Surf board advice

[ALM]

Looking for a second board - split between the fourth chilli bean or maluku fish cake.

Plenty of reviews on the fourth, but can't find much on the malauku. Whats the main differences in the ways these will surf, and if you've surfed the fish cake before, what did you think?

Thanks

[Big H]

Lots of questions.....

What are you looking to address with a second board? What is your first board? Where do you surf? What conditions do you surf in usually? Is there any reason that out of an entire world of boards you’ve chosen a “vs.” between these two?

I am of the opinion that board choice is a little like wine pairing. There is not really such a thing as a best match....a lot of different bottlings will be a great match with a dish. There are however no no’s to avoid as while there may be no best right choice, there are plenty of choices that are dead wrong.

Hairsplitting questions to someone who has been surfing a bit like which board is better or should I go with 31.5L or 33L are really best discovered and answered by you.......I have done this kind of R&D with dozens of second hand boards. It’s a lot cheaper than buying off the rack with a buyers guide in one hand.

You’ll find a lot of people here advocate visiting a local shaper and working with them to develop a board that suits you, the waves and what you’re looking for.....I haven’t done this but it sounds a lot better than taking advice from strangers on the internet.

[waikikikichan]

Whats the main differences in the ways these will surf

Well the Fourth Chilli bean has a round pin/thumb tail and the Maluku fish cake is a bump swallow.
1) Have you ridden a swallow tail before ?
2) What is the tail on your current board ?

[ALM]

Whats the main differences in the ways these will surf

Well the Fourth Chilli bean has a round pin/thumb tail and the Maluku fish cake is a bump swallow.
1) Have you ridden a swallow tail before ?
2) What is the tail on your current board ?

Never ridden a swallow, and current board is round. Essentially asking what difference between the swallow will be compared to thumb/rounded pin, as I don't have any opportunity to try out a swallow.

Also seems the chilli bean has a bit more foam up front but the fish cake has a couple more litres volume.