Rob. A Blue Lake, which I assume you have (you just stated Blue) is a big, relatively slow surf style board for bigger riders. I would consider it a beginner board.
Going from a Blue Lake to just about any other board is going to be very different. The style of riding going from a surf style to skim style is going to be especially significant. HOWEVER, I have demo'd the Tident for a full day and it has charaterstics that make it what I would consider a hybrid board. I believe it is designated as a skim, but it doesn't ride like any skim I have ridden (my wife has two, and I've demo'd a lot). It has unusually good grip riding up the wave. A lot of skim boards will want to slide out from underneath you. The board doesn't taper away quickly towards your back foot. If you look at a lot of true skims, the board looks exactly the same front to back. The Trident does not.
Personally, I think the Trident carbon is in the top 3 boards I have ever ridden. I SERIOUSLY considered getting it instead of the Kenan Surf Pro. It is THAT good.
So, given that you are coming from a surf style board, going to the trident will give you a lot of the feel of a surf, without limiting your ability to do skim style tricks. If you do not have the chance to demo the board, and are within its weight limitations, this will eventually be a very very good board for you, but you should expect a good learning curve before you love it.
Last edited by CarZin; 07-03-2013 at 12:12 PM.
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