Nano Long Term Review – Neil G

So Ive now had my Severne Nano 93 for 3 months after getting it in July but sadly not having any wind for 3 weeks to give her the first outing. Now we are well and truly into the Autumn storm season I feel its time (after 7 sessions) to open the lid on one of the best kept secrets in the windsurfing world.

The Board:

So the Severne Nano is essentially a Stubby Wave board to replace the NuEvo range which Severne, not Starboard, designed but that was initially marketed under Starboards Brand name. Its straighter rails and much shorter length grabs the headlines but theres much more important stuff to tell in this story. Its ‘V’ shape in the board is up to 21mm…… thats massive compared to most other boards but means the board is exceptional through chop and messy water states – so much so the rider feels they can fully rely on this board when things get unpredictable. The shoulders of the board (the inner rails 1/3 back from the nose) have mini semi rails which again stream the water flow to ensure the Nano is a dependable board to sail when things get messy.

The other key difference between the new Severne boards and ALL other boards is that Ben Severne and his team looked for nearly a year to find another factory to construct their new boards to gain better build quality – a much needed improvement in my view!!. After using my board for three months there is  definitely a better finish to the board. Minor scrapes on the rails don’t show on the new Nano unlike previous boards of other brands which mark just by looking at them. Footstraps and fins also feel good quality and finish the board nicely. The footstrap options are more limited than other brands being 25mm aprt apposed to 15mm on others, but the strap does have reversible plates to enable better small foot fit.

To Sail:

The first thing every sailor must adapt to is the very short length. If you’ve never had a multi fin board then the adaption may be a challenge but if you’ve sailed multi fin boards before and are used to evenly weighting your front and back foot on the board then after 30minutes you’ll love the feel of the Nano. The Nano 93 I have feels smaller than 93 litres – it sails like a 86ltr board ( My normal choice of size) which means when choosing your Severne Nano you choose the size bigger than you normally would.

When sailing the Nano I find it loves best to sailed with a 4.7 or 4.4 sail (in my case S-1 pros) rather than 5.6 and above – its a personal thing, and don’t get me wrong it sails very well with a 5.6 but on a 4.7 it just releases and flows exceptionally in waves and on Bump & Jump conditions. You grow into this board and once in love it you become addicted to it. Yes its slower than say a Starboard Freewave Kode 86 but then its also looser – not just generally looser but because you stand more over the board it encourages you to sheet out and then carve the board on and off the wave. Look, I love it as a wavy Freewave – if its a Freestlewave youre looking for then the Severne Dyno is set to fill that void next year with a slightly longer and wider Nano shape which will have multi fin or single fin options. But for UK waves and the sailor who needs more than just a Freestylewave (which I for one feels sometimes lacks the feedback I require from a board in the name of making the sailor look better than they really are!) then the Nano is right up your street.

Conclusion:

The Nano is a fantastic UK wave board which is coming into the UK in very limited numbers. We have even found that our first allocation of boards has widely sold back into Europe as the media out there have said very good things about the Nano. And thats my point – the UK media has yet to see the Nano but respected commentators such as Peter Hart and Simon Bornhoft are Tweeting great things about their demo boards…… and thats the issue – the board is in my view the best kept secret in the UK windsurfing scene at the moment because of a rather slow media plan from Severne themselves. But there – Thats what we have – all I can say is make sure if you like the sound of what I say about the   Nano then buy one!….. yes buy one now as it will not be available in great numbers  and those lucky enough to get one will not regret it!

For more information  or to test drive the NEW Severne Nano get in touch with Principal Team Rider Neil Greentree on 07515 553535 or neil@severneshop.com

Categorised in: News

This post was written by Neil Greentree (Team Rider)