ci proton vs. firewire flexfire

while firewires are pretty sick and ive heard nothing but good things about them..

dane reynolds is the man. get the proton-

 

defiently get the al merricks cause i have 2 boards a 7'6" funboard shaper is some1 i dont even know. my second board is a 6'1" al merrick flyer epoxy squashtail and i LOVE it its the only board i ride on every day. the merricks are just fun boards to ride especially in small mushy stuff is when im doing good on the knee to waisty days coming off the high tide. so defiently get the proton.

 

Just things to consider...

The proton has a continuous rocker through out the entire length of the board.
Also, I believe I read Dane rides off of his front foot.

 

very true! because of this the proton rides very differently from most of the other ci shortboards. Definatly not a bad thing, just know what you like in your equipment.

 

i have a 6'1" firewire for sale if you're interested...manasquan area....around 400$

 

if you get the flexfire, deff go with the new direct drive..i got one and used it this sunday..it rides so nice

 

Firewires are now made overseas. Merricks are still made in the USA (for now at least). If you're not going to suport a local shaper, at least buy the product made here in the US by surfers.

 

Agreed. I am going with a coil for my next board!

 

I can't say enough good things about Coil boards. You can order from WRV and or directly from Mike Daniel. You get the same durability of all these "made in China" mass produced crap boards with 'better' more efficient flex and it's handshaped and glassed here in the USA with your money going towards keeping east coast surfers in business. I just picked up a Coil shaped by Mike Daniel and the board is sick. Super light and more durable than poly, bright white and will stay white, and very lively feeling due to the flex pattern. I will be ordering another one next year.

 

im probably gonna get a costum proton since channel islands is doing a deal were you order a custom proton and within 30 dyas it would be ready to ship and if its not ready within 30 days then you get it for free. i saw this in a surf magazine.

 

read the small print on that one... you'd be lucky to get that board in 3 months.

 

i read it over and over and it even says it on their website.

 

straight from cisurfboards.com

"How it Works :

What is “Fast Track?”

Fast Track is a custom board program where CI builds your custom board in 4 to 6 weeks. (in the contiguous 48 states)
Right now our average Fast Track custom is built in 23 days and ships within 45 days"

 

i think the protons are slightly different than their fast-track boards. However you are right that even though they are gaurenteed to be "completed" within a month, shipping could easily take just as long, or longer.

Also if you go with fast-tracking, your options are very limited, only certain sizes, and no artwork or special glassing requests or any of that stuff you expect with a custom.

 

There are about 10000 other shappers out there that shape boards just as damn good as a CI board. Maybe if you were a team rider and Al was actually doing your board it would be different. You can get a shape from Cole Similar in CA which shapes a KILLER High performance shortboard in 4-6 weeks max. Plus it would probably be $100 cheaper including shipping. You can also go with 1000 different East Coast shappers that would probably even be cheaper and turn around would be even less.

All I am saying is it is up to you but I still cant understand why people still get boards from the top 3 surfboard machine makers unless it is a last minute off the rack sort of thing...all you are paying an extra $100 - $200 for a label.


Don't get me wrong their boards are great but I rather save time and money and still get a top shelf board.

 

What JMD said...

 

dude i dont care what you think its just that ci not only works good for me but im able to get discounts from one of there dealers and so i get them also my friends dad tells me to get them who's been surfing probably longer than half of you have been alive and jsut recomends them to me.

 

dude i dont care that you dont care what I think dude.

I am just putting it out there. If my friends dad recommended something to me it must be legit . Just trying to help you out with saving some cash and supporting a local shapper. Do what the hell you want. You ride what works for you I was just trying to give you some insight that there are other things out there and CI/Lost/Rusty is not all there is.

GL with the board drone on dude.

 

you know that you posted on an internet forum, right? you're basically asking for everyone's opinion by doing so lol