My current board is 6'0" x 18 1/8" x 2 1/8" with a single to double concave through the bottom that gives it great drive and pretty good speed but it gets very flighty in anything breaching the 4ft (overhead) mark. So I wasn't certain if I'd been sucked in by the sales rep chat ("this'll be sick in beach breaks and reefs from junky 2ft to perfect 6ft, man!) when I walked out the shop on the weekend with a brand new board.
Dimensions 5'11" x 18 3/4 x 2 1/4. The shortest board I've ever owned, the widest board I've owned (beyond the board I learnt to surf on which was a 6'8"). And definitely the thickest board I've ever owned. Add to this a super complex bottom contour with a mix of concave and a bit of vee through the tail and I was a little nervous.
The only reference point I had was back in 1993 when I had a go on Jonny's 5'11" Wave Graffiti which slid around underneath you like a plastic bag in the wind. And this beautiful board had a set of channels on the bottom that you could shave with. Without these it would be unsurfable. So as I walked out the shop I wondered if I'd just thrown over $700 at a 5'11" folly.
The local on Sunday seemed like a perfect test; slightly sloppy 2ft on the inbetweeners, up to 4ft on the sets, and a heavy shorebreak for something a bit steeper. There was no need to worry, this board is fantastic. Easy to paddle without the extra volume making it feel sluggish once you're on the wave, loose without being slidey, but balancing this with manoeuvrability and holding turns really well. In short, this is a great board. I think it will be harder to control in perfect, top to bottom surf but in the waves I surf most of the time - good surf but not always spot on - it goes perfectly.
So what's the moral of the story? Taking a direct quote from the rep in the surf shop, "don't be afraid". Go shorter and a little wider. Though do make sure the bottom contour supports it.
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Declaration and disclaimer; the board model is a DHD Eager Beaver. I did look at Al Merrick, Lost, Super, and Chilli boards. All had quite similar dimensions at this length though bottom contours varied. I stuck with the DHD as this is what I current ride and I like the shape. I paid for this board with my own money. I don't have any affiliation with DHD or any of these other brands.
If you are in the market for a new board, do some research first, don't take everything the surf shop rep tells you at face value (there were lots of contradictions in some of the advice I was given and some of the board shapes were quite different, do visit more than one shop to get a balanced view (if you go to more than one shop you'll find some consistency between them - that's the accuracy to focus on. Everything else is largely sales chatter).
If you are thinking of buying a new board give me a shout - happy to be another point of view to bounce off.
UPDATE; like any new board you need to decide on a persona. A name that characterises the sense of its being and how you hope it will perform (my own ineptness in controlling its lunging moves aside). There have been a few suggestions; "The Hulk", "The Green Hornet", "Snot" (which I'm less keen on). Open to thoughts. New photo attached to give you some idea of where the inspiration comes from.
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