I have a flashback fish. Had Mike do a roundtail on mine. It's 6'5", 5 fin fusion. I ride it as a quad in smaller stuff, and tri in bigger stuff Board has a ton of range. Works in tiny surf as long as the wave has some form to it. In tiny mush it's not the call, but tiny waves with form, it works great. It has a wide nose, so it catches waves easy, but on a solid wave it still has a very shortboard feel. Hard to explain. Mine packs volume, but the tail is pretty foiled, so it grabs into the wave face well. It also handles a late drop better than expected given the wider nose. I've run it from knee high up to a few feet overhead with no complaints. It handles everything in between. If I could only keep one board, it would be this one. Mike is great. If you are honest with yourself, and him about your abilities and what you want/need out of the board, he'll likely nail it. He has a lot of experience. For reference, this board was shaped for me at 6' 215 lbs. I have 2 coils, and I love them. One thing I've noticed though, they need rider imput. If your a stand there and cruise guy, it's not an ideal choice. However, if you know how to generate speed, these boards will fly! Also, the first ride or two feel different. I guess due to the flex. makes you feel kooky for a min or two before you adjust.
The coil springs out of the bottom turn. Then again that could simply be my 215 lbs loading up on it. I call these last 3 pics..."fat guy on a little board" Actually, I had Mike make me a disc that's 5'11". That's my little board.....My longboard buster.
Nice looking board man, sounds like you really are sold on em. I haven't heard anything negative about them so I figured i would give them a shot, and I can just drive over and pick it up instead of paying for the shipping. I'm 5'9", 170-175 lbs, low level intermediate surfer, I have some shoulder issues that hold me back a little so my goal was to go shorter but still have plenty of volume under my chest to help with my paddling. I want something that's easy to get into waves on but performs with some juice behind it. I have my other boards for smaller surf, so i'm looking at mostly using this one in the chest - 2-3ft overhead range. And like you said, on those smaller days where there is still good form to the wave too.
I'm totally sold on them. Off the rack boards don' fit me, and even if they did, they fall apart under my heavy feet very quickly. Add to that, and off the rack Merrick or Rusty will cost me the same as a custom Coil, and it's a no brainer for me. The only crummy thing about a coil is the wait. I think you'll probably be happy with this. It's a perfect blend of fish and shortboard characteristics for me. It's my go to in chest to head. I love it. I've had true retro fish boards, and rocket fish boards, but I like this one much better. I don't know how much of that is just the fact that it's a solid proven shape, or that it was built specifically for me, my size ability etc.. Whatever, it works I have an office job, three kids under 5yrs old, and a growing belly holding me back..... If I ever get into decent shape again, and surf with frequency, I would consider having one made with a pulled in tail for bigger hollow days. Mike has done a version like that for a few people.
Sounds like a good fit for me then. I'm just trying to decide on the tail and color scheme. Right now i'm leaning toward the swallow tail but i'm open to suggestions. For color i'm thinking black under the grid, and maybe a black / red stomp pad (never had a stomp pad before but thinking it might be a good idea). Not 100% decided though, i've been checking his photo gallery and the different options. It looks sharp with the black and red FCS fins.
Lol! I didn't even see this before! I love looking at coils, but I don't own one & have never ridden one, so I don't really know much about them beyond what I've read on the interwebs. They seem pretty legit, though...my main hesitation in ordering one is that I'm no fan of epoxy construction, so it's hard for me to shell out that kind of cash for something I might end up hating.
Tell you what, i'll let you take mine for a spin if you are ever in Florida so you can find out for yourself HAHA, but going to have to wait till around March / April, it's a 12 week wait right now.
Dims for the Flashback Fish will be 6'4"x21.5"x2 3/4", going with the 5 box convertible w/FCS Fusions most likely
A buddy of mine just got a new one delivered. Apparently Mike asked him if he wanted the "New Technology" with it. He said "sure." It's definitely sick and I can't wait to ride it at some point--it's dimpled. I will report back as soon as I have ridden it.
I'll keep that mind dude, probably will be a while like you said but who knows in a few years. I'm so stoked on this board, can't wait to get it wet for the 1st time
What Volume? Mine is 6'5" x 21 x 2 5/8. Vol 1.3 cu ft....If I went with a swallow tail instead of round, the same board would have been 6'4" according to Mike.
Haven't gotten to the volume yet, waiting to hear back from Mike so we can dig into some more details. They are backed up right now to 12 weeks so it's probably not on his high list of priorities just yet. I'm going back and forth on what I want to do with the color under the grid. Was thinking black or red, maybe go with the black w/red FCS Fusions, and a black & red tracktion pad. Probably keep the full panel white, but who knows, i'm still looking at different options.
So I see your buddies board on swaylock's, has he let u take it out for a spin yet? Trying to decide if I want the new tech or stick with the grid. Looks bad ass either way I'm sure
Not yet. Unfortunately it was a new board, thus there haven't been any waves. I may get a couple cracks on it tomorrow if the forecast holds, we'll see... One thing to keep in mind, the new tech is something like 20% lighter than the Grid and as or more durable!
Thanks for getting back to me, The ole new board curse huh? HAHA, it looks like something may be on the way, so i'll be looking forward to the ride reports on it. I was just was curious how it felt and performed, but i'm sure it's just as good or better than the grid, I was considering sticking with the grid for my FBF because I usually go with the "wait and see" attitude on anything brand spankin new, but after some discussion and thought I told Mike to go ahead and sign me up for the "kick", i mean might as well right?
check out greenlightsurfco.com...u can buy a shaping package for around 300bucks.i been shaping my own boards for a while,and they work great.basically if u werent a complete failure in woodshop anyone can build a board.they have an instruction dvd + 100 youtube videos.if u know how to use a handsaw and a planer,youll be in good shape.i use all usblanks.its like 90$ for a blank.figure u buy a shaping kit for 300,now u have all the basic tools,buy a blank for a 100 and u can shape your own board.maybe in the nearby future,if i can find a market for people who want handshaped boards vs. boards made on machines,i can sell them for around 300$.beats paying 750 for an al merrick or lost board.if u got an old longboard u dont use,u can even mess around and cut it down and make it a fish.i shaped a total of 9 boards,definitly a great investment
and ps for the guys who are like why would i buy a board off this kook,well many pro surfers are shaping their own boards like andrew droid doheny,dane reynolds,slaterbater,etc..try it out for yourself if your into arts and crafts
I told myself I would shape a surfboard as soon as I build my first boat. Been talking about doing the boat for a couple years now.... time is hard to come by. As for Coils... let's just say they are on a different tip than anyone else. Space Coast leaving SoCal in the dust!
