Bad session with 6'10" egg (good board, but I can't surf it)

[ConcreteVitamin]

So today I got lucky. I got lent a clean 6'10" egg (6'10" x 21.5" x 2.75" 44L), round rails, round pintail, etc. Thruster.

I took it to a 2-3ft spot -- a spot I surfed for a few times this week, all on my single-fin kookstorm. Those sessions were GREAT. Caught waves early. Rides are long, 15 seconds or so, and I could keep great speed. Got a good POV video out of the sessions. I even "out-surfed" a couple local-looking guys with seemingly expensive longboards.

But today, I got only reforms on this board. A few things I notice:

- Must sit closer to shore than all the longboarders.
- Must sit at more critical place - don't "paddle to spot X" because I'd be really tired.
- Require much better paddling & positioning.
- A bit unstable, I could really use more volume.

Of course it's the Indian but not the arrow. However I have to ask, what length of an egg would be a good versatile board that can work in BOTH longboarder waves & shortboarder waves? What length of an egg would you KEEP in the quiver? If I instead surfed on the 7'2"/7'6" version of this model, would I have a dramatically better experience?

[oldmansurfer]

I have a 7 foot egg. It works great for me and I have ridden a couple waves in the triple overhead size with it and it seemed okay a little squirly but felt good after I got some lateral speed. It seems to be good in a lot of different conditions and the only reason I am not riding it all the time is that it doesn't catch waves as well as my 8 foot board. With the 8 foot board I don't need to be as close to the right spot to take off. This is a problem for me because I am time limited however I will be using it now because I put a ding in my 8 foot board and I am letting it dry out. So if you want to line up in the same place as the longboards get a longboard. All those things you say are the reasons why beginners shouldn't use shorter boards. I am 6'2" and 215 pounds (and 65 years old) the 7 foot custom made for me egg board works well for me and unless I retire it will last a long time 10 or 20 years or more. I don't think you can't figure on a board lasting a long time in your quiver unless your skill level doesn't change much or you don't surf much

[ConcreteVitamin]

I have a 7 foot egg. It works great for me and I have ridden a couple waves in the triple overhead size with it and it seemed okay a little squirly but felt good after I got some lateral speed. It seems to be good in a lot of different conditions and the only reason I am not riding it all the time is that it doesn't catch waves as well as my 8 foot board. With the 8 foot board I don't need to be as close to the right spot to take off. This is a problem for me because I am time limited however I will be using it now because I put a ding in my 8 foot board and I am letting it dry out. So if you want to line up in the same place as the longboards get a longboard. All those things you say are the reasons why beginners shouldn't use shorter boards. I am 6'2" and 215 pounds (and 65 years old) the 7 foot custom made for me egg board works well for me and unless I retire it will last a long time 10 or 20 years or more. I don't think you can't figure on a board lasting a long time in your quiver unless your skill level doesn't change much or you don't surf much

Thanks for your thoughts Yes I totally agree. Yesterday was to test my own limits.

Would you say it's better to get a classic egg, or a mini-mal with similar length? In my understanding mini-mal means a mid-length with longboard-like profile (e.g., http://www.sunsetshapers.com/shop/66-pink-huevo; full outline, big nose, *squash* tail not rounded pin like an egg)

Also, how good is your 7ft egg in mushy knee-high waves?

(I forgot to say in the original post - another observation was that, the egg seems to lose speed really quickly on the wave, it required more active footwork; not sure if it has to do with reduced surface area, or the thruster.)

[RinkyDink]

. . . another observation was that, the egg seems to lose speed really quickly on the wave, it required more active footwork; not sure if it has to do with reduced surface area, or the thruster.)

It's not possible to make board recommendations without your physical dimensions and some idea of the kinds of waves you're surfing. If you're finding that you need more active footwork on the test board, then you should try experimenting with your footwork on your kookstorm. Can you make your kookstorm speed up and slow down? How do you do that? What skills do you need to do those things? Have you experimented with your body positioning on your Wavestorm? Have you tried to hang ten on your Wavestorm? How far up to the nose can you get? Does the size of the wave you're on make a difference? There are plenty of things you can still figure out on your Wavestorm. If you're low on funds, then keep pushing your Wavestorm to its limits. There are some amazing sponge riders out there so the board really doesn't limit what you can learn and the more you learn on a cheap board, the more informed your next surfboard purchase will be. I'm not saying that you shouldn't buy a new board, but that you should get as much understanding from the equipment you have as you can. In other words, your Wavestorm will not suddenly become obsolete. In fact, hopping on a Wavestorm might simplify a complex maneuver to such an extent that it might be the best board to work ideas out on in certain cases.

[ConcreteVitamin]

In other words, your Wavestorm will not suddenly become obsolete. In fact, hopping on a Wavestorm might simplify a complex maneuver to such an extent that it might be the best board to work ideas out on in certain cases.

Yes, I totally agree. My hunch is that the culprit of losing speed is my backfoot placement. It's placed about the same place on the board proportionally speaking. But on the single-fin kookstorm, it's before the big fin. On the test egg thruster, it's @ about the 2 side fins, I guess.

I actually collect videos of people riding wavestorm, to see what it's capable of. Besides the famous Pipeline video, here's another one: surfing Wavestorm in ~shoulder high wave, going down the line backside https://www.instagram.com/p/BsDk1M-nSgi

[oldmansurfer]

Also, how good is your 7ft egg in mushy knee-high waves?

my board catches them easy enough but I may have to be right at the peak when it's pitching over and if they have some wall I can either do turns or nose ride it but at knee high it would be only trim turns unless there are steep sections then I need to get a good bottom turn and then I can do something probably better backside at that size. If they are fast breaking knee high waves I have to really push myself to get down the wave quickly and make a quick bottom turn to get moving down the line but if I do then it works out pretty good. It has a gentle continuous rocker so not exactly flat but no sharp nose rocker or tail rocker. I don't particularly want to ride knee high mushy waves but I lack the time to go find other waves so usually end up with different conditions and small mushy is one of them.

[dtc]

My main board is a 6’10 so here are my thoughts- they are pretty similar to old mans

- you can catch any size wave. But what happens after you catch it is the issue and where you see the biggest difference from a long board

- in smaller or weaker waves, the volume (and potentially other factors such as nose, rocker, rails, tail width, fins) affect how fast the wave will push you in the absence of any rider input. So when you say that the egg loses speed quickly, this is why. Your foot placement may affect it as well, but it’s inherently part of having a smaller board. You need to learn to generate speed through rider input - which you definitely can

(Foot placement- if the nose of the board is raised into the air, then you are bogging the tail and it’s an issue. Even on a 6’10 you need to move your feet around like for a longboard)

For example, the other day I was surfing in small conditions - waist high at best.

On my backhand (on which I suck immensely), I was able to catch the wave but my bottom turns were a bit slow and sometimes I ended up at the bottom 1/3 of the wave, lost power and didn’t get through the section. The longboarders, however, could do exactly the same thing and generate sufficient speed to get nice long rides

Forehand, where I’m much better, I turned very quickly, stayed in the power half of the wave, did some pumps and flew down the line

As to your question ‘what length is most versatile’, I offer the following

- I also have a 7’4 mini mal and a 9’1 longboard. The longboard glides always. The mini mal still needs a bit of a push from wave power. For knee high mush, you need a longboard OR you learn to generate your own speed. There is no magic board that is shorter but also does what a longboard does (that said, some of the big big 8ft boards, like the Walden mega magic, perhaps come close)

- this is why surfers have quivers. There is no one board that suits all conditions; at best you can have boards that are great for some conditions and still work ok in poorer conditions (generally mid lengths ie 6’10-7’6 or so). Longboards can handle most conditions pretty well. Shortboards generally need a bit of wave power.

of course, it isn’t solely related to length or volume, but these are often the main factors