Firewire

One of my friends rides an Alternator. I have never tried it, but he seems to enjoy it. If you are near a dealer, chances are they will have demos to take out and try. There are a lot of mixed opinions about Firewire boards, in general, so before you drop the dime, make sure it works for you. I used to have an Addvance - pretty fun board for small surf. I really like Firewire's material, as it does not ding as easily as poly boards. It is important to remember that Firewire boards are not indestructible. Best of luck in your board search.

 

ive ridden a couple firewires, mostly spitfires and one potato-nator. very lively, well shaped boards. in my experience though, they are weaker than traditional epoxy glass boards, but stronger than a lightly glassed poly. i'd say epoxy>firewire>polyurethane.

 

yeah man, rode my friends 5'10 spitfire for a session or 2. so much fun. the board loves the pocket and has no trouble punching through the lip. look for any sign that its been ridden hard though, seen many firewires crease, puncture with only moderate use

 

its a great board for many reasons....but I personally like to have a round pin tail for tighter turns. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter what board you ride so long as you are having fun!

 

Has anyone checked out the Baked Potato? Definitely going to demo this when Sweetwater gets one in. Time to get baked!

 

i have a sweet potatoe and it is insanely fun

 

I've gotta Quadraflex. I really like it. Firewire's have very few problems that traditional boards do. Yes they do ding (rarely), but they don't take in water nearly as easily as a poly board. They don't delam, or yellow. They are much lighter then poly boards making it easier to catch waves on a smaller board.

Cons: While you can deffinitly ride these in choppy surf. They are not ideal. Due to their buoyancy, they catch every little bump/chop, and this makes it not only hard to catch choppy waves, but also harder to ride them.