6'0" Astron Zot

6 X 22 X 3 Well a lot of people have been asking me about this given the big claims Geoff McCoy makes about this board and the mixed reaction people have had with the Zot. First off I will say that the bigger  single fin 8'1 nugget really turned me onto the lines a single fin can take and its loseness on a wave.

My first Zot was a 6'4" and it took me about 6 months before I felt I was doing it Justice. I felt for a long time it wasn't taking off and was bogging a bit. After a while I realised that while the nuggets are happy if you pop up and keep all your weight on your back foot, the Zot likes you to drive down the wave face with front foot pressure. SO it was back to the gym and practising pop-ups so that my front foot landed between my hands. Once I had that figured the board took off - literally

This board is the best board I have ever ridden.

Paddling firstly, There is a lot of volume in a very small board and with a single fin it is drag free almost. I suspect that the rocker is a lot different in the Zot either flatter or more distributed than a nugget. So it paddles really easily for all those reasons and catches waves with just a few strokes or in some cases no strokes.

Once up and running when you hit the bottom and put her on a rail it just drives then pick you spot you want to turn and hit it. the turns are so smooth and effortless and the board retains its speed all the way through. In a wave with any shape to it even waist high it will crank out continuous turns. ITs ok in mush also in the smaller versions where you can pump it for extra speed, although other options such as a light thruster may do better in those conditions.

In hollow waves it just comes to its own. I just pop up and grab a rail and pigdog the board just locks in on the perfect line. I have never found so many barrels in places I didn't know they  even existed. The fantastic thing about the single fin is that right from the pop-up you can change your line with no loss of control.

Bottom line, this is a fantastic board, for me and my style of surfing and it may not suit everyone. I would say the size of the board is important for best results and for me at 5'8" the 6'0" board is better  than  the 6'4" version. It also take a bit of time to to fully adapt to the Zot, 6 months in my case.

This is such an unusual board it probably merits a few comments from other zot users to help someone decide to make the investment. For me its the best board ever, by a mile.

Rating: 5/5