Carbonology Atom

I was just wondering why there are no Carbonololgy Atoms being used by the top surfski athleates? I understand that it is a very fast ski. Is it too unstable or is there some other reason?

kiwipiet wrote: I was just wondering why there are no Carbonololgy Atoms being used by the top surfski athleates? I understand that it is a very fast ski. Is it too unstable or is there some other reason?

Just a stab in the dark here, but maybe the top surfski athletes are either paid to or supplied skis to paddle

Someone once said, look at the skis placing from 20th onwards in the big events to get a true indication of performance in the hands of a fit but non elite paddler.

The cream will always come to the top.

Believe me if it were that good and fast it would be ridden by the best. The top paddlers will never give away speed and loose a race because of a craft, they want the fastest thing out there, even going to the lengths of copying the opposition if they don't have the means to develop their own design.

Ranga wrote:
Believe me if it were that good and fast it would be ridden by the best. The top paddlers will never give away speed and loose a race because of a craft, they want the fastest thing out there, even going to the lengths of copying the opposition if they don't have the means to develop their own design.

Ummm, what planet are you from, do you seriously believe the top paddlers are paddling skis they paid for?

EDIT: oh I see who you are now, I would have thought someone whose been around ocean ski's as long as you would know how the game is played at the top end and how much "support" developing paddlers get.

I would have thought that the prize money would outpay the sponsor value pretty quickly if the top paddlers didn´t use the fastest boat.

In other sports, eg alpine skiing, less cash rich equipment providers offers the top competitors a % of the revenues/earnings as compensation instead of upfront cash or victory bonuses.

I am sure the surfski elite have the same creativity if they really wanted to paddle the Atom. At lest I hope so..... BTW, I have the same thoughts about the Flash and what happened to Vajda (the Hawx sounds promising)

Fredrik,
The Vajda Hawx is definitely out there. I assure you it is more than just promising, and you will only see more and more of them. You can keep up with the lastest Vajda surfski info/news on our website as well as our Facebook page. I just posted another nice downwind video of Cade Barnes in the Hawx today. Additionally, there should be an independent review of the Vajda Hawx Elite from Wes Echols posted on www.surfskiracing.com within the next day or so. We will have more exciting news regarding Vajda surfskis in the US, as well as in regards to their surfski lineup, in the coming weeks so be sure to keep checking in regularly. If you are located in the USA, we have the Vajda Hawx Elite, Racing, and Elite Pro in stock and demos available, so give me a call or email for more information. If you are elsewhere in the world, let me know where and I can point you in the right direction.

Thanks Mark, I just read the Hawx review, and it looks great. I'm sitting in Europe and just sent a mail to the local importer to check it out

The Carbonology Atom is a very fast surfski in the right conditions, which are basically flattish and small runs, but in bigger conditions its shorter length and instability count against it. (Its more unstable than the Fenn Elite SL, for example.) Its also better suited to smaller paddlers below about 80kg.

In summary, a very fast ski but not a good all rounder, in my opinion.

I suspect that the new Fenn Glide (and Epic V14?) may be at least as quick even in the Atom's favoured conditions.

The atom was designed as the first long distance surfski for smaller,competent paddlers.
It was designed for paddlers that have spent time in kayaks and want to move over to surfski paddling.
It was designed to go fast on a triangular course- most race conditions.
It was way ahead of its time- the big name brands have only recently realised they don't need all the volume etc
if carbonology had been able to sponsor a big name paddler this ski would have been revolutionary.
It is an awesome ski to paddle and still has no equal in my opinion.
It is not unstable when paddled by the people it was designed for.

Huki made the S1-A about 10-12 yrs ago which was very similar to the Atom, i.e. elite level ski designed for smaller paddlers for flat-ish long distance ocean conditions. The seat was quite narrow - I couldn't even get my backside halfway down into the bucket. Its limitations were probably the same as for the Atom in that the size of the target audience of elite level, narrow hipped, lightweight and not too tall paddlers was pretty limited. I believe Don Kiesling used one in a Molokai race about 10 yrs ago and I think I remember him saying something like it was a pretty wet ride across.

I agree with Bulldog. I come from flat water K1 kayaks and allthough I have not yet tried the Atom out I find surfskies to be way more stable than what I'm used to.I reaken that if I was in something like the Atom and I was to go up against guys paddling K1's in chopy conditions then they would be stuggling to keep up!