… seems I’m prepared to dial back a little on the fun for a bit then!

That's why white pads are a bad idea...



Cheers
Caesar

I'm being silly but... of all the graphics one could dream up somebody or group choose that one. It looks like somebody wrapped it up in a table cloth or something. Maybe it's to keep the costs down.

I've only just started hearing about shin boards and the reviews are sounding good.

"before I get too old I’m going for air passes"

how old r u . I don't know anyone over 45 that can do them, hmm actually maybe 47 - well behind a wakeboard boat anyway.

I'll be 37 in soon. Kiting 4.5 years - was getting railey to blind and railey to krytp with surface passes at end of summer last year and then it just gets too cold and too windy here.

The CC rockered Shinn boards are something pretty special

S-Bend!

I had one out last week too, lovely board... while the Monk still stands out as the most impressive higher power twin i have used so far the Street has a lot of it's DNA. More pop, more mid power drive, it's a really good board...

Yeah, white pads and oil... (and those are not shinn pads BTW - winter boot pads)

Spring is coming in the UK, kiting bare feet again, jacket left in the house, went to the shops on sunday in shorts and slaps.... happy days

So where does the Supershinn fall in with The Street and Monk?
(cuz I just bought one.....)

I'm now kinda having doubts that I should have bought The Monk.

I've got a Luigi, I love it.
But I would like to have a Monk in the trunk to!!

Supershinn is top of the line freestyle board.

The Street is meant to sit somewhere inbetween the two

I suppose it depends on where and how you ride, but overall you will not be dissapointed - the SuperShinn is an awesome board with superb pop and landings. Like the other Shinn boards it still rides very evenly with comfort and no splash; however for me during a very windy Scottish Winter maxxed out on a 7m C kite in rough seas the Monk offered that bit more control (the Monk is exceptional here).

I loved the SuperShinn but the dilema for me was that the 135 was just a bit too big (in winter)and and I think I'd have found the 133 too small wheras the 132 Monk was perfect when at the 'ragged edge'. As I've said above the Street offers that little bit more control over the SS and has allowed me to switch up a bit again to get the extra unhooked pop I want.

If push came to shove and I could only choose one board to ride for the whole of the year in the biggest range of conditions then I'd personally go Monk everytime; however I'm going for the Street in expectation of summer arriving soon and I'll see how I get on with it, but you never know in winter I might be back on the Monk to set my hair on fire