CI quad pod vs Firewire Dominator

Stretch superbuzz, hand shaped by the man himself.

 

I now have two firewires and love both shapes. They are great, light boards that really work. Unfortunately I am finding that they are fragile and prone to issues. I busted 2 fin boxes on one and the other a timbertek is splitting where the parabolic rails meet the deck laminate. This after 2- 3 weeks of use and in a way no hand made board ever would. Again I think the shapes are great but construction is an issue. I don't think this is because of foreign labor, i think its because of cost and weight saving measures that leave a less than durable end product. I like Stretch.

 

I will add that my boards are a rapid fire and a timbertek. My friend has an FST dominator and it is at least 4 years old and still going strong. Get an FST if you go firewire.

 

i surf an oversized Pod quad (6'2" length, I'm 5'10"/180) in the winter, and can't speak enough about it's ability to hold its rail in steep drops.

For being massively oversized for myself, I'm also very surprised with how well it turns. never surfed a firewire, and i've heard good things, but you can't go wrong with the Pod.

also, it catches waves like a LB. I have a shoulder issue as well. caught a wave once, stood up, looked behind me, and it hadn't broke yet.

 

stretch does not hand shape all of his boards...

 

Yes he does, that surftech disaster has been done for over 2 -3 years. He always has done hand shaped eps and is still the best at eps. A lot of bigger companies have done the same with surftech or another version(CI,...lost, etc)

 

Dominator is a great board up to head high. i wouldnt sell yourself short and go to big. use the volume calculator on their website..its a good reference to start with. Im on my second FST and its one of my favorite boards.

 

Same age as you, but 6'0", 185 lbs. What I ride is a 6'2", 2.5", 20.75" WRV Drone, which is basically a Neckbeard. Get a real board, as in real I mean non-epoxy. Do you see ASP surfers on epoxy? No you don't. Even Taj gave them up and he rips harder than this whole forum combined. Firewire = Newbies or old ****s trying to get an edge that doesn't exist.

 

agreed - EPS is second rate to poly in terms of performance. Buying for longevity just means you're probably going to be less than happy with your actual surfing (although I've never ridden a firewire or stretch. Maybe they're doing something the others aren't...doubt it).

Hydroflex "natural" (epoxy over poly core) is the only new thing that might sway me from standard poly boards...but I'm simply not willing to waste any more of my time on new tech that might be lower performance

I have ridden the pod: decent shape...rails are a little too fat, imo. These are standard poly, but I gotta warn you, the stock ones are disturbing lightly glassed. I'm older than you and my shoulders aren't great either, but over voluming doesn't really help in that area...you're better off improving your technique and catching waves smarter (going out at the right tide, sitting farther inside, mastering the "no paddle takeoff", etc).

Can't recommend firewire just because I feel my experience with eps/epoxy has been a waste of time. Going the pod route, I'd follow the CI board recommendation app (maybe add an inch) and maybe get a custom pod with a little extra glass

 

No experience with epoxy before the firewires but all I can say is wow. Super light, floaty for it's size, and has a springy lively feeling compared to poly. I never thought I would like that feeling but when I am able to catch the wave a second or so earlier it comes in handy.

 

the lack of weight was one of the main problems I had with eps/epoxy...the range of conditions it can function in are limited and speed/glide were diminished

 

def agree with Zippy on this, i can't speak to either of the boards your talking about because I haven't ridden either of them. But i have a sweet potato and am really impressed with it. You can go really small with these boards and still have enough float for an easy paddle. definitely recommend going slightly shorter than your initial gut instinct would tell you...you will be happier with the decision after buying, believe me.

 

Who's the Drone basing your board on what the ASP is selling you. Get whatever feels right for you.

 

My guess is the springy lively feeling is the parabolic stringers, not the EPS foam or the Epoxy resin. Having the source of a boards liveliness (stringer) on the rails rather than down the middle always made a lot of sense to me. I mean when you load up the board on a turn your putting that pressure on the board's edge, not middle.

 

If you ride a board based on what others think of you, then yeah you could have that problem.

If you are secure with who you are as a person, you can ride any type of board and achieve the ultimate goal:

Happiness.

 

Have a pod and its awesome, never tried firewire but very happy. Worked all winter/spring and now it is powering through the mush. Nice, versatile, fun board.