Replacement for dying, giant hyper-fun-hybrid board!

[jeremy12]

Howdy!

Been lurking around this forum for a bit, trying to soak up as much information as I can. I think the time has come to replace old yeller and I'm looking for some advice from the experts here!

My current board is made by Progressive, and I'm fairly certain it is "The Jet", in 7'8" by ~22.5" wide by ~2 7/8" thick (measured as best I could, rounded up a touch).
http://www.progressivesurfboards.com/THE_JET.html

I am 26 years old, 5'9", 150-155 lbs (70kg), and somewhere between a competent beginner/low intermiate (I think?). My paddle ability at the moment is pretty good. I can get into waves sometimes with only 4-6 strokes.

I mostly surf beach breaks (El Porto mostly) in SoCal, but I'd like to venture to some point breaks.

I have been surfing on/off for about a year, but I have recently REALLY caught the surfing bug and surf about 2-4 times a week now. I can currently ride green waves down the line both ways (comfortable in the 2-4' range), making some turns. I had an "aha!" moment about a month ago, and realized my feet were wayyyyy too far forward, and by moving my feet back to over the fins I have discovered a new-found ability to turn! I have actively worked on my pop-up, and it is now pretty good (no going to knees, no pushing off the back of the board with my feet).

In the last couple weeks I have become much more consistent, and have had a much higher success rate. I caught and rode probably 15-20 waves the other morning, ranging from 2-4 feet. Messed up my popup only twice, and missed about 4 waves, mostly due to trying to go for waves when I had only just gotten back to the lineup.

I like this Progressive board I have, but it feels like it's on its way out. It is very yellow, has cracks in many places, has started to delaminate where I push with my right hand for a pop up. On top of that I'm pretty sure it is water logged. It is heavier than it used to be, and sits lower in the water than it used to.

What I want out of my new board is to continue the progress I have made recently, make tighter and tighter turns, learn to cutback better, and do some floaters. I don't feel that my current board was holding me back in any way, but I think it's almost time to retire it.

What I'm looking at now is a Lost Crowdkiller (seems to be a similar outline to my current board), but I'm unsure of which size to get. Surf shop workers were recommending it in 6'6", but I think that might be a tougher transition. Maybe something like 7' would be better? I made the mistake of buying way too short of a used board a few months ago (CI 5'10" T-Low), and I don't want to become a bobber! I'd like to give that board another go, but I'm probably still not ready for something that's 28L! I really wish I had read through this forum before buying it.

I'm also reading a lot about this Firewire Addvance, spitfire, and dominator here, maybe like these?
https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/spo ... 51817.html
https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/spo ... 83538.html
https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/spo ... 05183.html

What do you guys think? Sorry for the long-winded post. I greatly appreciate any advice!

[oldmansurfer]

I don't know what would be appropriate for you right now but I like the middle board. Whatever board you get make sure you keep it patched and water tight or it will waterlog just like the last one

[dtc]

From what you have said and from what you have said you are looking for, a 'hybrid' board around 7ft, give or take, seems like a good option, and that is the kind of board you have identified. Firewire makes several options as you have identified (Addvance, spitfire, and dominator), but there are plenty of other choices - 7S make a bunch of options, and the crowdkiller looks pretty nice as well

I would fight against people trying to convince you that 6'6 is what you want. A lot of surfers are surfing their high performance 6' boards, and to them 6'6 wider/fatter boards are really big. But for people coming the other way - from 7'8 downwards - they arent big at all.

So I think you are on the right track, but i would be wary of going too much under 6'10/7ft.

[Ratfinksurfer]

I mostly surf beach breaks (El Porto mostly) in SoCal, but I'd like to venture to some point breaks.

Hey Jeremy, El Porto is also my home break! It seems to me you're essentially on the right track. I also looked into the Firewire Addvance and it looked awesome in pictures. But when I finally picked one up and put it under my arm it felt like a gosh darn tank! I finally understood where those crazy high Liters came from. Apparently the Addvance is NOT designed for beginners either, it's for older surfers who want to continue riding short boards but need the extra oomph! I'm still a beginner/intermediate myself and I've got a 6'8" Hypto Krypto with 51L of volume. It's got tons of float but doesn't feel as massive as the Addvance. I also struggled with what midsize board is the best at Porto. I ended up with a 7'6" Submoon and I can't say it's the answer to my dreams, but it works pretty well.

With all that said, I love the Surfrider paint job on that Timbertek! Go check it out for yourself and maybe it's the one for you!

The other option, (which I sometimes wish I had taken) is to go get a local shaper to make you a board. I've heard Guy Okazaki is good. http://www.guyokazaki.com/
It would make sense that a local shaper would know our beach breaks well and be able to make the perfect board for you. Feel free to PM me if you ever want to go for a surf.

[12jeremy]

I don't know what would be appropriate for you right now but I like the middle board. Whatever board you get make sure you keep it patched and water tight or it will waterlog just like the last one

Definitely. I got the board used for about $100, 10 years ago, but didn't really get into surfing. Actually switched over to skimboarding for a while. After I started back up again (on foamies), I found the old board and patched a few myself, but a surf shop recommended it wasn't really worth putting the money into this board to fix professionally. I'll definitely be taking good care of my new board!

[12jeremy]

dtc-- thanks for the reassurance. I think you're right about not dropping below 7' / 6'10". Even a replacement in my current 7'8" range would probably feel a lot more lively, considering how heavy my board has gotten. I'm also looking at the torq mod fun boards in the 7'2" and 7'6" size. The Lost Crowdkiller is appealing to me because I have a family friend working at Lost.. and it might be good in a 7'0 to 7'4 for me I think. Those wood Firewire boards look pretty sexy though!

Ratfink-- I'd definitely be down to meet up--I'll send you a PM. I'm usually out there before work a couple days a week 6:15-8 am. I'm not totally on board with how fat the addvance seems. How has the hypto crypto been for you? Was going down to a 6'8" a rough transition? I saw your other thread where you jumped down to an even smaller board after it. I like the idea of custom boards, but I think I'll wait on that until I figure out exactly what I want in a board.

[RinkyDink]

dtc-- thanks for the reassurance. I think you're right about not dropping below 7' / 6'10". Even a replacement in my current 7'8" range would probably feel a lot more lively, considering how heavy my board has gotten. I'm also looking at the torq mod fun boards in the 7'2" and 7'6" size. The Lost Crowdkiller is appealing to me because I have a family friend working at Lost.. and it might be good in a 7'0 to 7'4 for me I think. Those wood Firewire boards look pretty sexy though!

Ratfink-- I'd definitely be down to meet up--I'll send you a PM. I'm usually out there before work a couple days a week 6:15-8 am. I'm not totally on board with how fat the addvance seems. How has the hypto crypto been for you? Was going down to a 6'8" a rough transition? I saw your other thread where you jumped down to an even smaller board after it. I like the idea of custom boards, but I think I'll wait on that until I figure out exactly what I want in a board.

You're in LA/OC so just check Craigslist until you find the board that's got what you want. Part of the fun for me is to be patient and find a great board dirt cheap. Here's a tip. Ask sellers to strip the wax off the board so you can inspect it closely for dings/cracks (this should be common practice, but it isn't). Anyway, I've never gotten a seller to actually strip the wax , but I don't mind that much if the board is super cheap. I just include a wax stripping discount in what I offer for the board. If you're paying over $200 and a seller won't strip the wax, don't even bother with it (unless it's a one-of-a-kind-you'll-never-get-a-chance-like-this-again type board). Also, some guys will show a surfboard with fins in their picture, but then when you go to buy the board, they assume you know that the fins were not included. That's BS. Demand a price cut if they're going to play the bait-and-switch game. Anyway, good luck.

[dtc]

. I'm also looking at the torq mod fun boards in the 7'2" and 7'6" size. The Lost Crowdkiller is appealing to me because I have a family friend working at Lost.. and it might be good in a 7'0 to 7'4 for me I think. Those wood Firewire boards look pretty sexy though! .

A few people I know (and some people on this forum) have the Torq funboard and they seem pretty good, they would be good choices (if you search the forum you might find some commentary). 7'6 if you want an easier transition, 7'2 if you want a slightly harder challenge. Firewire is very popular, presumably for good reason (or that they just look sexy! Also they are really light weight, which feels nice when you pick them up at least). Although, as Ratfink says, some of them are really fat - the 7'2 Addvance I would say is a 6'6 board blown up for older/heavier surfers who can (or used to be able to) surf a 6'6 board. The Dominator is probably better, but it does have a fat tail and on bigger waves a lot of people (including me) find a big tail makes the board too fast off the mark (but in smaller waves it can work really well)

What you will find is that (for example), on a 7'6 you will catch waves that are a bit tricky or where you are out of position or where your pop up is a bit slow or wonky, that you will miss on a 7'2 or 6'10. But you will still catch maybe 75% of waves on the shorter boards. So a lot of people say 'oh, I tried a 6'10 and caught every wave, its easy'; and its true that you will still catch a lot of waves going slightly shorter (but it drops off rapidly once you go a lot shorter). But you miss out on the harder waves where getting things right is more important - your margin for error is lower. And after you pop up, your feet positioning needs to be more exact and so forth. But...those are things you need to learn. So there is no harm in pushing yourself a reasonable amount, recognising that you will probably miss waves and fall off for a while if you go for the shorter version

[saltydog]

You're in LA/OC so just check Craigslist until you find the board that's got what you want. Part of the fun for me is to be patient and find a great board dirt cheap. Here's a tip. Ask sellers to strip the wax off the board so you can inspect it closely for dings/cracks (this should be common practice, but it isn't). Anyway, I've never gotten a seller to actually strip the wax , but I don't mind that much if the board is super cheap. I just include a wax stripping discount in what I offer for the board. If you're paying over $200 and a seller won't strip the wax, don't even bother with it (unless it's a one-of-a-kind-you'll-never-get-a-chance-like-this-again type board). Also, some guys will show a surfboard with fins in their picture, but then when you go to buy the board, they assume you know that the fins were not included. That's BS. Demand a price cut if they're going to play the bait-and-switch game. Anyway, good luck.

This is a pretty good advice. One way to find out what kind of a board works for you is to buy and try a variety of used boards. I have to say, buying (and selling) surfboards on Craigslist is a learning process of its own.

[jeremy12]

dtc - thanks for the explanation, that makes a lot of sense! If anything, my biggest issue is foot placement, so erring on the side of caution it would be best to choose the larger (or wider) of any two boards I'm looking at. It's all for fun, so maximizing wave count is key! Also, I hadn't really looked into 7S yet, but they seem to make a lot of boards in the size range I'm after. What do you think of this board? It's a 7S Superfish 7'3" (whale?) https://santabarbara.craigslist.org/spo ... 95157.html
My current Progressive board is listed under their "fish" section, although it seems to be a mix of everything.
I also messaged a guy with a 7'6" Torq mod fun and another with a 7'2", so we'll see what happens.

You're in LA/OC so just check Craigslist until you find the board that's got what you want. Part of the fun for me is to be patient and find a great board dirt cheap. Here's a tip. Ask sellers to strip the wax off the board so you can inspect it closely for dings/cracks (this should be common practice, but it isn't). Anyway, I've never gotten a seller to actually strip the wax , but I don't mind that much if the board is super cheap. I just include a wax stripping discount in what I offer for the board. If you're paying over $200 and a seller won't strip the wax, don't even bother with it (unless it's a one-of-a-kind-you'll-never-get-a-chance-like-this-again type board). Also, some guys will show a surfboard with fins in their picture, but then when you go to buy the board, they assume you know that the fins were not included. That's BS. Demand a price cut if they're going to play the bait-and-switch game. Anyway, good luck.

This is a pretty good advice. One way to find out what kind of a board works for you is to buy and try a variety of used boards. I have to say, buying (and selling) surfboards on Craigslist is a learning process of its own.

It definitely is a learning process! Fortunately I've bought and sold enough used car parts at this point that it's not too difficult.

Rinkydink-- actually, when I bought my CI T-Low the seller had already stripped the wax for me to check condition. It seemed pretty good besides some mild foot dings on the deck.

Thank you all for the help so far! I'll be keeping an eye on craigslist for something in the 7 - 7'4" range. Leaning against the Addvance right now, as it seems fat and tank like. Unless I find a good deal... those wood decks are pretty. As for the Lost Crowdkiller, I was only going to go that route if I could get a deal through a friend. Any reccomendation on size if I go that route? As per Lost's website a Beginner/Intermiate should go for a 37L board (which is a 6'4" crowdkiller, too small IMO), beginner should go with 49L (7'2"). Seeing as they primarily make shortboards I don't totally trust this calculator. I was leaning towards 7' to 7'4". Thoughts?

[dtc]

In terms of volume, have a read of this (and listen to the associated podcast)

https://surfsimply.com/surf-coaching/vo ... ht-ratios/

I actually think these ratios are a touch conservative- they are to ensure rapid progress (in which you switch boards fairly often) rather than slower longer term progress (where you keep the board for longer, but also progress slower). But they are only a touch conservative - if you are within 10% I think you will be fine

Of course volume is only one measure. A rounder nosed funboard will be more stable than a pointier nosed hybrid, for example. Tails also have a big effect. Rocker possible the most noticeable

That superfish looks pretty reasonable. It’s narrowish for a beg/intermediate board - less stable than something just an inch wider like your current board. But it’s certainly not a terrible choice, I only mention the width so you appreciate the issue. But I think it could be a board for you to look at

[Ratfinksurfer]

That superfish looks pretty reasonable. It’s narrowish for a beg/intermediate board - less stable than something just an inch wider like your current board. But it’s certainly not a terrible choice, I only mention the width so you appreciate the issue.

Yeah, that board looks way too narrow in my opinion. I really love my Hypto Krypto, it's marketed as the one board quiver and it actually lives up to the hype. Like the Addvance and other high volume hybrids the HK has a ton of foam in it. (Also being epoxy it's much lighter) The thing that makes the HK such a great board is that it allows you to get into waves earlier and once you're up it's very stable. With all that extra foam under your chest it makes paddling for waves so much easier. My HK is a 6'8" and it has 51L! I could rave about my HK forever!

There's a ton of Hypto's out there on craigslist too. I've never heard of anyone having ridden a HK not like it. Only folks who don't like Haydenshapes because it's popular or they complain it's all marketing. Haters gonna hate I suppose! They're good boards in my opinion.

[jeremy12]

dtc - thanks for the calculator! By their definition I would be a "level 3" (riding down the line and attempting turns), so 3 lbs/liter. I definitely appreciate that the shape will also effect how the board rides and paddles. My old board has a decent amount of entry rocker and a pointy nose, so I never felt like it paddled very well despite its huge size. I was worried to drop too much width too.

My few craigslist attempts didn't pan out, so I ended up at Rider Shack last night with the intention of buying a torq mod fun in 7 6 or 7 2. They sold them earlier that day. Felt a couple crowd killers under my arm (again a different guy was trying to get me on a 6'6"....), but I was worried they would be too narrow as its about 2 inches narrower than my board even in the 7 foot sizes. I really like the wood finish on the Firewire Addvance they had, but it was expensive and tank like (you were right Ratfink)! I found a Lost E Z up in 7'0" x 22.5 x 2.96 and this was the board for me

With my new-board-stoke I took it out this morning to try it out. Conditions were pretty meh -- 1-2ft, low tide, but no wind at least. In the back of my head I was slightly worried about dropping 8 inches, but as soon as I got on the board that worry disappeared. It paddles significanly better than my old board, gets into waves easier, and is somehow both more stable and easier to maneuver. My front side top turns felt a lot more secure. In short it feels better in every way, and I'm pretty happy with my purchase. Stoked to try it out in some better conditions now!

Thank you all for the help!

[jaffa1949]

Simply put, good choice for where your surfing is! Your a bilities can be increased as will your enjoyment

[waikikikichan]

You should shorten the leash rope by re-tying or simple double thru the ends to shorten the length in half.

Screenshot 2018-07-04 at 6.30.52 AM.png (280.39 KiB) Viewed 1923 times

[dtc]

I have a board almost the same outline as the EZ (slightly narrower nose) and its a great choice - right on point for what you were after. Good choice - and well done for resisting the store pressure!

To add to WKK, you dont want the leash rope long enough to hang over the side (rails) of the board; because its thin it can dig into the rails. The leash proper has a 'rail saver' (that wide black bit near the end where the leash rope is velcroed in) to prevent this happening - you want the rail saver to be the bit next to the rails. Making the leash rope shorter has no effect at all, its just how the leash connects to the board - shorter or longer has no implications. So, yes, shorten it up!

[jeremy12]

Thanks WKK and dtc! I'll make sure to shorten it up before I go out again. I didn't even think about it since the guy at the store put it on for me.

[waikikikichan]

At my shop, we would’ve pre-stretched out the leash and adjusted the leash rope, etc. Take those extra steps to provide good customer service and extend the life of the board. Something a big box store, sporting goods or on-line might not do for you.

[Pipo]

May I ask why it is recommended to stretch the leash?
The shop where I bought my board showed me the double thru but nothing about stretching the leash. What is it good for ?

[jaffa1949]

Your leash comes packed, coiled up each loop is a kink, stretching straightens them out.
You can get tangled in a loop or kink.
Kinks are also more likely to break!