FEEDBACK: LONGBOARD 9'1 ZERO EPS !!!

The 9’1 ZERO EPS longboard is built for performance in hollow and tough conditions. Its efficiency when paddling, its maneuverability, the grip of its rails, its speed and its pronounced rocker that is comforting and safe in late take-offs and on steep waves have visibly convinced Matthieu, who shares his impression with us.

“I took the Zero as a replacement for the Moodrive. I had no complaints about the Moodrive which is incredibly lively and mobile, I was just drawn to the shape of the Zero which I love in its SUP version. I had the Moodrive 58cm-69L and stayed on a comfortable option with the Zero 59cm-70L.

It might sound like an impression, but the Zero feels “bigger” when you hold it under your arm. There must be quite a bit of volume concentrated in the middle of the board.

“On small steep faces”

In any case, it is very effective with paddling for take-offs. If the nose gets a little bit in the slope, it’s good. Tested on small steep faces with slightly late take-offs, it seems very comfortable. The nose is sucked into the curve of the wave and the board sticks to the wave. It’s stable and you can get up very quickly to put the technical phase of the take-off behind you.

“A small step forward and it accelerates hard while remaining very maneuverable.”

I only surfed small, rather soft waves between waist and chest high, not always very clean with sections to outrun. Not necessarily a dream program, but I had a blast because this board takes all the speed that the wave has to give. Once the take-off is over, there is no need to move around on the board excessively because it manoeuvres really well with a central position. A small step forward and it accelerates hard while remaining very maneuverable. I surprised myself several times going through sections where I believed I would be eaten by the breaking section, but the thin nose goes very well in disturbances and the good volume and width under the feet helps to maintain speed: you are stalled and the board keeps its course for the rest of the wave. On some I didn’t move my feet from start to finish because riding in the forward position is really fun on this board. Despite the rather low rocker, no problem getting up and down on the face or breaking waves while staying in the speed-seeking position.

“It will express itself at best on waves that have a minimum of power.”

On the other hand, when turning on the rail from the rear, you have to be careful. I have found that it enters the curve less quickly than the Moodrive, however the rail grip is harder. It doesn’t take much to go from a committed turn to a significant loss of speed. As a result, I think that in this sector it will express itself at best on waves that have a minimum of power.

The point that has already been made is that this speed machine works very well as an everyday board, even if it is not its dedicated program! ”