Longboard substitutes

[bajoman]

I love longboarding but am always searching for a good substitute "one-board quiver" that's travel friendly. What boards have some of the same glide, drive, style, early-entry and versatility (works well in all kinds of waves/conditions) as a good single fin 9' longboard?
I've been looking at these three, what would be the pros and cons of each as far as being a good longboard substitute?
1. Joel Tudor 6'9 Diamond Egg (single fin)
2. Bear 6'4 Fat Wombat (2 + 1)
3. Takayama 6'4 or 6'8 Scorpion (4 + 1)

P.S. I'm 6ft and 163lbs (74kg) and I want to keep the volume under 45L for good duck-diving, that's why I didn't look at anything in the 7' range. .
Thanks!

[waikikikichan]

I have ridden all three of those boards that you are considering. NONE will meet your criteria for glide,drive,"style", early entry. Versatility, travel friendly and Duck dive, Yes.
I have a friend who owns many Takayama longboards. He jumped on the smaller-longboard fad, and I sold him a 6'10" DT Scorpion. I talked to him one day and asked how he liked the board. He said " too hard, tried it 3 times and it's been dry docked every since ". If your current longboard doesn't have a Trash can lid nose, I wouldn't get the Scorpion.
If you have the more quiet upper body style and know how to use your rail for speed, then the Diamond Egg might suit you more.
If I was forced to live with one board, I would choose the Wombat. You could make it a thruster and pumpty pump. Or stick just a single in it and cruise.
Couldn't you get a proper 7 foot(ish) and just turtle roll on the closeouts sets ? I choose what I ride for how they are ON the wave, not UNDER the wave.

[jaffa1949]

There is no real one board quiver, get your turtle roll working , but the adaptability of the fat wombat isn't too bad.
Depending on airlines you can travel with longboards. Also depending on where you want to go and surf suitable boards vary.
Think playing golf with only one club!

It's really about the ride, if you like the glide, the small boards won't quite give it, they are a species in between ! watch MOTE and see them at their finest!

[bajoman]

Thanks guys, I hear you. I know nothing really compares to a longboard but I'm looking for the best alternative. In other words, what would you ride if you couldn't have a board over 8ft but still preferred the feel of longboarding to anything else?

I didn't go into the 7 foot range because I used to have a 7'3 superfish and I found that size and volume (around 50L) a very poor compromise: exhausting to duck dive (and not entirely effective when I couldn't get it very deep) and too small to turtle roll (without getting worked over or having it ripped from the hands by the wave). It paddled great and could get in early, but that was about the only thing it had LB-wise. It was a fast board, turned great and the quad fins felt like a turbo-charger on it, but with it's limitations it was not worth travelling with.

To answer my own question, I actually have a 5'11 mini-simmons-ish board that is my favorite LB substitute so far- versatile, gets in early, holds high in waves, and has its own special kind of hover glide, but I don't want to take her on a plane because:
1. She's a poly from a small shaper and I have (irrational?) fear she will get damaged
2. She's a twin-fin and I'm not confident her big wide tail will work when waves get around head-high
That's why I wanted to find another and have heard that those three specifically (6'9 Tudor Egg, 6'4 Bear Wombat, 6'4 or 6'8 DT Scorpion) might work for me. Although I did read comments( like you said) that the nose of the Scorpion tends to "get in the way"

So what do you think, what would be your longboard alternative if it couldn't be long?

[dtc]

what about a McCoy Nugget? Slight odd but people rave about them. I am going to try one out this (Australian) summer.

my longboard alternative is a mini mal. Which I guess doesnt meet your criteria, since I can't duck dive it. I dont think you can expect a duck diveable board to really be anything like a longboard, the volume just wont be there. You just need to get something wide and rounded and hope for the best.