Review: Badfish SK8 5.0 High Volume
Summary: The Badfish SK8 5.0 High Volume is a board that is best used when the conditions are poor. Continue reading for the full review…
I’ve reviewed most of Badfish’s SUP lineup. Their SUPs work great on small waves and everyday holes that you find all over the place. The new shortboard SK8 follows the same recipe. The SK8 brings shortboarding to river waves that have previously only been surfable on SUPs.
The High Volume version of the five foot SK8 is 3.5 inches thick and comes in at 55 liters compared to the non-high volume version of the SK8 which is 2.75 inches thick and 48 liters. The extra foam helps surf really slow and mushy waves. On Badfish’s website they do not list the High Volume SK8, but I believe it is still available if you email them directly.
The high volume, short length, and aggressive rocker allows the SK8 to surf all sorts of river features. The high volume allows the board to surf foamy holes and slow waves. The short length allows it to fit on most river waves, including shortboard waves that have a steep face. The rocker keeps the nose up when there is a sharp drop in front of the wave.
While the shape is great for small holes and waves, it fails to impress when the waves get good. I found the SK8 hard to get onto a rail when surfing big, high quality, green waves. It required moving my back foot from side to side to get it to surf up on the rail like other boards. This technique I usually only use on SUPs. I think the width in the tail, the high volume and/or the position of the deck pad contribute to this issue. It’s also worth noting that a heavier surfer might not have this issue; I weigh in at 160 lbs.
On high quality smaller waves, like those found in Denver, Boise and Bend, the SK8 also comes up short. The extra volume isn’t needed on fast, adjustable waves. The SK8 feels sluggish compared to lower volume shortboards.
The SK8 sports a belly bottom which, in theory, provides a more forgiving ride because it keeps the rails slightly higher in the water. I don’t feel like it makes much of a difference when surfing, but unfortunately it has the side effect of making it hard to pop up. The belly bottom combined with plenty of rocker creates a very unstable platform to pop up on. I’ve had the board slip out from under me when putting weight on my hands to pop up. Out of all the shortboards I’ve surfed, the SK8 is one of the hardest to pop up on. It’s easy to catch waves, but difficult to stand up.
While the shape of the SK8 is good for small river features, the durability is not great. The small waves and holes where the SK8 shines are often found on small creeks and rivers that are shallow and full of rocks to ding your board on. The SK8 comes in a super lightweight construction that is good for performance, but not good for dings. I would prefer this board be more durable to be better suited for shallow rivers.
Who is the ideal surfer for the SK8? I cannot recommend this board for beginners; it is too hard to pop up on and is too fragile. It could work ok for an intermediate surfer, but I’d only recommend it if you do not surf in shallow water or near rocks. This board feels best suited for the advanced to expert level river surfer that needs a board that will surf almost any river feature.
For myself I’ve found that the worse the waves are, the more likely I am to surf the SK8. There are many waves that are unsurfable with any of my other shortboards. The SK8 is a bit of a quiver board, and is definitely useful when the conditions are poor and I don’t want to SUP.
I wanted to point out a couple of things…
Ben didn’t mention the design feature of this board that makes it so unique. It has a drop rail around the tail that allows the rail to bite way better than you’d expect from a board that is 3.5″ thick. You can see this feature in the top photo of the deck. It allows the board to surf like a much lower volume ride.
I have never heard the hard to pop up complaint. I find it hard to pop up on under volumed, ocean specific shortboards.
The SK8 series was designed to excel in smaller river waves because if any of the hundreds of different shortboards worked well on the river, there’d be no reason for us to make river surfing specific boards. However the thing that our crew has found so surprising is that the 5’0 HV has become a team favorite on every wave. Our designer/shaper Zack who grew up surfing in SoCal and owns a lot different boards, likes the HV better for Bend, Boise and Denver than every other board in his quiver. He first showed up at those waves skeptical of the HV and now only surfs that model. He loves the extra energy he gets out of a turn with the added volume. Mike T and Shannon Thomas are also huge HV fans.
The HV will be available in the next week in limited quantities.
The drop rail is a design feature that makes sense in theory, but I didn’t feel like it made a big difference in practice on this board (which is why I didn’t mention it… that and trying to keep my reviews to a reasonable length). On small foamy holes, I didn’t feel like it effected performance. On nice green waves I had a hard time getting the board onto a rail at all, so the drop rail didn’t have as much of a chance to bite.
I have never had a hard time popping up on the SK8. Amazing board for everything I’ve taken it on. Pound for pound my favorite board!
Mark, where are you doing most of your surfing? What kind of waves/holes?
The pop up on the SK8 is a weird thing, but I’ve experienced it myself and have seen other people struggle with it too. If you have a super dialed pop up (like good enough for a punchy shore break), then I don’t think you’d notice. For me, my river pop up on a shortboard is slow.