Riding the waves of change.. the going shorter addiction

[benjl]

Over the last couple of months i've been quite rapidly fueling my froth for surfing, surfboards and experimentation.
It started with buying my first firewire dominator at 5'10 (previously the shortest board i've owned). I wanted a smaller wave board that also had some performance features so i went with one that was 33.5l and rapidfire construction.
Long story short, I loved it. It was just so fast, lose and enabled me to start improving my surfing and do manouevers that I had to really nail like cut backs.
I wanted more! The only downside was that at 33.5l and the super-light rapidfire, there was no chance of duckdiving it and it was quite limited once around head height size.

Spurred by the hype I started reading about the LFT firewire vader, only to have one come up in my area as a 5'8 and 33.9l. The specs read that it can handle from waist to double overhead and the weirdness-shape factor + even smaller length won me over. Immediately it was a very different board to dominator despite being around the same volume. It paddled worse due to having rocker but was awesome once the wave was over 2ft. Strangely, (and despite bing only 5'8 and a length which I would never have thought practical to ride) it felt too long, too stable. The parallel rails and super wide diamond tail just felt clunky and no way near as fun, lose and fast as the dom.
I tried it in tiny 1ft clean waves and it would go with a lot of paddle but not enough speed to enable it to turn or really make the most of small waves. To make it worse, to actually utilise big waves that it was meant for, it was horrendous to duckdive. That super wide square nose and all that volume just caught on every bit of whitewash. I've still been waiting for a solid day to try it in its element but it just seems too long for me.

Once again I went back to the drawing board in my head, contemplating different designs, volumes and what I would want to use the board for.
Then two nights ago a 5'6 fst dominator came up for sale. A stupidly cheap deal that was too good to resist! ($450 NZD for board, fins, leash, tailpad and bag + fst construction). Its 19 3/4 wide and 2 3/8 thick at 28.3l which is 5l and narrower / thinner than my 5'10 dom. I had started looking at hypto krypto's and also smaller vaders and just thought why not see what it's actually like to ride a board that small and at that volume.
I managed to take it out yesterday in some solid 3ft / head high waves. WOW I had forgotten the difference of what it's like to paddle something thats sub-30l. the FST construction feels so much stronger than rapidfire and even at 5'6, probably weighs the same as my 5'10.
It also took much more of a wave and also to be right in the pocket to catch it. I was nearly at the lip on the head high waves before finally going down them and to my surprise, it never pearled! It started to inspire confidence of taking off late again.
It was a very different feeling to the 5'10 dom, so short and a 2" foot placement would mean the difference between standing on the front and back of the board. It felt fast and skittish over bumpy waves but with a lot more critical control over the wave than the 5'10. It didn't feel like I was fighting the board to dig a rail and carve but rather just needing to adjust my timing and body positioning for when the board turned tighter than usual.
I got some of the longest waves i've had in a long time and the shortness and low volume board made me work it the whole time instead of being able to cruise a little with a longer/fatter board. I did my first ever wave with 3x cutbacks on the same wave and also had another wave that started off as a left before hitting another steep peak and turning in to a right.

It really blew my mind. The 5'6 hypto is exactly the same dimensions and volume which must mean that it has more meat in the middle and nose of the board with thinned out rails and tail whereas the dominator has a thicker and flat foil. I couldn't help but think that the hypto could provide the added speed and agility with those features and just be an awesome all-round board.
At the same time, the 5'5 vader at around the same volume would also be a lethal performance board once actually shortened and also super fast due to it's performance features.

So what have I learned?
Each time I went shorter, regardles of volume, you would need to be more and more in the wave pocket to actually take off. When I rode my 7'2 minimal again, I nose dived repeatedly for the first 20mins as I was so used to taking off the the most critical part of the wave now.
The shortness was awesome for agility but you need to be good enough to really work and pump the board to keep it going if you lose speed.
Rapidfire was the softest but most lively construction. LFT felt more natural and nice but definitely softer at the touch from FST.
I can see how the hypto would work for a lot of surfers in nice, clean and powerful waves.
Being able to duckdive again with these lower volumes is great, but paddling sucks (even if the marketing says 'paddles like its turbo charged')

The dilemma?
I now have 4x shortboards from 5'6 to 6'1 and I don't know which ones to keep anymore!

[Big H]

Sell the Vader...no point to have a board for good waves that is hard to duck dive in good waves....

I wonder if a 5'8" dom would be the perfect fit for you? You're going to have to follow up on that....

I like hearing about your experiences....keep the stoke and let us know when you (and you will) get that hypto krypto and how it works for you....

[benjl]

Thanks Big H, it's been fascinating for me to play around on and just experiment with how different surfboard designs, volumes and length affect me. Still can't believe I can ride a 5'6, less than a year ago my short board was 6'3 and anything under 6'0 seemed stupidity.
I'm now hesitant to get any boards over 6'0!

Do u see many surfers on super short boards at your locals? Any trends towards this? The guy who sold
Me the board actually lived in Bali but reckoned he couldn't paddle on to more critical waves over there

[Big H]

That's it right there.....most waves here jack and wall up most of the time and are pretty fast....so you either need a board that has enough paddle power to get in before it jacks hard or a board (and rider!) that is able to handle steep, late drops....what I see and hear among some, usually tourists here is a trend to shorter boards, the perception is that the goal is to ride the shortest board possible, and the shorter the board is that you ride the better you are....Indonesians I surf with and expat locals I know surf boards at least their height and usually a bit longer....they also catch ALOT more waves than the tourists (for more reasons than just the board, but that's a factor)...I don't want to imagine a 250-600m paddle out to a break then paddling to get into head high+ waves on a board shorter than me....and when you're on bigger waves, a big board fits just fine.....waves never are really small around here....

Don't be hung up on size....ride what works for you and your conditions....if that is a 5'6" board then that is what it is.....I reckon it's more about what you can do on the wave and getting a board that will help you enjoy your time....mini sims, single fins, longboards, thruster shortboards....find what you like and what works and have fun right!? That new dominator sounds like a good fit for you; the one you had before did as well; keep both and use in different conditions and surf the heck out of them!

Sell that hammerhead thing and get a step up so you can keep in practice on a longer board....when it gets big you'll appreciate it.

[benjl]

Here's my 6'1 laid out alongside the 5'6 Dom. I didn't realise how thinned out the tail and rails were in comparison to the Dom. The bottom of the 6'1 also has a much bigger concave to vee whereas the Dom is pretty flat the way through. There's only a 0.8l volume difference between them funnily enough.
I reckon a blend of both of these boards would be wicked as an all-rounder. 2" more length, more concave and a thinner tail would be awesome

5'6 vs 6'1

[Big H]

I don't know.....at least you found two boards you can express yourself on. It's a start.....

[Big H]

FireWire makes that board....can't remember but it's either the hashtag or unibrow, maybe the alternator.

[drowningbitbybit]

a thinner tail would be awesome

Yeah, I was gonna ask how you found that fat old tail

When I was looking at these boards (just out of general interest - budget doesn't run to a firewire at the moment), I didn't like the look of that wide tail.
On the big-volume 5'10 I got last year, which was somewhat "experimental", I like the shortness and I like the volume, but I really don't like the fat tail (although it is more square than on yours).
The next experiment board, which I was talking about with Big H on here on a different thread, is likely be short n' fat but with a pulled in tail. I'm hoping it'll be great for small to medium waves - it won't tuck into the face of a large steep wave with a fat front and a narrow tail, but should slide about nicely on the fatter sections, which is what I'm into

[benjl]

Have you tried a Hypto DBB? the more i ride the short dom the more it just seems to make sense.
Even if the dom had some vee or double concave like the hypto has i imagine it would control wave size better and make it easier to get on rail.

I was looking hard and deep at all the firewire boards this morning and the unibrow also sounds like what we're wanting from the dom ie. similar platform but with thinner tail, rails and double concave but then the length starts increasing to make the volume the same. The same volume in the unibrow as my 5'6 dom would make it a 5'9 with more rocker and harder paddling.
Why not just stay at 5'6 and get a board with a super flat rocker for speed and paddling but with the bottom contour, rail and tail benefits of the hypto?
I reckon the 5-fin option would be killer.

I just wish they came in FST and not FF which seems to ding and dent really easy.

[drowningbitbybit]

Why not just stay at 5'6 and get a board with a super flat rocker for speed and paddling but with the bottom contour, rail and tail benefits of the hypto?

That's not what I'm after - partly because I'm 6ft tall and built like a brick sh!*house
So, 5'6 would be just silly, but also I'm looking at getting something with some volume to compensate for my injured shoulder, but with some rocker and a skinny tail for the steep beachies in this neck of the woods.

The "Going Shorter Addiction" usually gets to a point where it bounces back up again... you go shorter and shorter until you realise that going any further is not helping and a couple more inches might be of some use. I hit that point with the 5'10, and now I'm likely to bounce back into the 6'2 region.

If I could get to grips with a high performance, low volume, 6' board again, it'd be great, but right now my shoulder* is letting me down.



* To be strictly accurate, the lack of commitment due to the fear of my shoulder letting me down is what is preventing me getting into waves, so some extra volume is required to give me that confidence in my paddling, but once I'm up and riding, I don't want the usual fat board characteristics.

[benjl]

Yeah I think I would hit that in going much shorter as well. What about the 6'0 hypto for you?

I also just saw this on firewires website, the 5'10 could suit you? Wish there was more info on it.
http://shop.firewiresurfboards.com/coll ... ay-creeper

I would also love to try the new tomo evo as an everyday board, have a look at that one as well?

it's just ridiculous seeing all the new shapes and designs out there and how they all differ. How the hell are you supposed to know what will work best for you??! length vs thickness vs width, usability vs performance, shorter flatter refined volume vs more rockered flat foils.

We have some amazing off-shores and swells coming on both coasts for the next week so i look forward to trying the 5'6 dom in bigger stuff and perhaps even taking my vader out again in conditions that will get the best of it.

[drowningbitbybit]

I also just saw this on firewires website, the 5'10 could suit you? Wish there was more info on it.
http://shop.firewiresurfboards.com/coll ... ay-creeper

That's a similar shape to the one I was looking at - some up-front foam, but without too much of the groveller characteristics. However, due to moving house a few months ago, the firewire ain't gonna happen!
I've got my eye on a cheaper version that I'll likely buy, but I need a few good days on my current boards to dial in exactly what I need. And although a 5'10 or 6' would be great, right now I have to suppress those instincts and remember that it's all about foam and increasing the volume!

[benjl]

So I finally did it.. I brought a hypto replica! Sold my FireWire 5'10 Dom and sold my Tomo Vader 5'8.
The board on the left is called a 'rockhopper' although is basically identical to a hypto. The shaper is local and said he released it about a month earlier than the hypto was announced and that someone from Hayden shapes accused him or
Copying the design!

Anyway.. It's a 5'10 so I thought it would replace my 5'10 dominator but cover more of higher end which I was after (as well as grovelling). I just thought it was interesting to lie my 5'6 against it side by side and see the differences in nose and tail profiles. The hypto really does have a much thinner pulled in tail with a fatter nose. It's 33l whereas the dominator was 33.5 but all other measurements are very similar.
Will be interesting to see how it rides! If nothing more than another experiment

[drowningbitbybit]

Is it the camera angle or does it have a slightly odd fin placement? Seems that the tail extends quite a long way beyond the fins for such a short board.

I'll be interested to hear how it surfs!

[benjl]

I thought this board looks like a little bit of you DBB! It's got a relatively flat bottom but still a touch of vee in the tail.

It might just be a funny camera angle and maybe further blurred as one board has quad fins whereas the other is finless.
The tailpad on both are directly above the back middle fin. It might also be the that narrow pin compared with the round dom tail makes it look more elongated.
It's got pretty rounded and fat rails at 2 9/16 but the tail is thinned out a bit

[Big H]

Here's a few photos of HS hypos....looks like the fin placement is further back....I didn't realise those boards were so flat...

[benjl]

Hmmm I might have to measure the bottom of the fin plug compared to my other boards and see. I think it might just be the photograph angle though.

Yeah they're flat as in the rocker! My 5'6 Dom is just as flat. I think if you get the size right (5-8") shorter than your short board then it's always going to fit nicely
In to the wave despite how flat it is. I made some realy late and steep drops on my 5'6 the other day and never came close to pearling etc as its short enough to fit in the wave and when you pop up it pushes the nose further out of the water anyway.
The 5'10 is a bit longer though and the flat rocker plus added length probably won't go so well in more hollow waves. I'm not really planning to use it above 3-4ft anyway so it should be sweet

[benjl]

@ big H and DBB- here's the hypto against my 6'1 short board. I measured the back of the fin plug to the tip of the tail and it is identical on both boards. My Dom with futures plugs however sits about 1cm further back. Both of these fcs boards with a Rounded Pin have the same
Fin placement.

It's also interesting to see just how little the hypto has. My 6'1 is not even a heavily rockerd short board at that but the hypto is around 3cm less rocker in the nose and 1cm less
Rocker in the tail. It really is flat as a pancake and thick through the nose and middle.
I imagine a 5'6 version with 3/8 or 5/16 rails and a touch more rocker would be sick!!

[Big H]

I wouldn't worry about it...we're seeing some distortion for sure due to the angle, etc....whomever shaped the board presumably had a plan...let us know how it works out for you...I had a really flat board a little while back, paddled really well, had to baby it on takeoffs; didn't like how much attention I had to pay during get ups so I got rid of it....it was a fast board though after you were up on the wave.....just didn't suit where I normally go....

[benjl]

Yeah I know what you mean, that's why I think they work well at tiny-short lengths as the rocker can fit in to the wave and you don't need to baby it as much. There was night and day difference between the way my 5'6 Dom And 5'10 Dom handled drops.

I also find it interesting that both my 6'1 and the hypto have almost identical fin placements for both the thruster and quad set ups. My firewires tend to have the quad plugs way more towards the rail than centre. The hypto board also feels very solid- like a 6+6+8 glassing or something. The black lines are carbon stringers in it.