Surfing Waves

Hey I just wanted to talk about the Sci fi 2.0 from Slater Designs for anyone wanting to know more about it
(these are my opinions everyone is different)

My Sci fi 2.0 is 6'2 x 20 5/8 x 2 13/16 38.9L
Firewire website optimal wave height is 2-6ft Good waves
its a bit big for me but the volume makes it easy to get into small waves and bigger overhead waves
Im 5'10 150lbs
lives on Oahu,Hawaii

The Sci fi 2.0 is a epoxy regular performance everyday board that u can ride shorter than you would your normal shortboard

what i have learned about this board after surfing it everyday for 2hr+ some times 4-5hrs a day depending on size of the waves is that it does have its limits but you can counter it on the smaller end depending on fins for exp. i use the Fcs2 Al Merrick twin + trailer which is a pivot set that i use in 2-4ft mushy surf but if you order this board small i dont recommend this fins since the pulled in tail will make it very skatey,for bigger waves like 5-10ft+ hollow waves i use the Fcs2 performer PC carbon thruster and the fcs2 H4 thruster (my personal favorite in bigger waves) i like super stiff fins because i like to push super hard and like that instant response.

also when i say 2-4ft mushy waves it can be different depending where u live/surf so my mushy waves can be your good waves,if you can rent one do it before making a $900 purchase

this board does Yellow fairly quickly because the epoxy resin that firewire uses but its just aesthetics other than that its very strong a overall great board for intermediate to pro surfer

The channel bottom of this board makes it super fast down the line especially in bigger waves and gives that traction so u wont slip on those bigger waves and for the medium exit and entry rocker u can make bigger and steeper drops and easier maneuvers

i only would use this board in 2-7ft maybe 8ft half decent-good hollow waves any bigger u wont have the paddle power to get into the bigger waves,u will need a step up board.

yesterday on this 6'2 board 8/15/2021 i surfed sunset beach Oahu it was pretty much double over head(i say 8-10+ft)hollow almost perfect waves on almost EVERY set and only got bigger which never happens in the summer especially on the north shore in the summer and there's me and 3 other guys with our shortboards when everyone else is using mini guns and 6'10+ step up boards so i knew i was definitely was using the wrong board but i did catch one big one i would say 10ft its hard to tell but that drop was so gnarly it looked like u where about to fall off a 2 story building,got alot of complements on my surfing on that one i got really luck to get into that big of wave on a 6'2 .ps the surf report said 3-5ft faces(around 2-2.5ft Hawaiian) so thats why i took the board out i would not recommend using anything smaller than a 6'6 step up on those type of size's of waves

(i have some pictures but its not the best angle since i want pretty close to the photographer that had a long distance lens but if u look closely u can see how big that wave is)

If you have any questions feel free to reply to this post and ill answer them.

So is that looks like a wipeout sequence, is that what happened (body going down and board going up wave)? Board too small only means you have to pick the spot to take off better.

oldmansurfer wrote:So is that looks like a wipeout sequence, is that what happened (body going down and board going up wave)? Board too small only means you have to pick the spot to take off better.

yes it was a wipe out sequence,i tried to pull out and welp it did not work and that lip hit me so hard and the right spot for that day was under the barreling lip that was 10ft+ which would be great if you could catch the wave earlier which was only really possible if you on a bigger board or it was a barreling RIDEABLE barrel since it was high tide it would barrel then it would pinch or ofc if your JJF that can rip on a 6'2 on huge waves.the wipes outs of that day was so gnarly people looked like they died not even kidding,a lot of air drop wipe outs and going over the falls.

it was my first time in anything bigger than 7ft so it was a experience i did more studying of how to ride the wave and how it breaks rather than riding it.so i def did some things wrong but thats learning

i only got caught on the inside once and thank god only once because u just see HUGE barrels about to hit u in your head if you didnt duck dive or bail your board

I called a my surf shop and pyzel customer service and they i should have been on a step up like 6'8-6'10 in those kind of sizes of waves

im happy a photographer caught my wipe out tho,helps me keep my memory on the biggest wave i surfed.sadly he wasn't there when i caught a wave since i went so early starting from sunrise to noon,at least i got some sort of picture,you know.

tomorrow south shore is going to be a little smaller maybe the same size because of the massive Tahiti swell,but its going to be windier but should be fun.im way more familiar of the south shore than the north shore so i should catch way more

On a small board you probably need to be deeper in the lineup because you need the wave to be steeper and some push from the lip. Hey there's always another day. South side is a little less hairy other than the bowl. Where are you headed? or where did you go? I think fear of the drop makes people go to the shoulder but on lots of bigger waves taking off on the shoulder is difficult because it walls up a lot pulling water up the face, which makes it difficult to get into the wave. Needs to be already walled up.

oldmansurfer wrote:On a small board you probably need to be deeper in the lineup because you need the wave to be steeper and some push from the lip. Hey there's always another day. South side is a little less hairy other than the bowl. Where are you headed? or where did you go? I think fear of the drop makes people go to the shoulder but on lots of bigger waves taking off on the shoulder is difficult because it walls up a lot pulling water up the face, which makes it difficult to get into the wave. Needs to be already walled up.

Yeah definitely,but that lip on that day was not going to push you it would wack you and wiping out on a 10ft wave is not fun,
But of course every wave and day is different and you need to adjust depending on the wave and i 100% could of caught way more waves if i was at the peek but is it really worth the risk of breaking my board or hiting someone because i wiped out.the more i surf bigger waves the more confident i get so it will take time.

i think thats why jamie o'brien says use a 6'8 in 6-8ft then 6'10+ in bigger because in hawaii where the waves get very fast and powerful no matter the time of year u need more board and foam for paddle power

yup always another day is what i tell myself all the time,i cant wait till winter when i will surf on the smaller days of the north shore (everywhere but pipe,rocky point and waimea)

i went to white plains,the surf report said it was pretty good and the surf cams of ala moana bowls,daimond head(clifs) and waikiki had/has really really clean conditions but i couldnt drive that far today sadly so i went to the break 5mins away from my house and expected clean conditions but when i went there It was bad,all close outs,very rough condtions,it took me about 100+ duck dives just to make it out the back and 99% of people couldnt make it out.it was big waves but just bad conditions to actually enjoy it.it was easier to paddle out on 10ft+ sunset then 6-8ft white plains,safe to say im never surfing there on bigger days than 4-5ft.(everywhere on the south shore is 6-8ft right now because of tahiti)

yeah i was 100% was scared im not going to lie lol,look in the background of my pictures,u can see how big that wave was maybe u can try to imagine it or if u surfed big waves like that before which im sure u have u will somewhat know the fear when you went out to your first big wave but i did go for it and caught the biggest wave of my life and got a lot of complements.
and seeing 50 people going over the falls,air drop wipe out in the course of 10-15mins does not help when its your first big wave
but im glad i did it and proved to people that i can handle bigger waves

i was watching a video about surfboard guns and jon pyzel (owner of pyzel if u had no idea who he was) was in it and he said the bigger the board the less scared u are to take big drops,smaller the board u feel more lost and scared because u have a small board when the board u should be using is way bigger, if i remember correctly is that he said the bigger the board the smaller the wave feels.

If you have ANY tips on surfing bigger waves i will gladly accept them,especially on the fear of taking on these waves

My advice for bigger waves is take small steps. Don't go up in size too quickly. I had probably a unique situation learning to surf. I bodysurfed waves as big as what challenged you on the north shore long before I ever used a board so the fear of bigger surf wasn't an issue till it got bigger than that.. From there I proceeded to paipo boarding and got used to that in fairly large surf as well. Then I kneeboarded on my paipo boards for a while. When I switched over to surfing on a board I wasn't afraid of waves much bigger than I could ride but I just took things slowly going out in gradually bigger and bigger surf. The bigger the surf the better shape you need to be in. So work at fitness and get familiar with waves as big as they can be without scaring you. Gradually that size will go up. Also remember this is supposed to be fun and bigger waves aren't for everyone. The guys I learned to surf with did not want to go out in bigger waves. I was so surprised when they refused to accompany me in larger gnarlier surf but that was my mission so I kept at it.

oldmansurfer wrote:My advice for bigger waves is take small steps. Don't go up in size too quickly. I had probably a unique situation learning to surf. I bodysurfed waves as big as what challenged you on the north shore long before I ever used a board so the fear of bigger surf wasn't an issue till it got bigger than that.. From there I proceeded to paipo boarding and got used to that in fairly large surf as well. Then I kneeboarded on my paipo boards for a while. When I switched over to surfing on a board I wasn't afraid of waves much bigger than I could ride but I just took things slowly going out in gradually bigger and bigger surf. The bigger the surf the better shape you need to be in. So work at fitness and get familiar with waves as big as they can be without scaring you. Gradually that size will go up. Also remember this is supposed to be fun and bigger waves aren't for everyone. The guys I learned to surf with did not want to go out in bigger waves. I was so surprised when they refused to accompany me in larger gnarlier surf but that was my mission so I kept at it.

Noted,im pretty fit i only have one rest day a week i work alot on my cardio and then everything else and i always train my lungs to be able to hold my breath for longer im around 2mins but of course holding your breath when you’re getting hammered underwater is different than on land.

I have the same situation that you had,people who surfed way longer than i did(years-decades)dont ever want to surf bigger waves than 7ft which is understandable

For me i used to say i will never surf anything over 6ft but then i surfed bigger and bigger and i love that rush that you get when you take the drop and make the wave and even more so when u rip on the wave,its really addicting.

My goal in surfing is to surf big pipeline like double over head and maybe surf outer reefs but tow in if you know what outer reefs is.i want to surf big waves but not jaws or Waimea big.it will take a lot of time but i think its worth it.i wont surf small pipeline even in a couple year.i want to feel like i earned the right to surf pipeline even small pipe.

Well Pipeline besides being a dangerous break and having awesome waves is a heavy crowd situation. To surf there you probably are going to need to start on tiny days and work your way up. Or if you get good enough then just go out and wait for someone to let you catch a wave or call you into one.

oldmansurfer wrote:Well Pipeline besides being a dangerous break and having awesome waves is a heavy crowd situation. To surf there you probably are going to need to start on tiny days and work your way up. Or if you get good enough then just go out and wait for someone to let you catch a wave or call you into one.

Yeah exactly,i watch a lot of videos where pro surfers surf pipeline for ex.jamie obrian,koa smith,koa rothman,JJF and Nathan Florence and study how pipeline works and sometimes they talk about it.

Its a pecking system(i think thats whats its called)out there so u have to be known so small talk will be a good way to meet people and get recognized,people do get called into waves i see it alot,the first couple times in the pipeline lineup i will probably not catch one wave but that’s alright it would give me time to meet people and learn the wave and i think theres no better way to learn a wave then being in the lineup.

I dont mind crowded line ups,the break i surfed today that was bad usually has over 50 people in the line up mostly beginners that doesn’t know how to move out the way so i been getting really good at being in a crowded line up and will get better by the time i go out to pipe for the first time in 2-3years

Oh yeah i was using a epoxy board at sunset when i should have been using a PU/polly board.since its way better in bigger waves.that could be another reason I didn’t do as good as i wanted but i wont know until i get a PU board since i never actually used one.

What size/kind of board do you use in bigger hollower waves?i was recommended the pyzel ghost pro alot so I’ll probably get that this winter

Thank you for your help

If you get to surf Pipe at size, you will have earned it! Go out before you are capable and seen to be capable by others out there!
You will need to understand how the break operates and where to be when the sets come through, you may well be sent in, or in a fight if you add to the dangers for others, , you will need serious skills not a spot on a bucket list!
Go dive on a flat day, check the bottom and the gutters there, understand how swell direction and sand movement effect the quality of the shape..
Lots to learn!

All boards have limitations but I have ridden every board that I regularly used in waves bigger than double overhead except for my current 7'6" rounded pintail funboard. That board has very little rocker and I have taken it out in steep fast hollow double overhead waves and because it has no rocker and a wide tail it gets down the face quicker than my other boards but at the bottom has so much speed that it comes out of the water and skitters along for a second or two. Once it settles back down it has no problem with double overhead waves and it never seemed to have any problems on smaller waves. I have to angle the takeoff from the top (but I do that anyway in steep hollow waves) so that I don't run out in front of the wave and possibly get hit by the lip. All the rest of the boards I have ever owned and used regularly have gone out in triple overhead waves or larger. I am of the opinion that surfing is about learning to use the board you have. That is how you gain skill. The is a large subset of surfers who seem to be on a constant search for that board that is going to make them surf better. Perhaps you are one those? Anyway things that help riding bigger steeper waves is more length and harder rails and a narrower tail and lots of tail rocker. Tail rocker makes the board turn and paddle like a shorter board so if you go up in size and tail rocker then you should probably go up a little more in size to make up for the lack of push from the wave with lots of tail rocker. The board needs to fit the face of the wave so if it's too long it doesn't fit. There was one of the last Eddies at Waimea Bay where Kelly Slater and John Florence were both using shorter boards than the others. This was because they wanted to get tubed at Waimea and the longer boards didn't fit the face of the tubing part of Waimea. One thing you might do is find a local shaper to make boards for you. Tell him honestly where your surfing is at and where you want to be and see if he can make you a board that is better for you specifically. I currently use all custom made boards made for an old man who is overweight and out of shape (me). They are all epoxy boards and I use quad fins , a 7 foot egg (wide nose narrow tail continuous rocker, 7'6" wide rounded pin extra thick and wide funboard with very little rocker and my favorite 8' oldmaoverweightoutofshape board which is a narrower rounded pintail funboard and it seems good on anything from knee high to triple overhead.

jaffa1949 wrote:If you get to surf Pipe at size, you will have earned it! Go out before you are capable and seen to be capable by others out there!
You will need to understand how the break operates and where to be when the sets come through, you may well be sent in, or in a fight if you add to the dangers for others, , you will need serious skills not a spot on a bucket list!
Go dive on a flat day, check the bottom and the gutters there, understand how swell direction and sand movement effect the quality of the shape..
Lots to learn!

I agree,i have been watching pipeline since i was a little kid,my mom used to take me to pipeline in the winter to watch the surfers and thats what sent in my goal to surfing pipe one day.its not a bucket list surf spot for me if it was i could just go when its 3ft and risk it but i want to do it the right way like pretty much everyone who has ever surfed a wave there.

Yes pipe you need some serious skills there but i seen some average intermediate surfers like me paddle out there and get pushed into wave at pipe (jamie obrian youtube video),doesn’t mean i will go out but it puts a perspective on what skills you actually need.of course it was only 5-6ft faces but pipe is a very steep wave so its pretty interesting

And thats a really good tip to go out before im capable to surf pipe to snorkel and study the reef and how everything works there,i know how it works in general but not really detailed so i need to study it more.

Thank you

oldmansurfer wrote:All boards have limitations but I have ridden every board that I regularly used in waves bigger than double overhead except for my current 7'6" rounded pintail funboard. That board has very little rocker and I have taken it out in steep fast hollow double overhead waves and because it has no rocker and a wide tail it gets down the face quicker than my other boards but at the bottom has so much speed that it comes out of the water and skitters along for a second or two. Once it settles back down it has no problem with double overhead waves and it never seemed to have any problems on smaller waves. I have to angle the takeoff from the top (but I do that anyway in steep hollow waves) so that I don't run out in front of the wave and possibly get hit by the lip. All the rest of the boards I have ever owned and used regularly have gone out in triple overhead waves or larger. I am of the opinion that surfing is about learning to use the board you have. That is how you gain skill. The is a large subset of surfers who seem to be on a constant search for that board that is going to make them surf better. Perhaps you are one those? Anyway things that help riding bigger steeper waves is more length and harder rails and a narrower tail and lots of tail rocker. Tail rocker makes the board turn and paddle like a shorter board so if you go up in size and tail rocker then you should probably go up a little more in size to make up for the lack of push from the wave with lots of tail rocker. The board needs to fit the face of the wave so if it's too long it doesn't fit. There was one of the last Eddies at Waimea Bay where Kelly Slater and John Florence were both using shorter boards than the others. This was because they wanted to get tubed at Waimea and the longer boards didn't fit the face of the tubing part of Waimea. One thing you might do is find a local shaper to make boards for you. Tell him honestly where your surfing is at and where you want to be and see if he can make you a board that is better for you specifically. I currently use all custom made boards made for an old man who is overweight and out of shape (me). They are all epoxy boards and I use quad fins , a 7 foot egg (wide nose narrow tail continuous rocker, 7'6" wide rounded pin extra thick and wide funboard with very little rocker and my favorite 8' oldmaoverweightoutofshape board which is a narrower rounded pintail funboard and it seems good on anything from knee high to triple overhead.

yes definitely has to do with experience,you have been surfing way longer than me so you can probably use a 6'0 in double overhead when for me its very hard,but not for paddling,paddling has never been a problem but just slight fear of the drop which will get better with time.after i get into the wave and im up i feel great and it feels natural,just the first drop is a little scary.

when you say that about Kelly Slater and John Florence its understandable but correct me if im wrong thats talking about a guns,a 6'8 step up u can get into barrels no problem,it happens all over the world and you using such big boards on waves like this you know that.

the Board im talking about that will help me with bigger waves the pyzel ghost pro(the pro model is just a slimmer version of the regular model) its nose rocker is med/low which my current board is medium so it will be even easier to paddle and get into wave and get into them earlier so you dont need that high nose rocker because you dont need to be at the very steep part of the wave and the tail rocker is like a regular high performance board so it give it that maneuverability and traction for the steeper wave,thats why its such a popular board in almost all wave sizes 3-15ft.

i agree you should learn to use the board u have,which i have done alot but theres a limit to what you and your board can do in a current type of wave

im 100% one of those people to look for boards that would help me surf better,but there's also a reason for it.i take alot tips from a lot of advance surfers and pros and it has help me alot with my surfing thats why i been progressing fairly quickly also when your in the water and you see you have one of the smallest boards out there it make it seem you are on the wrong board,its not to just help me surf easier or better its the people i look up to in surfing and people around me that helped me get better.

i need to slim my board down too,38.9L of volume is too much it sucks duck diving it.i need like 28L-29L for my everyday board and my groveler that im getting will be 34L but grovelers volume doesn't matter too much if its high since im using it in bad surf

i was about to ask my local shaper to help me get the right board like dims,shape,rockers and volume.ill send a email out to a couple of shapers out by next week to help me but not buy yet because custom boards cost way more then stock boards

i used quads a couple times and i hated it,for me it doesn't feel right it feels weird.

by the way if it seems like im trying to "fight" what you're saying if it seems that way,im not im just trying to see what you think and how its different from me and i will take all what your saying and use it.

You are being thorough and aware in your quest to ride pipe and having watched it as a kid and built the dream, it is so much more achievable than just bucketlisting. All the elements are there for you to do it !!

every person and every board is different so to make some kind of blanket statement about what a board can do or a surfer can do in general is wrong. It depends on the specific surfer and specific board and the specific wave.

oldmansurfer wrote:every person and every board is different so to make some kind of blanket statement about what a board can do or a surfer can do in general is wrong. It depends on the specific surfer and specific board and the specific wave.

im sorry are u saying im making a blanket statement?if so when have i?everything i said was for me personally and i have said everyone is different and what the board can do is from the website itself

jaffa1949 wrote:You are being thorough and aware in your quest to ride pipe and having watched it as a kid and built the dream, it is so much more achievable than just bucketlisting. All the elements are there for you to do it !!

Thank you for the motivation!

Dyyy.lan_ wrote:i was about to ask my local shaper to help me get the right board like dims,shape,rockers and volume.ill send a email out to a couple of shapers out by next week to help me but not buy yet because custom boards cost way more then stock boards

To get the "right" board you need to work with your shaper. It's like a relationship that grows over time. He learns about you as you give him feed back about the boards he builds and makes adjustments. That said, asking other shapers their opinion is like flirting around when you already got a good companion. And especially when you going to "wop dea jaws" and not buy from them.

Dyyy.lan_ wrote:im sorry are u saying im making a blanket statement?if so when have i?everything i said was for me personally and i have said everyone is different and what the board can do is from the website itself

Braddah, Uncle is trying fo help u, chill out and show some respect.

You are reading others who make blanket statements about boards and surfers. The websites are generally set up to sell boards not give you correct information. There is so much variation among boards that even mass produced boards with the same design work differently. There is much variation among surfers as well for instance I have a hard time with shorter boards because I am old and not in the best shape and not an advanced surfer. So the same board design that works well for advanced surfers at pipeline would be useless for me but I am pretty sure I can use my 8 foot board there as I surf a steep hollow left hand break a lot at various sized waves. However I dislike crowds so you won't ever see me at pipeline

waikikikichan wrote:

Dyyy.lan_ wrote:i was about to ask my local shaper to help me get the right board like dims,shape,rockers and volume.ill send a email out to a couple of shapers out by next week to help me but not buy yet because custom boards cost way more then stock boards

To get the "right" board you need to work with your shaper. It's like a relationship that grows over time. He learns about you as you give him feed back about the boards he builds and makes adjustments. That said, asking other shapers their opinion is like flirting around when you already got a good companion. And especially when you going to "wop dea jaws" and not buy from them.

Dyyy.lan_ wrote:im sorry are u saying im making a blanket statement?if so when have i?everything i said was for me personally and i have said everyone is different and what the board can do is from the website itself

Braddah, Uncle is trying fo help u, chill out and show some respect.

bro u got it all wrong,i was not showing any disrespect at all bud
thats why i said im "sorry" since i didnt understand what he was saying
anyway no one just gets respect,he is helping me so thats why im making sure he doesnt get my messages the wrong way so i dont come out as disrespectful

and didnt i say "not buy from them yet" bro read before you type,ofc i have to talk to multiple shapers and find the one that i like the most but saying stuff that makes me sound like im a d bag is super disrespectful and wernt u just talking about respect?