Greetings, Shredderz! If you already follow along on Instagram — and if you don’t, I’d like to think it’s worth your time — the board featured above probably looks familiar. I posted the photo of this Rick Hamon Aipa Sting (produced under the Surfing’s New Image label) over the weekend, and then decided it was worth a brief post.

I’ve written about Rick Hamon’s work for Surfing’s New Image a few times before, including this post on the difference between the SNI / Aipa boards and those actually shaped by Ben Aipa himself. The Rick Hamon Aipa sting featured here is a gorgeous board, and it bears a striking resemblance to another SNI sting I wrote up a few weeks back.

The board has a stunning rainbow gradient spray job complemented by a simple but perfect red pinline around the edge of the board. It’s one of the cleaner examples I have come across. It’s still for sale on Craigslist in Los Angeles, and you can find the listing here. The Rick Hamon Aipa sting is 6’9″ long and the seller is asking $2,500. As flawless as this board appears, I think the $2,500 price is way too expensive. (By contrast, another SNI / Aipa sting in good condition sold for $600 in San Diego, which I would say is a bit on the cheap side).

If you look closely at the top rail, you can see the subtle fluting, resulting in an elevated wing.

That said, I love the subtle fluting that appears on the wings. See the picture above — you can just make out the curve at the top of the photo.

I have seen Aipa / Rick Hamon stings both with and without fluted rails. (Also, I’m not entirely sure if these are considered proper fluted wings, as I have seen boards where the fluting appears on the deck side, versus the bottom). Below is an example that doesn’t have any fluting on the wings, as you can clearly see in the photos. (This is the same board featured in my last Rick Hamon Aipa sting post.)

Another super duper clean example of an Aipa sting by Rick Hamon and Surfing’s New Image. There’s no fluting on the wings on the bottom — they are completely flush with the rest of the board. This board measures in at 7’4″.

On the other hand, here is yet another Aipa Surfing’s New Image sting with clear fluting in the rails. It also has the same rainbow gradient spray job that seems to have been so popular among many of Hamon’s shapes during this time. The board below even has the identical red pinline work, too.

I don’t think the board featured at the top of the page is worth $2,500, but the more I see the Rick Hamon / Surfing’s New Image / Aipa sting boards, the more appreciation I gain for this cool variant on one of the signature surfboard designs of the 1970s. You can check out the board here.