Amundson Customs Nubby

John Amundson is a third-generation waterman who grew up in Southern California. At age 15, John learned to shape boards, and after he graduated high school he moved to Hawaii and never looked back. John has since shaped just about every kind of board a waterman could wish for, including the first foil board.

I tested the 4’2 Amundson Nubby in fun conditions at Kahului harbor, with the slight onshore breeze and the waves lending optimum conditions for hydrofoiling. The first thing I noticed when I picked up the board was how incredibly light it was, the black and grey finishing gave it a stealthy look and feel, like some secret project leaked out of Area 51. Every detail has been meticulously designed, from the deck pad to the high-quality polyurethane paint job. On the inside, there is an EPS core that’s CNC machined, the Future fin boxes are fitted with high density PVC foam plate, and it’s all carbon deck and full S-cloth wrap. Put this all together and you’re gliding into the future with the Tesla of foilboards.

This board packs a well-balanced volume in a small package, thus the name Nubby. In the water, and the first thing I noticed when I started to paddle is how comfortable the deck is to paddle on – I like that it’s not extreme concave but nice and subtle. I am 6’3 and 185lbs, and having 31 liters made it very easy to paddle (my usual board is a meager 25 liters.) The Nubby glides in to waves easily and picks up speed as soon as you hit the gas paddle. The second wave I caught I realized how well balanced it felt under my feet and proceeded to draw my lines. It cut through the air like an arrow and felt as nimble as a ninja on my Armstrong set up. I put it through its paces, hitting plenty of white water rebounds and surviving all of them. It handles breaching decently as it’s only a 4’2, but that being said this light aircraft pumps excellently, and given the length to weight ratio you can’t go wrong for your pump game. This board would be fine to kite on as well no doubt.

To summarize the 4’2 Nubby is made for riders who don’t want to cut themselves short on high performance, it paddles well, it’s comfortable to lie on, the deck pad is more rash resistant and easy on your belly, it’s well balanced in flight and the rails cut the wind without much resistance, it pumps well and is very light to turn while pumping. The stealthy paint job and lines on this board make it highly desirable. I wanted to test the Nubby as I like high performance foil boards, and it totally fits the bill, it did everything I needed it to do with some surprise perks, and I can’t find any cons to this standout board.