Ski Recommendation For Light Paddler

Hi, I am 175cm, 57kg and am looking for recommendations for an intermediate low volume ski. Currently looking at the Epic V10L and Fenn Swordfish S. Any ideas? 

Thanks!

I love my Swordfish S and have been paddling it for the last 2 1/2 years.

I paddled the Carbonology Vault X last night for the first time. 

To my surprise, it was much more stable than the old Vault and, I would say, is only slightly more tippy than the Swordfish S but less tippy than the Fennix Swordfish S.

Definitely worth looking at.

The Epic V9 would be worth trying out too; it's a relatively short boat.  Might be a little corky for someone of your weight though.

Nelo 540 or 550 ML
NK Storm 570

I just bought a V9 from a paddler of about your weight who found it to be too corky. This paddler bought a NK Squall 540 which so far they are very happy with. I have as yet not paddled the V9.
The Carbonology Sport Boost LV is designed for light weight paddlers. It is a ripper (stable intermediate) ski for rough and downwind conditions. It is surprisingly resistant to being blown off course by cross winds too which can be a big challenge for light paddlers. Apparently the weight limit of this ski is 90kg but at 75kgs I find that I have to be very active to stop it nose diving so I think it would be a very wet ride for anyone even close to that weight limit in proper downwind conditions. I think it would suit a light paddler very well. It has a nice snug bucket too which I love. It is so far my favourite ski and definitely the best allrounder I've paddled. I've paddled lot's of different skis in the stable intermediate category.
I find the V10L to be a really sweet ski for calm to moderate conditions. It seems to me (at 75kgs) to be perfect for paddlers of my weight so I think it's more of a mid volume ski. It may or may not suit you depending on your skill / confidence and the conditions in which you want to paddle. I would put it at the pointy end of intermediate / sub-elite. I find it to be a bit of a handful in big downwind conditions because the lack of rocker means that it tends to sit pretty high between waves which makes it a bit tippy. Hard to explain but it's unmistakable when you experience it. It can nosedive a bit too so a wave deflector is virtually mandatory in big conditions. It has a supremely comfortable, snug bucket for narrow hipped paddlers so that goes a long way IMO. I really do like this ski even though it's technically above my pay grade.
I had a Swordfish S briefly. That is an excellent rough and downwind ski but I absolutely hated the "new improved" bucket (I had an original Swordfish too which was super comfy). The Swordfish S was obviously designed for obese paddlers so it was as loose as hell but rubbed me raw at the base of my spine. An absolute triumph of getting everything wrong for me at least. At my weight it was a bit corky which I could have lived with if the bucket was not so God damn awful.

Hi Rob
I'd be interested to confirm if the hull has changed at all. My understanding from Hein is that the hulls of the X skis haven't changed. From what I've seen the Vault X has a lower hump, longer rails, tweaked rudder position and water bottle mount. Open to correction
I have noted in paddling the Vault a few times that when I am around 76kg the boat feels much better than when I've got up around 83kg. So definitely for lighter paddlers (as Hein cautioned me)
The Vault is a great boat. I nearly bought one. I just couldn't get comfortable in the seat. And I put on weight...

I'd be interested to confirm if the hull has changed at all. My understanding from Hein is that the hulls of the X skis haven't changed.
From what I've seen the Vault X has a lower hump, longer rails, tweaked
rudder position and water bottle mount.

Interesting! 

I have noted in paddling the Vault a few times that when I am around 76kg the boat feels much better than when I've got up around 83kg. So
definitely for lighter paddlers (as Hein cautioned me)
The Vault is a great boat. I nearly bought one. I just couldn't get comfortable in the seat

Ooops...  Thanks to covid (and my not wanting to go back to gym) I've also put on some weight - around 83kg too right now I think.

I'm about to take it (I hope) for a reverse Miller's Run, so I'll report back!

Hi Fishie,
I'm 73 kg and feel that the Swordfish S is just OK for me with regards to volume. At 57kg I'd expect you'd be most comfortable in a genuinely low volume surfski. Lots of good suggestions above and it depends which end of intermediate you are at and preferred length and rocker.
The Squall 540 or Storm 570 from NK would be great options and the Carbonolgy Boost LV is a good all-rounder and plenty of fun out in the waves.
Intrigued to hear that the new Vault is significantly more stable. I trialled the previous one and it had good secondary but definitely tippier than the Swordy.  
It may not apply to the latest V10L but other contributors on this site have given me the impression that it isn't especially low volume and is fairly advanced.

...on my downwind (reverse Miller's Run) on the Carbonology Vault X...

We had 17-25kt of NW, with squalls of rain making the visibility very poor.  The runs, from about 2/3 of the way to the lighthouse were great - small but clean and after the lighthouse I had sequences that went on for ever with paddles down.  Lovely.

I had an absolute blast.

As usual we had to work right quite a lot of the time, requiring some runs diagonally down the faces of the waves.  The boat holds its line very well, but just occasionally the rudder lost grip and I had a couple of wheel-wobble moments.

Stability is very good.

In the small conditions, there was no issues with nose-diving but I suspect that in bigger waves, one might have to focus more on preventing that.  As it was, leaning back kept the nose up and even when it did dip, it popped up very quickly and didn’t seem to slow the boat down at all.  In fact, similar to the Revo boats, I think if you just apply power, the nose will cut through the water and you can pop over the next run.

In general I found it a very nimble, fun boat to paddle.  Quick to accelerate and with a nice long glide.

Very impressed.  My only question is how it would handle my weight in big conditions.

If I owned it, I think I’d put a bigger rudder on it, just to improve that minor tenderness on the tops of waves.

I had a wave deflector on, but hardly needed it.