But run a mile from this board if you are injured, fat, old, slow or any combination thereof.
One of the greatest myths in the whole of surf is the applicability of the pro surfer whip to the non-paid rec surfer.
Joel Tudor, the great alterna-board master from San Diego, emphasised the same point in a Stab in the Dark movie featuring Dane Reynolds surfing non high-performance boards in Mexico. Dane is the one percent, he said, or the one percent of the one percent, I forget exactly which, and thus there is no point trying to extrapolate from his skill level to the experiences of the other 99.99%.
Obviously true, right?
So, that’s Dane. A freak but a freak with a Dad bod and a few screaming kids who reckons he struggles to get his go outs.
How much more freakish then and unrelatable is Filipe Toledo and, via extension, his equipment, to the average Joe?
Don’t answer, it’s a rhetorical question.
There is no less relatable surfer on the planet than Filipe Toledo.
Which means you can understand the trepidation running deep when waxing up and paddling out at the home point on his HT2.5 model for the first time. It’s a pro model according to the Sharp Eye website.
You know the one. The curvy little swallow tail with the very sexy tail channels; same one he blitzed Keramas on.
It’s pitched as a high-performance board oriented towards smaller waves, more ordinary conditions.
Right before paddling out I got a text from BG biz guy Jazzy P. He said the rocker was insane and “threw you onto the back foot”. That did not reassure. The initial paddle out took place on the day Kelly was robbed at D-bah.
Three foot of surf at my local Pointbreak, lightly attended. Pretty much perfect.
Under the arm all the elements of the board are subtle: no radical shifts in rocker or distinctive curves like a Pyzel Ghost, slight single concave under the front foot and a deeper concave with slight doubles between the fins.
Straight away you can feel this is a board that works in two halves.
The forward rocker feels more pronounced paddling, it’s not a good paddler, you need to get up and over it to catch waves. On a wave the board sits down into the aft rocker curve. Initiate a turn and it slams you back onto the back foot.
That has interesting and exciting results for the non-pro. It carves a very tight arc with an engaged back foot. Through a vertical backhand turn I loosed the fins out the back, nose picked halfway through and finished the turn with more speed than I went in with. A very invigorating opening session.
To compensate for the poor paddleability, to generate the necessary rider input. I gave up drinking, pretty much, getting on the end of one with my pals, again: pretty much. Embraced Russian kettlebells, deadlifts, chins (hundreds of them), superfoods, clean eating, Laird Hamilton videos on Yootoob. Embarrassing.
What would you give up to ride a high-performance shortboard?
To compensate for the poor paddleability, to generate the necessary rider input. I gave up drinking, pretty much, getting on the end of one with my pals, again: pretty much. Embraced Russian kettlebells, deadlifts, chins (hundreds of them), superfoods, clean eating, Laird Hamilton videos on Yootoob. Embarrassing. How I will survive the inevitable and inescapable meeting with Chas Smith I do not know. A night at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino going whiskey for whiskey with D. Rielly would destroy me.
So the driver has to be on. Run a mile from this board if you struggle for go-outs, are injured, fat, old, slow or any combination thereof. The vehicle, as we have established, is tuned for high performance. The track needs some steepness. It’s a small-wave board, but a good small-wave board. It needs a wave with some cup. Lots and lots of Australian beachbreaks and reefbreaks and Pointbreaks fit the bill. It’s obvious how good it goes in small Indonesian reefbreaks. It might be more of a daily driver in Californian surf. French beachbreaks would be a stellar match.
It’s not a groveller. Remember that pre-season video of John John at small, weak Snapper and how mediocre he looked? I saw him saw him surf equally weak shapeless surf during the Quik Pro and he looked less impressive than the local kids. He’s tuned his equipment for better waves. I use as an example of how the HT2.5, even allowing for the quite generous tail block planing area needs some steepness and shape to carve against.
In truth, I did not find this board difficult to ride. And that surprised me. Almost shocked me. If you’ve got some game and regular go-outs at your disposal I would have to swallow my initial posit and say there is something in this for the 99 per center. I rode mine at 6’0” just under 30 litres and that felt spot on.
Marcio Zouvi has something going on with his shapes right now. That’s obvious from the quantum leap from Igarashi Kanoa after jumping on the swords pre J-Bay and how good he looked at Keramas. I’m tempted to write them off as an aesthetic afterthought but I believe there is something going on with the sexy little tail channels that cut into that curvy swallow-tail. Zouvi claims they give speed, bite and drive and despite wanting to rebel against the vagueness of those terms that is the case. Something special happens when you lay this board into a tight turn.
In truth, I did not find this board difficult to ride. And that surprised me. Almost shocked me. If you’ve got some game and regular go-outs at your disposal I would have to swallow my initial posit and say there is something in this for the 99 per center. I rode mine at 6’0” just under 30 litres and that felt spot on.
I whacked some AM2 honeycomb fins, quite large, straight in and they also felt perfect. The AM2 is the basic reference point fin for any slightly wide tail block. You’ll see that distinctive yellow and black fin adorning the rump of many pro boards.
Controls a board beautifully with it’s moderate rake and stiff flex pattern. Even a mad old fin bitch like me felt no desire to change them up. You could tweak the boards range if you did.
I know that fin talk makes people angry so I conclude the review here.
Any questions?
Okay, fine, I’m the anon surfer in this clip.
…pearl?
That PBY Catalina is a sexy plane.
Watch Gimme Shelter, 1973 live…. Mick owned the stage. Taylor that is, Mick fucking Taylor. Keith was pimping his hair in high heels and Jagger is annoyed at the length of the solo…. give it a watch.
Mick Taylor was the Stones. The rest is shit.
There is no fin debate, Mick Fanning FCS 2’s are the bomb.
An employee just gave me a ration of shit….. I ride glass on fins for most of my travel boards and according to a soon to be fired young punk, the glass on’s are all AM templates.
haha
Do the Voodoo Child. Very interested to hear your take.
Meet the locals of Bribie Island
https://www.youtube.com/wat…
do they do an edit where they are don’t surf every wave switch foot?
This kind of throws the narrative of “start young or you’ll surf like a VAL forever” out the window. High chance all these guys started before puberty.
What is your altitude and fatness in Feet and Kilograms please
5’10” 76 kilos.
Is 30L generous for your size and your punchy curvy waves?
Edit-was this a second hand board of Filipes?
yeah it is. I just like riding that volume, like bigger fins too. Like something to push against.
26-27 in Indo.
No, new. Pip rides 24 litres or something ridick.
your a lean mofo.. you quit drinking? what else? i can’t get off the dark chocolate and summer/travel beers
Fuck yeah, I wish I hadn’t broken my back and hip, and was still flexible. But all I could think was: “How fucking rad are the Rolling Stones?” Good article. Fuck it. Gonna lose the gut. Again. Done it before, a few times. Gettine hurt sucks. You guys who haven’t been hurt badly while surfing, live it up. And if you don’t really love giant waves, stay TF away and surf normal or big waves into your 50’s, 60’s or more- happy. Like Jack Nicholson to the little dog: “Don’t you be like me…”
What about speakers and shark deterrent appliance and wax and a wax comb and deck grip and a leash and a fin key and fin remover and will they throw a discount if we pay in cash ( Always worked for my dad ) and stickers and a board bag ….?
Still suffering from one summer season working in a surf shop . I really had no idea that Boogie Boards came in different sizes , shocking !
Look mate here’s the thing, anyone who is a good surfer can pretty much surf anything. Yeah some boards surf better than others but let’s be honest, not everyone is a rad surfer and not only that, not everyone lives near high performance waves.
What i’d like to read is a review of a board that is specifically for injured, old, fat, or slow (I suspect a lot of the BeachGrit commentariat fall in this category). What made the Hypto so popular is it was easy to surf for almost anyone.
No-one really wants to watch an average surfer riding a puddle jumper (say) as the spectacle is pretty much… lame. Which begs the question, does a puddle jumper suck for a hot surfer?
I will say though, that Machado rips on a biscuit, and it’s hardly a high performance board.
This trend to ride tiny boards works if you surf good waves and are in shape. In fat waves with a steamer, you just sink.
I tested out a friend’s puddle jumper on a snowy day in fat Baltic Sea wind chop , 4 second interval , wearing a 543 Steamer booties and gloves and would have much preferred that it was a 6’4 than a 5’8 . The last time my regular board was 5’8“ was around 79 and a twin fin . I imagine that the 5‘8 must be nice on a long peeling 1ft Pointbreak somewhere warm , like Central America , France in August or the North Coast of NSW ? I have always got my feet stuck on the tail attempting to takeoff when trying to surf on micro equipment over the years . At 5‘11 I still prefer boards my height or slightly longer ( ie 6‘ and not 9 ft +).
Someone who knows the ‘joys’ of the Baltic ‘surf’. As a Gotland/Varberg/Bornhulm visitor (on semi-regular basis) I get where you are coming from.
To be honest I’ve surfed much worse in Australia and France but just not so , looking for the word , Frigid ! The German Coast in the region were I live needs Howling NE or NW winds to make some surfable lumps and bumps .
Rügen island can get quite “good”.. But haven’t surfed anything smaller than a log in the baltic
had fun at several pointbreaks in baltic. always simply a bonus. het to the polish coast, gets some stuff.
Thanks for the tip D Angel . As a stay at home dad with 2 kids under 6 all these little Baltic Sessions are a bonus between a month in Australia and another month in France each year . If we decide to stay long term here I will definitely spend more time in Northern Denmark and jump on the plane ( only 4 Hours ) whenever I can to the islands off Africa .
Easiest cure for the EU winter blues!
where are you? no stalk, but i know quite a few spots and people that may help you.
I got talked into the new high performance puddle jumper as a groveller a few months back. The best thing about that board was when it was sold a few weeks back. I hated it from day one. We never really got on – it was like that good fiend you had and then decided (after a few too many drinks) that you should take it to the next level. You wake up knowing it was a bad decision but you hang on hoping it will be a smooth landing and no loss of face / friendship. It was almost like that. It had cost me a fair amount in terms of board cash – so decided to keep surfing it – hoping it would come good. But more than that – it cost me a whole bunch of enjoyment as I held on. It went well in good waves – like most boards – and was poor in crappy ones. The tail loved to slide out too much. I tried lots of fin configs on it but never really settled on anything amazing. It would be a 6/10 board at best for me. But it was super quick – I will give it that.
alright. will do .
I dunno if it’s you in the video (blurred head!) but whoever it is, is a pretty good surfer.
The danger with getting good surfers to try out boards for shit waves/average surfer is a good surfer can ride anything.
How about this as a challenge. Get a good surfer to ride the puddle jumper / biscuit / average joe, but ride it switch foot.
No need to humiliate yourself kooking out by putting in on youtube, but at least that brings the talent level back to earth (unless you are a switchfoot). That’s the problem with stab in the dark (among other things), it finds the best board for the best surfer. Not all of us have the talent, flexibility, fitness or even waves to ride (say) the Ghost and rip.
Here in Victoria I have to surf fat waves with a steamer and I am 46 years old. Not the greatest combo but at least we always have waves. Those micro boards work when I surf the gold coast, but here they sink on me. I’m better off riding a 6’3″ conventional shape than a 5’8″ that in theory I should be riding.
I think many of us are just looking for a board that is not going to sink, but we can turn.
A 5’5 Tomo Sciphi in 26 litres with faux-carbon should do you the trick mate. $1000 please
^^^^^^ This….this is us. I just need boards that will get me in early and make sections FOR me
If you have Surf Knobs, does using them make you a Surf Knob Jockey?
Run a mile from this board if you struggle for go-outs, are injured, fat, old, slow or any combination thereof!!
Old check
Fat check
Injured fucking check
what the fuck gonna ride LT?? I did get 5’6 cymatic steep curve but rips what next in seriousness??
Come on you can not be that fat or old riding a 5’6″ one of those !
Mate I am 46 (almost), 5’7 and running at 83kgs with a broken neck. So most checked. The cymatic is epic, floats me fine at think 29L. I really need to be under 80 though to be fighting weight – working on it!!
How about a review of a 7’3 Parmenter?
coming soon.
Goody!
suitable for old, fat, slow injured etc etc
Haha, yes, there is that.
How about great if you’re on a ‘big long fat board’ bender? After some very satisfying surfs on my DS in the Mentawai, I have really enjoyed my 6’6 Russ Short Bonzer this week.
Sometimes pushing against all that rail and foam just feels so right.
amen brother
Would you believe, a 9’0 soft top?
Felipe more unrelatable for sure, more freakish I’m not so sure. Dane has produced many a head scratcher
Mich Parko rips ☝️
We can now expect
To see Eric Logan post
A Sharp Eye Shaka
Couple of quick questions………Did you pay for this board? If not is it to be returned upon completion of testing? Is this a paid advertisement?
The so called independent ref / board reviewer has a long history in the surfing world of recommending every board that is tested. Stab, Noel Salas etc always rap the boards. I find it incredible that every board that has ever been in a board test goes great and should be purchased by the reader / viewer. Surely someone one day will find an unsuitable board……or are all boards great or are all reviewers conflicted?
Full disclosure should be give, I agree, but don’t you think that the review was pretty even handed – ie “not a good paddler”, “it’s not a groveller” etc?
Yes I concur. In no way am I casting dispersions on LT – he did ask for questions. It seemed fairly balanced which made me wonder if it was endorsed or not at stages. But full disclosure would be appreciated if required. One could also state “not a good paddler”or “it’s not a groveller” whilst not annoying the product provider – if they are marketing it differently.
Fair question.
A lot of the boards I’m testing are from my private quiver, paid in full.
Some, this one and others, are being sent to me by Beachgrit.
I don’t have any pecuniary or commercial association with the manufacturers, but it is a commercial arrangement. BG pays me for writing the content, I do that as truthfully as I can. Whatever arrangement BG has made with the manufacturer , I have no idea about.
I just get the board and ride it hard and write what I think.
I got lots of boards. I’m a total board slut.
I don’t think there are bad boards. Just boards that work for certain people in certain places. Thats the info I’m trying to explore and pass on.
In this case, the board was already tried and tested at the highest professional level. So the question was, could it, would it work for the non pro recreational surfer.
I found it did.
With caveats. Got to be in shape, have some game etc etc.
No kooks.
This is no Hypto.
But if you do have some slick little high perf waves around and can surf this thing has incredible zap. I actually was surprised how easy it was to tune into.
As to the question of whether the testimony is to believed. That’s not really in my wheelhouse. But I never keep operations secret. If you are floating by Derek has my email and you can come see for yourself.
Thanks LT – great response – much appreciated. I have no reason to doubt you / not to believe you. But I am glad you have cleared that up. Maybe in future you could just write a short line about the boards origin?
I love the fact that you are a total board slut. Keep it up. Looking forward to the next ride report.
agreed. Love Noel Salas…learn a lot from his show….but I have never seen him not like a board….also he is an amazing surfer and almost hard to relate to.
Sorry I’m late to this particular party. Way it works. One of us, me, Jazzy, LT, Chas, says they want to get a particular board, a Rocket Wide or a HT, for example. We get a couple of boards to test plus a small amount to cover the cost of LT’s story and BIlly’s filming, edit. There’s no advertising loading ’cause we can’t guarantee it’ll be an all-good review. LT gets no direction nor has he been edited, except maybe to remove one too many Dostoyevsky or Houellebecq references.
I would say we are in a pretty magic era when you can walk into a surf shop and buy a sick board without many risks of them being a dud. Had to buy a new shortboard in Mexico and they only had CI. ended up on a stock Fever, maybe an inch too big, but the thing is sick. Im sure if i bought any of the HPSB on the market they would normally go good if you don’t go to extremes. Bet anyone who surfs on the reg coudl shred it in decent waves, same goes for anything from those big brands.
you surf good switch! show off