Ozoboard Cross-over 906 Review

Ozoboard Cross-over 906 Specifications

1. Dimensions: 9’6″ x 28.5″ x 4.8″
2. Weight: 19.6 lbs.
3. Purpose: Cruising, Surf, Battle of the Paddles
4. Users: Beginners to Intermediates
5. Material: Soft Top
6. Price: $ $ $ $ $

General Impressions:

The Ozoboard Cross-over 906 is a very interesting concept for stand up paddle boards. The roots of SUPs are based in surfing and stand up paddle boards have evolved into many different shapes and sizes for many different uses from flat water to aggressive surfing. The 906 in my opinion does one of the best jobs at molding all of these different activities together into one board that can be enjoyed by nearly everyone, from someone who is first getting on a board to someone who is looking to get out there and rip up the face of a wave. I think Ozoboard has made a great utility board that can be paddled on a cruise in the flats, in the surf, knee paddled, and even skurfed behind a boat.

Performance:

Maneuverability

The 906 is relatively short when it comes to paddleboards. With this short of a board it does make the maneuverability of the board very responsive to the rider if you are out cruising in flat water. If compared to a surfboard of this size out in the waves, I would say that it does lack some of maneuverability of a long board surfboard, but it is almost to be expected as this board can do so much more than your average surfboard. It does have 3 fin boxes, so that anyone can add their own variation of fins for better maneuverability. The rails are fairly thin which does add some maneuverability in the surf.

Stability

The most impressive thing I find about the Ozoboard Cross-over 906 is the stability. Like I mentioned earlier, this board is pretty short when it comes to paddleboards and often times with such a short board you sacrifice some stability for more maneuverability, but the 906 has a domed deck that adds more volume to the board which greatly increases its stability. The top of the deck is also concaved which makes it very comfortable and stable when you are on your knees paddling with your paddle or with your hands. Its is fairly narrow as far as SUPs go, but it is also wider than a lot of long board surf boards out there, so I think again Ozoboard has struck a nice balance if you will.

Materials/Durability:

I am classifying this as a soft board SUP because it does has a nice soft outer shell that is easy on the knees and also gives you a good grip on the board while your paddling. Usually I would suggest intermediate or advanced riders shy away from soft boards because there is usually a lack of quality when compared with harder construction materials, however, in this case I would suggest any rider of any skill level to jump on the Ozoboard 906. The soft skin not only makes it a softer landing in the surf, but it makes it less susceptible to scratches and dings that are inevitable when you’re out there in the waves.

Summary:

This is exactly what it is labeled as – a cross-over. It is not the best surf SUP out there nor is it the best paddle board for the money, but I do think it does give you the best of both of those worlds all in one board. There are so many uses for the 906, I would think it would be a must for anyone who is looking to get the most out of their SUP: from fitness to paddling to surfing. There is more than one size to the Ozoboard Cross-over, so if you are looking to get one make sure it is the correct size that you want (906, 80,706,606).