Mini Driver Versus the Unibrow....

[FW - Fan]

Ill be honest..I felt up a UB the other day and baulked....I rarely line up a board and then dont take it...actually dont think I have ever done that before. Something about that tail had me worried so I am super keen to hear from anyone who has ridden one a fair bit. I know they are newish so the ride reports wont be based on more than a few rides but what I am really interested in is how does it hold of the bottom (any skateyness to it?) and how does it turn? With the wider tail and most of the curve in the last 6 inches of the tail it looks to me like it would feel pretty stiff? If the poster could give stats like the size of the board, fins used, waves ridden and their weight/ experience it would be much appreciated. BTW Chris..you should start a dedicated UB thread to keep all of this together. Thanks in advance.

[buzzy]

I'm a bit different. I can really see it working in pockety small waves. I'd love to have one in bowly 2-3 foot waves (waist to head high). What I'm not clear on is how it goes above 3 foot (head high) - how big a range does it have?

[robgnyc]

Haven't seen one in person but the outline of the Unibrow looks a little too narrow in the nose and too wide in the tail with kind of a strange abrupt pull in right at the end. Also sizing wise they seem to be too thick for me at least at the given lengths so I'd have to ride much shorter than I'd like. Still wish they did the Mini Driver in 5'9. The jump from just over 25 liters in the 5'8 to just under 28 liters in the 5'10 is too much. Oh well.

[FW - Fan]

Haven't seen one in person but the outline of the Unibrow looks a little too narrow in the nose and too wide in the tail with kind of a strange abrupt pull in right at the end. Also sizing wise they seem to be too thick for me at least at the given lengths so I'd have to ride much shorter than I'd like. Still wish they did the Mini Driver in 5'9. The jump from just over 25 liters in the 5'8 to just under 28 liters in the 5'10 is too much. Oh well.

Thats kind of how I view the shape...not saying that means I wouldnt buy one..it was that is was just so different to what I am used to that I wanted to get a better understanding of it first. Reminds me of the fatter round tails we used to ride in the 80"s. To be honest..the bottom contour is different but the plan shape is not really new.

[Jase]

Haven't seen one in person but the outline of the Unibrow looks a little too narrow in the nose and too wide in the tail with kind of a strange abrupt pull in right at the end. Also sizing wise they seem to be too thick for me at least at the given lengths so I'd have to ride much shorter than I'd like. Still wish they did the Mini Driver in 5'9. The jump from just over 25 liters in the 5'8 to just under 28 liters in the 5'10 is too much. Oh well.

I'm a bit of an advocate for the MD in 1" increments, though it is too late for me as I have my 602 on order now :D
I do wonder if you would notice the 2.5 litre difference between the 5'8 and 5'10?

[buzzy]

I looked at a Mini Driver and Unibrow side by side today. I'm not sure what measurements will say but the tail for both boards looked to the naked eye pretty much identical. The Unibrow carried a touch more volume through the centre at the same length (they were both 6'2"). The Unibrow looked like it had a touch more tail rocker. The Mini Driver may have had a touch more nose width but I was more focused on tail shape and rocker. The rails on the Mini Driver felt a touch sharper and carried about halfway up the board. Interestingly the shop concerned felt the Unibrow would be better for typical Sydney conditions.

[FW - Fan]

I looked at a Mini Driver and Unibrow side by side today. I'm not sure what measurements will say but the tail for both boards looked to the naked eye pretty much identical. The Unibrow carried a touch more volume through the centre at the same length (they were both 6'2"). The Unibrow looked like it had a touch more tail rocker. The Mini Driver may have had a touch more nose width but I was more focused on tail shape and rocker. The rails on the Mini Driver felt a touch sharper and carried about halfway up the board. Interestingly the shop concerned felt the Unibrow would be better for typical Sydney conditions.

You sure you dont have that around the wrong way buzzy? There is no way the MD has a wider tail than the UB. I agree the nose on the MD is also wider than the UB. Chris might be able to throw some numbers behind my claims but regardless, I have a MD and felt up a UB and it was the tail on the UB that stopped me pulling the trigger on one.

[buzzy]

They looked pretty much the same to me, but I didn't measure. It was the tail width I was interested in, possibly due to your earlier comments. I did say to the shop owner the tails looked pretty much identical (in planshape, not thickness) and he agreed. He may of course have been "just saying that" but truly, they looked pretty much indistinguishable to me in the tail in width and shape.

[FW - Fan]

They looked pretty much the same to me, but I didn't measure. It was the tail width I was interested in, possibly due to your earlier comments. I did say to the shop owner the tails looked pretty much identical (in planshape, not thickness) and he agreed. He may of course have been "just saying that" but truly, they looked pretty much indistinguishable to me in the tail in width and shape.

Was that down at Surf Culture??

[buzzy]

No, Aloha at Manly.

It was obvious there were some differences in the boards btw and the owner clearly thought the Mini Driver was a better good wave board - he just thought the Unibrow would be better for typical Sydney conditions.