Anyone ride firewires?

The only firewire that i had always wanted was the Vanguard. It was the craziest shape i had seen at the time (2013ish). Unfortunately the price outweighed my want. I did go back to a local dealer last month to revisit and reconsider buying one because it had popped up in conversation but there were none. Discontinued i guess? Bummed. Oh well. Kinda crazy the direction surfboards are going in eh? All this high tech futuristic stuff.

 

I had a sweet potato FST for a couple years. That booard was a total piece of crap. If anyone said the word ding within a mile it would break. Had the wood looking version after that for about a year and it was totally solid.....I'm not a fan of firewire overall. The older I get the more I realize that standard PU or epoxy boards work best for me. I've had a lost V2stub that has been on 5 trips and still surfing good after 4 years--PU construction. When that thing dies I will order another. YMMV

 

curious how you actually liked the ride of the sweet potato. I have never owned a FW and never will just on principle of the number of ones i've repaired that were so poorly constructed. They may have gotten better, but a company that makes crap for many years is a company i can pass on.

But the sweet potato...i borrowed one once back around 5-10 years ago when they were the rage and wasnt impressed with the ride. its obviously made for small waves, but compared to other small wave boards i had at the time it seemed slow, and pivoty to turn. Qualities i dont like in small wave boards.

 

I really liked it for a while then I realized it was kind of holding me back. I have a couple of friends who absolutely rip on those though and almost ride them exclusively when it is shoulder high or under. The longer I surf the more I realize that there is no board that works for everybody....it's a great enigma....on one hand you wish there was just this board that you know will be perfect for everyone so you can just get it, have confidence, and be done with it....on the other hand, trying different boards and finally dying in a great one is one of the great feelings in surfing.

 

Mitchell, do you get a lot of the Timbertek FWs to repair. I am not a huge fan of the build quality in FW but my TT boards have held up extremely well compared to all my other boards. Curious if you have had to repair any?

 

Makes total sense to me. Timbertek is a variation of what Greg Lohr was doing 10 years ago with his Timberflex construction. Super durable board construction with better performance than typical PU/PE... but you pay for that in the cost of the board.

 

You def pay for it. But have to factor in the savings in longevity and repairs. Wish they made a Vader in TT. They do the Evo in it but wasn't a huge fan of the Evo.

 

Rode a Sunova for a while... pretty much the same tech as the TT. Burt Berger, who left Firewire to start Sunova, did the parabolic paulonia rails and wood deck skins on all his designs under the Sunova label. Amazing ride... but very different form anything I've ever ridden. Super high performance, super expensive, super durable.

 

No, but lots of ones built prior to TT were an absolute b*tch to repair at least for a backyard guy that doesn't want to have to deal with things like vacuum bagging, pulling vacuum on a vent plug, or only working in very controlled temperatures just to repair something simple like a bottom or deck crunch that would be an easy one hour repair for a regulator PU/PE or EPS/Epoxy board.

 

Can't argue with you there

 

That’s a first lol

 

Firewires have always ridden like crap for me. Any time i borrowed one I struggled to catch waves, the volume doesnt compare equally to PU boards and they are a pain to fix.

They are aethetically nice to look at, byt thats where the positives end.

 

LMK what Epoxy your using that only takes an hour!

 

You got me there...i guess what i meant for epoxy was maybe an hour of work.....

15 minutes to scuff and then pour a tablespoon of epoxy/microballoons in the hole, 15 minutes to sand it flat and glass a little patch, 15 minutes to fair the patch and hotcoat, 15 minutes to sand the hotcoat. Yeah there are waits in between the steps.

The contrast i was trying to draw is how utterly simply the repair is even on a handshaped EPS / epoxy compared to a FW that might require vacuum and temperature control that the average guy cant just do in his driveway

 

i have a firewire nano LFT tech. i will say it is the fastest board in the quiver and loves chest to a bit overhead slower point break . having said that it is too niche of a board. meaning sometimes it pearls on late drops and it isnt really good at anything overhead plus but it does have its wave category. i enjoy it from time to time but also prefer poly boards because I have used this firewire in chop and gotten bounced all over the place. so again it has its place.

 

i say that if you can't find a good local shaper for a good price, go for a firewire. There is no good reason to buy a PU with 4/4/4 'team' glassing for >$650, Firewire/Slater Co basically sell themselves just bc of the durability for the pricepoint. I've said it before, these guys are pricing themselves out of the market.