Should I get Lost Rocket or CI POD???

Neither. Lost Rocket is not a good groveler, the Pod is a groveler but not much good for anything else. Better choices out there for you, does it have to be a Channel Islands or a Lost? IF so then there are better models availalble for east coast slop.

 

js black box, neckbeard, or the rocket

 

i just bought a Lost Motivator back in january. i love it. i was considering a Rocket but the guy at my local surf shop talked me into the motivator. you can ride it as a quad or thruster and its more of a true groveler then the rocket is. i could go into all of the specific differences but i cant think of them off the top of my head and you can just go onto lost's website and see. everyone may not agree with this however it has become my daily summer board and im extremely happy with it.

 

my regular shortboard is a 6-2" my motivator is a 5-9" and i feel i still could have gone with the 5-6" and been fine. i think on their website it even says to go a few inches shorter then the rocket

 

does anybody ride twin fins anymore? I feel like everything has to be a performance board nowadays. Go grab a retro twinny 5'4 and I bet youll be much more pleased

 

The CI Pod is a great board. Gets tons of speed and turns well also. I think there is plenty of high performance in that design...

But I would also look into the BISCUIT (CI, Designed by Rob Machado for small waves)

Or the Dumpster Diver (CI, Designed by Dane Reynolds specifically for summer surf in Souther CA)

ALl three are good boards in their own way, but I think you would be happy with any of them...

It sounds like you are looking for the same thing everyone else is: A Magical shortboard that allows you to throw big hacks and surf normally in small waves. I will say that a board like that just doesnt exsist. hen dealing with small waves, you for sure have to sacrifice a little of something to get the performance you want. Turning in the pocket, or overall spped, rail volume, you name it.... You will never get a perfect match for your 6'1 for that head high day, but one of the above 3 models will lack a little in one way or another, but they were all designed by high performance shortboarders for small waves, so that the boards are contest ready and allow the surfer to perform the same tricks or turns that they would on a normal day...

They may be off the rack boards, but dont re-invent the wheel... I know that socal and the east coast arent teh same, but a small wave is a small wave. And those boards are just what you are looking for.

As for the interchangable quad/thurster model... thats cool and all, but since you are looking for high performance shortboarding, you will most likely always have your thruster setup. If you are trying to match the way your shortboards work.

 

Twinnies arent bad, but I only have fun on twinnies on a smaller day on a good point or reef break. It lets you enjoy the simple lines and gradual turning radius etc that the twinnies offer. But most shortboarders nowadays, especially in the midatlantic where its all beach break, guys want the most out of a simple, beach break closeout. Most rides you get or waves you are surfing are short anyway, so I am sure guys getting a good drop and line just isnt good enough to stoke out most guys... Even if you are only riding 20 yards, I think everyone wants to build up a lot of speed and whip the tail around through the one big top turn they are allowed on each wave... So, long story short, I think twinnies are no longer good grovel style boards. Twinnies deserve respect, which means a good wave. Im no twinny guru, because ive never found too much good performance out of them, but there are just oo many better design concepts and shapes that allow guys to surf faster, turn quicker, hit the lip harder and just flat out surf better right out of the gate. A lot has chanegd in 30 years. Not that a twinny wont always have its place, but most of the time, you will find more twinnies hanging on a wall rather than actually being surfed.

 

good point zach, you always seem to have a knowledgable reply. I feel ya though. Ive been looking around for my next board. Something thats good for EC surf and I am always split between twins and boards made for boosting in small conditions (DD, blak box, etc) Its really all preference like you said. Gotta love that retro style though!

 

Talk to your local shaper. He knows your waves better than Mayhem or Merrick who both think the east coast is a joke but love making money off you.

~Brian
www.greenlightsurfsupply.com

 

I completely agree with Greenlight. All of the boards in that genre are about the same. They have a little bit different of a tweak in the dimensions which they will market to you (don't forget the cool/catchy name either).

Here is small wave fish I had made for me by a local shaper - very similar to the boards discussed in this post.

 

splitting hairs, i know, but this is technically not a fish. it would be a diamond tail stubby. still a really cool looking board that prob. rides great, tho. i love the diamond tail!

 

I think the best board for the east coast in small summertime waves is a high performance quad setup shortboard. I think quads are over looked by many surfers. Quads are super fast and very ripable in smaller waves. I would suggest a quad thats a little beefer or an inch or two biggger than the regular shortboads your useing. Quads generate tons of speed down the line and allow you to do big hacks on short summertime waves. I think the next thing in surfing will be more high performance quad shortboards in small waves.

 

You should get a board from an east coast company. I think they shape boards that are better suited for the east coast. Check out Matt Kechele surfboards or Cannibal surfboards, two great companys from the east coast.

 

I never really believed that an east coast shaper will shape a better board for our waves than a west coast shaper would. A fish is a fish and a groveler is a groveler. I have always ridden mostly west coast boards and they all work well. I agree that those basic designs might be able to be tweaked slightly to perform better for us but the difference to most people would be small. I personally can't notice what changes a different fin would bring to the table and I have been surfing a long time. There are people out the with the skill level to feel every nuance of a shape but for 95 % of us I don't believe we would. I know that a board shaped for Rincon would not work well in OC shorebreak but there are other places around with a longer more gradual wave that they would work well at. I say read up about how rail shapes, blank volume and tails perform and pick an outline that you like that has the performance characterisitcs that your after and it will work whether from a west coast shaper off the rack or a local board.

 

Zippy have you ever ridden a quad surfboard??? Ive been surfing a long time too and their is a diffrence between a Quad and a Tri surfboard. Go against the norm of west coast companies and tri surfboards and get an east coast quad surfboard.

 

i bought a used brian wynn quad on a whim the other day, right off the racks filled with CI, JS, JC, and other "west coast" shaped boards. comparing it with my Merrick smaller wave thruster, you can really feel the difference even in crap waves. the quad setup generates speed much more quickly, and you still get the good turning radius of a thruster

 

I'm riding a Bing Dharma Quad right now and love it.