Epic surf ski ergonomics

The Epic V7 isn't the fastest ski I've ever owned, but I can't help but be impressed by how comfortable a ski it is even after four hours of paddling. No ski I've ever tried has even come close in that regard.

What I'm curious about is whether the seat shape is the same for all Epic skis. In a couple of years, I may want to upgrade to a V10/V12/V14, but only if it's going to be as good a fit for me as the V7 is. Unfortunately the only local Epic dealer refuses to stock them, so I'm unable to try them out.

I believe their are some differences. Example: 2 years ago i bought a V10 Sport ultra layup. I sat in a V10 sport but it pinched a bit. the local rep was able to get me the V10Sport with the wide bucket. Not sure about Gen 2 but I imagine that since beam is different boat to boat the more advanced such as V12 would have a more narrow bucket. Best bet is to ask Epic directly !!

What I'm curious about is whether the seat shape is the same for all Epic skis. In a couple of years, I may want to upgrade to a V10/V12/V14, but only if it's going to be as good a fit for me as the V7 is. Unfortunately the only local Epic dealer refuses to stock them, so I'm unable to try them out.

Aurelius, I've owned 5 Epic skis (both models V8, V10sport (g1), V10(g1) & V12) they are all a bit different IMHO. V8 & V10s very comfortable - V10 too tight(hips) for me but good leg length & V12 was too short in the leg but OK in the bucket width -weird. I own a few Stellars they're all different too - no short cuts you need to spend time in the bucket and see if it's the ski for you.

I think some manufacturers design the hull and then fit whatever shape seat bucket naturally fits inside. This then makes all the seat shapes different. I believe that Think works the other way, too, i.e. they design the hull to accommodate a cockpit shape that they've had success with. For example, I'm told that the Uno Max Gen 3 has the Evo2 seat and footwell.

Also, from my experience, different layups of the same model might also have slightly different seat shapes due to the difference in layup thicknesses. I've had three new generation V10's - black carbon, Ultra, and GT. The seats were very slightly different in all of them. In the original carbon ski, I was comfortable for hours, but in the others, I'm squirming after about 1-2 hrs in the bucket.

Simon Haywood wrote: What I'm curious about is whether the seat shape is the same for all Epic skis. In a couple of years, I may want to upgrade to a V10/V12/V14, but only if it's going to be as good a fit for me as the V7 is. Unfortunately the only local Epic dealer refuses to stock them, so I'm unable to try them out.

Aurelius, I've owned 5 Epic skis (both models V8, V10sport (g1), V10(g1) & V12) they are all a bit different IMHO. V8 & V10s very comfortable - V10 too tight(hips) for me but good leg length & V12 was too short in the leg but OK in the bucket width -weird. I own a few Stellars they're all different too - no short cuts you need to spend time in the bucket and see if it's the ski for you.

Strange that they would all be so different. I've read that Epic designed all their skis to fit one person: Oscar Chalupski. If that's the case, the ergonomics should be the same for all of them.