Takayama in the pink...tough paddle

[thediver]

Cool. Thanks for sharing. Same weight here, 185cm (sorry metric Interesting, 9'6 was always for me the go to length but of course this will need to vary from board to board.

Yeah, the town is a really sad, sad place. Usually I stay next to the Great Western and rent a board from the shop (by Adam Griffiths) which is literally on the beach; a very convenient setup.

[surferfamily]

Yeah those two boards I've mentioned (Parallax and Apex) are phenomenal paddlers. The Parallax has a very gentle hull shape (convex) which gently parts the chop as you paddle and makes for a smoother ride on a bumpy wave face.

[Jacksurftomuch]

This board is not tough to paddle. I just got a 9’6” in the pink and I also have a 10” “what I ride” and an 11’ NSP. Note this board wants to catch waves, the tricky part compared to my other two boards is that you have to be a bit further forward than you are used to. Also, The range in where you can be on the board is smaller, at least compared to my other two boards. It is true that if you’re too far back on this board, it is tough to catch waves. The good news is that this board has the most nose diving resistance of my three boards. It forces itself out of the water, I think, because of its wide nose. So once you figure the board out, it is super easy to catch waves, almost comically, easy to catch waves. But you need to figure the board out and that is on you.

[voyager]

Hi Jacksurftomuch!

Where do you surf, which break?
How much do you weigh?

[tlearyus]

I came across this thread today after searching for +Takayama "In the Pink" paddle issues after I just bought a new ITP Soft top which is 9’0″ x 22.9" x 3″ and 70.1L. I am 95Kg and 6ft and an experienced surfer of 30 years with good fitness and no health issues and surf almost daily.

Anyway I surfed it today for the first time in average, blown out conditions with a few 3-4ft peaks that others were catching on many different length and types of boards, especially other Mal's and yet I couldn't catch a single wave on it so after 90mins I came in very frustrated. I normally ride a Sic Maui Swindler 9'0 which is my go to board for nearly all type of waves, except super steep waves but I got this ITP cheaply after trading a couple of old boards for it.

Apart from how ridiculously heavy it is for a soft top, it is an absolute dog to paddle compared to any other board I have ridden, so I agree 100% with the others posting here about why they have found this board difficult to paddle and catch waves on.

It's getting advertised for sale this week if anyone wants it.

[Geezer]

The degree of negativity in the bad reviews fir this board makes me want to try one! LOL

[Geezer]

The degree of negativity in the bad reviews for this board makes me want to try one! LOL

[jaffa1949]

Pink Perverse!

[tlearyus]

Hey that's funny as Jaffa, also just wanted to say thanks for all your amazing advice, and encouragement etc a while back on the other forums when I was really struggling to sort out my wave catching issues. Happy to report that since then I have completely sorted things out and am back enjoying surfing again, catching lots of waves and generally loving life. The big breakthrough was a combo of improving my paddle strength through exercise, losing some weight (5kg) and getting a higher volume performance board that wasn't a tank. I absolutely love my 9'0 SIC Swindler so much and I really should write to them to let them know how good it is.

https://sicmaui.com/au_sic_en/swindler-9-0-rigid-composite-103376

[jaffa1949]

Tlearyus thank you for the feedback, I love help people find their spot and joy in the surfing world.
Much appreciated. Jaffa

[zalle]

I came across this thread today after searching for +Takayama "In the Pink" paddle issues after I just bought a new ITP Soft top which is 9’0″ x 22.9" x 3″ and 70.1L. I am 95Kg and 6ft and an experienced surfer of 30 years with good fitness and no health issues and surf almost daily.

Anyway I surfed it today for the first time in average, blown out conditions with a few 3-4ft peaks that others were catching on many different length and types of boards, especially other Mal's and yet I couldn't catch a single wave on it so after 90mins I came in very frustrated. I normally ride a Sic Maui Swindler 9'0 which is my go to board for nearly all type of waves, except super steep waves but I got this ITP cheaply after trading a couple of old boards for it.

Apart from how ridiculously heavy it is for a soft top, it is an absolute dog to paddle compared to any other board I have ridden, so I agree 100% with the others posting here about why they have found this board difficult to paddle and catch waves on.

It's getting advertised for sale this week if anyone wants it.

The soft top is not really a "in the pink".

I saw one last week, and it is just a soft board, with a straight bottom, the rails aren't round like a normal in the pink, or any other board, for that matter.

I own a 9.3" in the pink, and it catches waves really well!

[tommykrebs]

So, after almost a year I am back to share my experience with my (glossy) Takayama ITP in 9' x 23' x almost 3'. I surfed it in mellow waves in Brittany and it worked fine. Than I travelled to Swakopmund, Namibia last July and August and because it was cheaper and easier to buy a surfboard over there than to bring one with me I bought a mid-lenght. After that I flew to JBay to stay there from September till November. I needed some lessons to learn a different perception coming from beach breaks, where to sit and how to catch those fast breaking point break waves at "Point". I brought some mid-length boards with me but they were too small for my paddling speed. I bought a Hughi Thompson longboard in 9,2 x 22 x 3 and this worked fine.

Now I am back in Galicia, Spain on the Atlantic Ocean to surf my Takayama again and I can tell this thing is really tough to paddle. The waves here are fast and mellow and then most of time very quick and steep breaking. Its important to catch them early and with the Takayama I can paddle for my life and have no chance. The board feels like I am pedal a bike uphill, but with a fat girl on the luggage rack. And its not because of its dimensons, rocker or volume. Its because of its weight. Maybe because its glossy.

I can tell its the weight what makes it hard to paddle because I bought a Special T (in Timbertek) in 9' with almost the same specs and this thing floats on the water whereas the Takayama is sitting IN the water and paddling wise its like day and night. The wider tail of the Special T keeps me more level on the water and reduces drag too. So much easier to catch waves with it.

So, yes, I can confirm that my glossy Takayama ITP is hard to paddle and I will sell it now. Oh, and I almost forgot, the TJ Special T is with 1075€ exactly half the price of my Takayama.

[bluefalcon25]

My local shop is recommending... in the pink as my first surfboard. I'm a kook, but heading straight first into this new hobby with humble trepidation. I was originally going to buy a soft top foamie but after looking around and talking to my surf shop I'm wondering if I should go full bore and buy a board that I could grow into. His rationale was what has been said in some of the posts here is that the Takayama will glide better than a foamie and also help me catch more waves. I'm a lanky 6'5" 185lbs guy just looking for a good time. Additionally, he said if I look online for the reviews on in the pink it'd be the fan favorite hands down. This post has shown otherwise. Can anyone help break the tie between Takayama in the pink, and a longboard foamie? TIA

[Geezer]

For me, if you get a foamie, get a costco Gerry Lopez. Cheap and functional, does the job. For a beginner I’d buy a hardtop used board. Share ads here and we can help tou navigate the choices as long as there are lots of pictures.


This thread really makes me want to try an ITP. Curious how/why one of famous shaper’s most famous shapes is panned by so many.

[voyager]

As I started this post I feel I might be a little bit biased.

Yes the fan reviews of the In The Pink are amazing .......as are the reviews of a Ferrari Testarossa, a 59' Gibson Les Paul, a Giant Glory mountainbike, or a Harley Davidson Heritage Softail. BUT they only come into their own in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing with them in the right conditions and knows what to expect so they can fulfil those expectations.
I KEEP SAYING THIS - IN THE RIGHT CONDITIONS THE IN THE PINK IS SOMETHING ELSE. IN THE WRONG CONDITIONS IT’S A TOUGH GIG.
You wouldn’t take a Rolls Royce to a dirt track and expect it to perform to the top of its ability would you?

The Takayama In The Pink has a concave dip in the nose which means that it's friction again the water makes it like paddling a short board.
And we all know that paddling a short board and not catching waves, if you're a beginner may well make you want to give up. I know a lot of people [including me] who bought shortboards and then couldn't paddle them and nearly gave up, till they chopped them in for something with a lot more foam underneath them.
The In The Pink is an amazing nose rider, because the concave makes the nose lift up making it a lot easier to cross step to the nose. Now I'm guessing as a kook you ain't gonna be spending too much time in the vicinity of the nose yet, right?
The argument of 'growing into it’ is false - it could take you years and to be honest if you're not bagging waves by the end of your first session the cloud of despondency will probably descend. There is an argument for 'growing into it', maybe if you'd already surfed fairly proficiently for a couple of years but judging from your post, you wanna bag lots of waves and have a lot of fun - then after a couple of years I would suggest you make an informed decision of what you want from a board, then trade up a notch.

Someone in this post said, once you "figure the board out" it’s easy to paddle. I disagree. I believe once you figure out WHERE and WHAT conditions you’re going to surf then maybe it’s ok, I mean 4’ Malibu? Yes this board is great for that, 5’ in Feb with an 18 mph onshore wind at Saunton, forget it.

For a first board that won't break the bank I would go for a foamie all day long. I and my mates have spent too much money on turkeys in the past that we thought would make us look like Kelly Slater but they really didn't not help our surfing progress one jot, in fact it held us back.

Was it Rob Machado who said 90% of people are on the wrong boards?

[waikikikichan]

I'm a kook, but heading straight first into this new hobby with humble trepidation.

How long have you been in this new hobby ?
Just got done with your first lesson.
Been out a few times on your own on a friend's board.
Been riding waves on a body/boogie board previously.

If you have been "surfing", what size board did you use ?