What is the best small wave board out there?

[njsurfer101]

Yeah I'm getting a board from some one local.. He's a great shaper so I'm thinking about getting the Dumpster Diver shape or the Pod

[njsurfer101]

This thing is nuts hahah

[njsurfer101]

I know it's not what you're getting at here, but I really think everybody should have a longboard in their quiver for the knee high days, maybe with a pintail for ease of turn.

If you insist on a shorter board, though, I'd talk to somebody local instead of paying a bunch of money for a board that won't last as long or work as well in our surf...

I don't really like to longboard that much but if its that small ill just take out a foamy.. Im saying a good board on waves that are ridable.

[njsurfer101]

The Tommy Moore Slop Rod, sickest thing ever for waist to ankle, catches waves like a retro fish, performs unreal for such a fat little board. Basically the performace of a high performace fish, with the paddle, glide , and wave catching ability of a mini simmons. Eps/Epoxy build. I am 5'-8 - 160 lbs and mine is super bouyant, tons of float. I catch waves so much earlier than all the dumpster diver or "gimmick" guys in stuff thigh high or under.


SLOP ROD PIC2 by jblacks, on Flickr


SLOP ROD BOTTOM 1 by jblacks, on Flickr


slop rod by jblacks, on Flickr

This thing is sick haha i might get something like this.

[jimmycrab]

what are the dims on that board? looking @ something like that with a twinzer set up for a next board.

[Zippy]

You don't need a long board to ride tiny waves. I can ride almost any size breaking wave no matter how small on a 5'6" in the summer and a 6'0" in the winter with the rubber, I am not a small guy. The only reason to get a long board is if you want to be able to go out when the tide is really fat and the wave is super mushy. On those days you might want a longboard just to be able to catch the waves but that is usually my excuse to leave and get some work done. That Tommy Moore Slop Rod shape is exactly what you want, you can stand right in the middle of that and ride it like a longboard if you have to. Wider tail with some v going to a quad fin set up, parallel rails, wider nose with a little flip, all these things make a great small wave board and if made right will work in some bigger surf as well. I surfed a similar shape this fall in over head waves and it did great at least for my style of surfing.

[kielsun]

You don't need a long board to ride tiny waves.

No, you don't need one, but in my opinion riding a longboard is the best way to have lots of fun in tiny waves. Other "small wave boards" sound interesting, too, though. I tried out a fish for the first time a couple of weeks ago and it was a good time.

[Zippy]

Personally I have more fun on a shorter board no matter what the size of the wave. I rode a long board for years on smaller days and it just got boring. If by small we are talking about ankle high dribblers then yes I would agree that you will have more fun on a longboard. But I wouldn't even go out on a day that small unless my son wants to paddle around. Knee to waist on the other hand, one of these straight rail blunt nose boards will go just as fast and be more fun. On these knee to thigh high days I have noticed most of the eyes are on me and my friends as the guys on the longboards are wondering how the hell we are surfing such small waves on such small boards. I have had people come up to me on the beach to look at my board after a sesion because they want to know the secret. But all that said you do need to change your style to ride one of these boards on ultra skinny waves. I always tell people they need to think light, lol.

[njsurfer101]

You don't need a long board to ride tiny waves. I can ride almost any size breaking wave no matter how small on a 5'6" in the summer and a 6'0" in the winter with the rubber, I am not a small guy. The only reason to get a long board is if you want to be able to go out when the tide is really fat and the wave is super mushy. On those days you might want a longboard just to be able to catch the waves but that is usually my excuse to leave and get some work done. That Tommy Moore Slop Rod shape is exactly what you want, you can stand right in the middle of that and ride it like a longboard if you have to. Wider tail with some v going to a quad fin set up, parallel rails, wider nose with a little flip, all these things make a great small wave board and if made right will work in some bigger surf as well. I surfed a similar shape this fall in over head waves and it did great at least for my style of surfing.

Yeah but the thing is can it turn and stuff? That shape is sick and all but my turns aren't even so good to begin with.. How does the tail work on that board if I would ride it as a quad?

[Zippy]

I'm a bigger guy so generally I have no problem shifting to my back foot swinging the board around. After years of riding my own shapes with no v in the tail, finally riding a board shaped by a pro with all the bottom contours that go along with it, turning is not a problem. That's in the really small stuff, wasit high and bigger I make some of the nicest swooping turns on a board like that especially if there is v out the tail. The V allows you to get on one edge or the other with no problem. With the wide open speed of a quad you can do almost anything. I always felt like speed was is the key after that is achieved turning is not going to be an issue. On small waves those boards get going so fast with a few pumps that I have no need for a longboard.