LOCO HYBRID 7’11 TEST REPORT

Offered in Locos Surfing’s on-brand green/black/white carbon construction or eye-catching Paulownia wood, the Hybrid is a new surf model for 2020 which combines the best attributes of several existing boards in the Loco range. The outline looks be borrowed from the Logger albeit with a more pulled in tail and shorter overall length which really helps tighten those turns on the wave face. The channels are an export from the Aztec and work in conjunction with nice thin rails to provide plenty of drive. This is a well-balanced board that will suit anyone wanting to shred waves in any style.

Overview
The Loco lime green is a staple throughout the range and creates a nice balance with the very bold white/grey/black background. On the rounded longboard style nose is a handy built in action camera mount. Further down, a mast-track has been incorporated into the deck for WindSUP and the usual, very comfortable recessed stock handle. This is certainly a high performance mid-length outline with a wide nose, slightly back from centre wide point and very narrow pulled in tail that finishes in an interesting diamond shaped bat tail. On the belly, the most prominent feature is the deep channel from the centre down through the tail where two FCS side fins and a central US box call home. Included are some really great looking colour coded fibreglass fins that felt good in the waves. Bottom contours include the high performance ‘single to double to V’ featured on many surf boards with the channel cut-out laid on top.

Brand claim
Our 2020 Loco Hybrid Stand Up Paddle Board is another fresh concept that’s organically evolved from our old short SUP and Aztec outlines. Stubby surf SUPs were great but most suffered from a lack of control in larger waves and the super short lengths meant they were quite technical to paddle for intermediates. The Hybrid addresses these issues! It keeps the straight rails through the majority of the board but the longer lengths has allowed us the keep the rails nice and thin so even at 31” wide in the biggest size the board doesn’t feel corky and cuts through the wave like butter. The pinched in tail also adds some dynamism to fast carving turns and the channel provides instant speed for smaller or slower waves. As with the majority of our boards we’ve incorporated a mast-track for windsurfing for our growing number of rock and ride wave sailing fans.

Performance
Don’t be fooled by the rounded shape of the nose, it may look like a stiff longboard but performs just as a performance surf SUP should and is incredibly stable. Kick turns are a breeze so you can turn and burn in a moment’s notice. Once in the wave, turning is very tight and fast with very little swing weight, this made the slalom run between learner surfers on the first sunny weekend at Fistral since lockdown a lot easier than usual; and we even got some great turns in between! The board feels very light and loose yet incredibly stable making this board a very credible contender for a British title at the SUP Surf Series.

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Vital Stats

Price: £1699

Length: 7’11’’

Width: 29’’

Thickness: 3 7/8’’

Volume: 105L

Weight: 6.7kg

Max rider weight: 85kg

Fins: 2 x FCS, 1 x US centre fin