S.I.C. Recon-10 SUP Surfing Board Review with Video
I’ve been meaning to try out the SIC Recon 10 SUP after I saw the pictures of Livio surfing it and talked to Mark Raaphorst about how the board would perform on the South Shore of Oahu so I recently picked one up. The S.I.C. Recon-10 stand up paddle surfing board pretty much looks and feels very different from what I’m used to.
I’ve paddled over 100 boards since I started this site but the recon is different. It looks like an almond…skinney tips and fat center. Since there hasn’t been much trade winds here recently, I haven’t been able to train downwind and I’m tipping the scales at 215-220 lbs. The Recon 10 has no problem floating me and the glide is unreal. It reminds me of my Bullet 12 where the glide is noticeable. This is a great board to cruise on and paddle a harbor or coastline while also being a great surfing board for the heavier rider that wants something that can turn like a 9′6″. This board delivers.
(click thumbnail to launch video)
Here’s the SIC promo video.
(click thumbnail to launch video)
The drawn in nose allows the board to feel more at home when riding down the line or as the wave steepens up a bit. The narrow tail when ridden as a quad turns on a dime and feels like a shorter board. This is the only board I currently ride as a quad. It takes time for me to dial in the quad feeling but I’m really enjoying the way I can turn it and at least feel like I’m making better turns. I also let my brother in law paddle the Recon and he’s a landlocked PhD engineer in his late 40’s. He lives in the mainland and almost never gets to the beach but he got up and balanced on this board just fine. He refused to paddle with me for a few years after trying a narrower board on a windy day.
One thing you can count on is that Mark worked his magic again on the way the board glides. I’m not sure what it is but I can easily keep up with other surfing SUP’s on the Recon and get into waves that I wasn’t able to before. If you get a chance, you should test out this board. I think you won’t be disappointed, especially if you are big and heavy.
Tapered nose and tail
Designed by Mark Raaphorst
The nose rocker
Bottom view
The Recon-10 rides well with a quad fin setup
More info from taken from S.I.C.’s site:
Recon-10
Performance Surf: The big brother of the ReCon 9, this board easily drops in on slower breaks and is great for mid to larger sized riders. The Recon 10 gives you a 96 feel on a 106 ride. Complete with (4) SIC fins (FCS compatible). It can be ridden as a quad, tri or twin fin.
Hello, does the bottom have a concave with tail vee? How is down the line speed compared to the wide point 10-5. And thank you for making these board reviews.
Noah – The Recon feels way different than the wide point. The wide point feels closer to the Starboard Whopper where the tail and nose are still fairly full. The Recon is really wide in the middle and really narrow at the ends. The Recon seems to be able to make sharper turns, especially with a quad set up. The Recon can only do a quad or thruster setup because the center fin placement is a standard FCS box and not an adjustable center fin box. The Whopper gives more fin configurations, especially if you want to run it as a 2+1. I think that if you are over 220 lbs then both boards are good. If you are over 250 lbs then there aren’t many choices that can turn like the Recon and Wide Point.
Hi
I just recived my new Recon 10.6 here in Italy! Last board was a whopper and I would like to know wich size of fins should I choose for the thruster configuration and wich size would be better for the quad.
Thanks a lot,
Luca
Luca – I use 4.5″ for thrusters and am using 5″ and 4″ fins for quad. It’s all personal preference so you should try out a few different setups and see what works best for you.
Which Recon (9′9 or 10′4) is better for a beginner (6′1 and 194lbs) to surf in small to medium waves ?
Thanks.
Aris – The 10′4″ is super stable but the 9′9″ will turn better if you can balance properly.