Dominator or Pumpkin Seed

[Swimmy Tim]

I am 185 pounds, 6 foot 4, aspiring intermediate surfer --- by which I mean I'm comfortable out the back catching waves, trimming down the line, and just figuring out carving cutbacks. I currently own a 6'6" Rusty Piranha that has been great (21" wide, 2.62" thick, fish tail). I was in Costa Rica not too long ago and spent a lot of time on a 7'0" Santa Cruz Pumpkin Seed (21.25' wide, 2.75" thick, with a round tail). Very easy and fun board to surf, still easy to initiate carving turns. I'm on the verge of picking one up at my local shop, but then I got into a debate about size/volume, and have recently started to look at a 6'8" Firewire Dominator (21.75" wide, 3" thick, round tail) or 6'8" pumpkin seed (20.63" wide, 2.5 " thick, round tail). I had so much fun on the 7' pumpkin seed in CR I'm starting to think it wasn't just the size but the round tail that carves better than the fish tail. Anyway, my considerations for a new board are based wanting something that has a round tail but slightly more volume than what I have. Only slightly more volume though, as I still want to duck dive without too much more effort, performs down the line, and catches waves more easily than a shortboard. Considering my size and options listed here, I would appreciate some advice.

Thanks.

[dtc]

My view is that you can

(a) never know if another board is better for you unless you buy both (which you probably cant) or can try out both for an extended period (which you probably cant); therefore

(b) buy the board you at least know is one that you like

Its easy enough to overthink boards; I suspect the difference between those two is pretty small for most of us. So pumpkin seed, unless you have a thing for the Firewire technology.

The narrower tail will, of course, allow for easier (or sharper) turning than your current board