Hey, everybody, I was curious to know if anyone here can attest to the accuracy of Firewire's Volume calculator? I'm 5'10" 125lbs, fit, and have been surfing for quite a while. According to the calculator my ideal board volume is between 15 and 17 liters. This seems very low to me. One of their only boards that would fit according to this volume is the grom Sebastian Williams model which is 5'0"x17.5". Could this be right?
i think that as long as you're honest about your ability & fitness, it's fairly accurate. everyone's preferences are different, so some might want more, some might want less. like all dimensions, volume #'s are meant to be a GUIDE, not absolute.
I'm assuming the volume range is for a standard shortboard in decent waves; is there also a guide on how much to increase volume for a small wave groveler?
I'm with njsurfer42 on this - I went to the website and played around with it some and it seems pretty accurate for me, though I do prefer volume on the high end of my suggested range. I also think that one has to take into consideration a variety of factors including wave strength. East coast waves sometimes lack the push of west coast waves, so a little more volume may be helpful.
there should be a button to click that will allow you to see boards in that volume range...it'll include hpsbs (lower end of the range) & smaller wave groveler type boards (higher end of the range). the given range SHOULD be w/in 20% or so. & what surfer23451 is spot on, as well, about possibly wanting a bit more volume to deal w/ the weaker waves here on the east coast. for example, my "good wave" hpsb, that i primarily break out for good hurricane surf in the head-well OH range, is 31.7, but my other, every day hpsb is 32.3 or so...about a .5L increase, but it makes a difference (to me)...don't need as much volume in more powerful surf.
its very accurate imo.. gives u a range like said above that includes your groveler...all my firewires have worked great and fit right in my volume range.. right now i'm on a 6'1 hellrazor 29L and a 5'6 potato-nator 30.3 for my groveler.. going to add either a chubby chedda or unibrow when i want less rail then the razor.. i weigh 170 and maybe add a touch of volume to consider 5mm wetsuit weight.. have to consider its also the shape that makes a big difference.. my boards are only 1 L in difference but the tail is so wide on the -nator that it rides very different
