Surfing Waves

Hey.... I have been researching Channel Island's "The Pod" specialty board for a while now, but haven't got any real-people reviews. I'm pretty dang sure THAT'S the board for me! But then I saw the price, I'm only 15 and can't get a job yet. haha.

-I'm looking for a small (around 5'4"), VERY fast and responsive, 4-fin, Swallow tail kind of board.
--Something that will let me do an outrageous cutback, get pass the white wash wash, and AIR EASILY!! <--that's most important!
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ (ALL IN SMALL TO OVERHEAD SURF) ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

So I guess my question is....
-Is "The Pod" ABSOLUTELY-POSITIVELY worth the $700?????
-Or is there a VERY similar board at a lower price?????


THANKS,
Spencer

Maddog1240 wrote:--Something that will let me do an outrageous cutback, get pass the white wash wash, and AIR EASILY!! <--that's most important!

Er, can you already do outrageous cutbacks, get past the white water, and do airs?

drowning asks a good question; the most important thing in surfing is to have a board that suits your ability level. If you CAN already do all those moves then no sweat, the pod will work and so will most other shortboards that are designed for smaller waves, i.e. short, thick, wide and possibly quad fin. But learning or being intermediate with a board that's too short or thin will make outrageous cutbacks, airs, and even the humble favourite of getting past the whitewash pretty much impossible. My philosophies are:

A. Big or Small, I ride 'em All...

and

B. Ride a board that catches me waves. Lots of waves.

I have a shortboard for bigger or hollow days, but for everything smaller than slightly overhead or flatter I ride a thick fatty fish, not a little teeny 5'8" like Eli Mirandon and people who can really really shred use but a 6'0" with some beef to it (I weight 165 lbs). Whatever you get, make sure it suits your abilities and will HELP you progress, not be something you have to struggle against. You will improve faster no matter what your skill level if you surf the right board. Slater doesn't surf the same board for pipeline as he does for a comp. at J Bay; if your local waves tend to be flatter and mushier, buy a thicker, slightly longer board.

I would recommend getting a cheaper board; for two reasons:

A. It's cheaper.
B. If you really want to spend $700 you could get 2 boards and have a mini-quiver, something for airs and something for when the waves aren't steep enough for airs. Remember for airs you need to be able to hit a steep piece of wave, either on a nice steep wave or right in front of a section that's about to break. Make sure you can always surf even when the waves are only thigh high.

Good luck!

Yeah, I've thought that over and decided I was good enough for it.... I've been training for contests pretty hard lately and I can whip my snaps an stuff pretty good.. but I've only cought air once. (which I didn't land)
-I thought this would be the board to make all that easier.

Oh, and about the "mini quiver" thing.. I kinda already have one;
I've got a bigger, stiffer, type board that catches ALOT of waves! (I use it for winter and most of the steeper breaks)
And I have a TINY summer shortboard which is COMPLETELY water logged, due to a tiny hole that I didn't notice, and I'm looking to replace that one with the pod or something.

Thanks though, for bringing that to my attention, but I still kinda want to know if the board is worth it to start practicing airs.... or is there a lesser but similar one I could try first?????

THANKS,
Spencer

Sounds like you're on the right track then; I'm not super familiar with exactly what's out there for those exact purposes as I mostly look for just super all-around boards rather than specific epic performance boards; but then again the waves here are balls for air anyway.

Buuuuutt.... what I might suggest is emailing a few different shapers (local) or companies (for the bigger names) with the same question, with you weight, ability level and what you want out of the board, and ask them directly what out of their selection of models they recommend. Then if they all get back to you you'll have a bunch of styles and dimensions of board to look at and maybe they'll all add up to an average kind of dimension and style that they're agreeing on.

If someone comes on here who really knows what they're talking about then that's perfect; but otherwise... that might be a good idea as a way to get some extra info. For me if I'm getting a new board I try to go straight to a local shaper (we have four to choose from). They know the waves and can design the perfect board for the waves. If they're good, that is.

Good luck with the quest!

hey thats a good idea.. can't believe I never thought of that!
But I saw that you only have four local shapers and im guessing not very many waves either. I'm in Hawaii and we have hundreds of different breaks and probly hundreds of different shapers, not really sure on that one though- never looked into it before.
Anyways, I think I'll try it and maybe I'll get back to you too.

THANKS MAN,
Spencer

hey guys thanks for the complement ... just wanted to add that when you go too long with a wide board that has pretty strait rails you will get a board that is not responsive , so be carefull the fish are meant to be small. becuase you have changed the outline and foam distribution...

also i have a new website... check it out to buy and sell your used gear free online ! if you register you will be entered to win free boards and stuff monthly. hope you guys can help spread the word, for surfers by surfers ....

oops forgot to tell you all the site name....

www.rerip.com

elimirandon wrote:hey guys thanks for the complement ... just wanted to add that when you go too long with a wide board that has pretty strait rails you will get a board that is not responsive , so be carefull the fish are meant to be small. becuase you have changed the outline and foam distribution...

For sure man, you surf a twinfin like I want to surf a twinfin. Between you and Rastovich I've got my guidelines to 'how to surf fish'.

Yeah I don't think I would go over 6'0" for a fish for me, the thing that makes that board work for me is the extra poundage of my thickass wetsuit. When I surfed it in boardies in indo it felt like too much float and too skittish, but the first wave I caught at home with my wettie on I knew instantly that it worked better with that weight. Otherwise, a bit too chubby and long.

...of course, the waves in Indo were... a lot nicer than the waves on Van Isle... if I was surfing Indo with a fish like this I would get a 5'10 with a bit less thickness.

Shred on, and you should post some more vids on your sites, I've only been able to find a couple.

elimirandon wrote:hey guys thanks for the complement ... just wanted to add that when you go too long with a wide board that has pretty strait rails you will get a board that is not responsive , so be carefull the fish are meant to be small. becuase you have changed the outline and foam distribution...

also i have a new website... check it out to buy and sell your used gear free online ! if you register you will be entered to win free boards and stuff monthly. hope you guys can help spread the word, for surfers by surfers ....

What Complement???

is this site trustworthy?

brukuns wrote:
What Complement???

is this site trustworthy?

I mentioned Eli's shredding earlier in this thread. Don't know, it looks legit and the idea is dope. maybe start a thread about it, see who has tried it out. I hardly ever use this kind of stuff 'cause I'm in Canada and it's always mad shipping for me.

Peace!

Pretty sure it is a bot guys.

Hhmmmm.. that would suck balls. Any way to really find out? the site looks legit... but if they are using bots to spam then...

Snoodle wrote:Hhmmmm.. that would suck balls. Any way to really find out? the site looks legit... but if they are using bots to spam then...

this is bad publicity... use spam to spread the word about an ecommerce website is kinda stupid. no way I'm gonna trust that site now, although it looks legit. gotta wait for someone who's trustworthy to try it out. a Guinea Pig.