Surfed for about 6 years now and have always rode a fish/retro fish...ive always wanted a board that was a lot looser and smaller than the one boards i have. Right now im on a G&S 6'2 magic fish..I'm going to buy a shortboard with a thruster setup this week to have all winter. Any recommendations on board size or on a board in general...I'm 5'8 150lbs.. I was thinking about something like a 5'8-5'10 thruster..maybe smaller..thanks
Firewire I just got a 5'10" FireWire Spitfire. I've been surfing for a long time. I'm 5'7" weigh 170ish. I love it. All the float and speed of a dominator but step down rail in the tail gives you the option of making sharp more performance type turns. Go check them out. Dean
i have a 5'9 fire wire el fuego i ride it as a thrust but you can also turn it into a quad ... from what you wrote sounds like you would love the board... ( anyone would !) this board made my surfing improve so much
i bought a used CI FLyer earlier this year and i love it. im 5'8" 140lbs and its a 5'9". its my go to board anywhere from knee to head high.
Yeah I was also looking for a new board but im looking for mostly a fish type board. Does anyone have any feedback on the channel islands fishcuit?
Just be careful going too short. Coming off a thick, wide, flat rockered fish and jumping onto a 5'8 is going to be a huge change. A performance shortboard that small is also going to be foiled much thinner throughout, much narrower (almost 3 inches!), have a lot more rocker, and won't have the easy wave catching and flat out speed your fishes have had. Plus, you're buying it going into winter, when a little extra float can help. I'd recommend no shorter than 5'10 if you've all you've ever ridden are retro fish. I'd feel even more comfortable recommending a 6'0. For an average surfer, looking at a typical performance SB, something like 2-4" taller than you is about right. Above average surfers can go shorter, and many of the specialty shortboards that are popular now are also exceptions to this rule. So if you're looking at something more stubby, you can certainly go shorter. Just pay attention to what you're looking at when you go shopping.
I agree with LBCrew. Based on what you're coming off of, you could have problems on too short of a performance SB.
I am same exact size basically 5-7 150. I ride a 5'-5" Tommy Moore Round Nose Fish (like the lost round nose fish, performcae fish, not a retro) and 5-9 Tommy Morre Tweaker this board is similar to a dumpster diver. I would consider one of the newr boards which have the 80s shortboard outline which is typically a floatter deck with more volume but have modern bottom contours. Roberts WHite Diamond, Dumpster Diver, TOmmy Morre Tweaker etc.. It really depnds on your surf ability too, I mean 6 years is vague, you paddle out / surf 10 times a year and surf for 10 years and its not alot of experience. What ability do you have, are you able to judge waves well, get into them then drive down the line or is the retro fish doning most the work getting you down the line with speed, reason i ask is beacuse its a differnt world on a shortboard. I would recommend a TOmmy Moore tweaker with a diamond tail 5-10 x 19-1/4 x 2 1/4. THe tail is really wide and the board will have alot of volume so it will float you well enough, not like a retro fish but much better than a standard shortboard. WHere do you live?
i live in south jersey, 20 min from lbi. I'm currently in virginia beach till november but i usually surf atleast 2 times a week and a lot of the time during the summer/fall im in the water almost everyday. I can definitely judge the waves well, can bottom turn and carve a good wave..i just feel like i could use a board thats a lot smaller and looser because i really have to put a lottt weight into my turns to get my board to move.
thanks dude, i pretty much am looking for a 5'10...2-3 inches bigger than me..if the board has more volume to it then ill go for something around a 5'4-5'8..idk if people know the g&s specs..its 2.5 in thick and 20 in wide
You might want to raid the used board racks at some local shops. Your weight is very common, you should be able to find alot of boards that would be suited to your size. Grab some beater boards in the shapes you think you would like to get a feel for them and see if you really do like them. Then sell them again when you know what you like and get a new board. Just a thought. Also, if you have friends your size that ride shapes your interested in, switch it up for a session or two.
I'm the same size as you and i ride 5"8 or 9 for summer and 5"10 for the winter i just put one of my boards up in barewires spring lake because im low on cash it worked great through the winter its a 5"10 18 1/8 2 1/16 Dan Taylor asking $250
if you're looking for thickness and flotation along with the short length, go with tuf lite technology. they're super buoyant
I dont know any people who ride a short board shorter than their fish. I definately dont know anyone who goes extra small for a winter board with 4+ mm. rubber. A typical 5'10" thruster is 18 1/2" wide and you will not like it coming from that board and in the winter, is my guess. Id say 6'0" - 6'2" range and for winter get a full template shortboard at least 19 1/2"" wide and 2 3/8" thick. Better yet, get a custom.
