9’0 TORE Baby D Dimensions: 9’0 x 22″ x 2″ 7/8

This board is by far the best longboard I’ve ever ridden. I’ve tried boards from Takayama, Aipa, Pearson, Griffin, Infinity, Tanaka, Schaper, and countless others and can honestly say nothing is faster, more maneuverable, and noserides better than the Baby D. Believe me, I’m not writing this to hype the board but you really need to give it a try. If you’re looking for a cruiser/log type board, you’re probably better off getting a Takayama. However, if you’re looking for a high performance longboard that still allows for insane noserides, this is the only board you’ll ever want.

TORE Surfboards Baby D Longboard

I originally rode this board in a 2+1 setup and it rode great but for some strange reason, I put in an FCS thruster converter in the center box and turned it into a tri fin. I was skeptical as to whether the board would hold in larger surf and have enough drive off the bottom but after a few rides, the board’s performance answered my doubts. I was able to get a number of solid hang five noserides without the tail slipping.

The TORE Baby D is a very unique shape and at first glance it might not look like your conventional longboard. It has moderate nose and high tail rocker with vee off the tail. The fins are positioned way forward compared to your stock longboard and although this may look a bit odd, its performance will definitely make up for it. The nose features a very deep concave going way back through the first quarter of the board allowing for insane noseriding. It noserides just as good as a traditional noserider…you can set a high line and lock the board in for a hang 5…10 if you really try for it. It’s just unbelievable that a board can turn and race down the line yet still noseride like a plank.

The outline of the Baby D is pulled in dramatically ending in a baby diamond tail, hence its name. The pulled in outline combined with flipped tail allows for incredible turning ability where you can pump it from the tail, just like a shortboard. Round house cut backs, foam bounces, off the lips, and re-entries are all within easy reach. While the board works great in small piddly surf, the board excels in long overhead walls. It grips the open face with tons of traction allowing you to take a very high line and pump down the transition of the wave allowing for insane down the line speed.

The noseriding capability of this board is unmatched. You can easily stall in the pocket, set your high line, and hang five with ease…10 isn’t out of the question either. I know ‘best board’ is way overused, but this board is just that. It has incredible turning ability, tons of speed to burn, easy paddling, and insane noseriding. You seriously need to try this board out for yourself…you will be amazed.

I’ll try to get some video of this board in action. Stay tuned for updates.

Tore Surfboards Hawaii: www.toresurfboards.com
Haleiwa, Hawaii
Phone: (808) 638-0124
Email: toresurf@hawaii.rr.com

7’2 Surftech Al Merrick Water Hog: 7′2 x 21″ x 2.63″

I usually don’t ride fun boards being that I rather surf a shortboard or longboard but I had heard great things about the Channel Islands Water Hog that I decided to give it a go during a recent south swell. I took the Water Hog to one of the better waves in town, Number 3’s.

The wave at 3’s (or Trees as the locals would say) is like a machine spitting outperfect long peeling rights and decent but shorter lefts. It’s a great wave to ride a small board on but because the regulars all ride longboards, you’re forced to ride a longboard or barely catch any waves. The problem with riding a longboard at 3’s is that when its pumping it’s a really fast wave and quite tough to get turns in on that wave as you’re always trying to outrun the wave which is why I thought it would be a perfect chance to try the fun board out.

The Water Hog features a pretty narrow outline for a funboard and pulled in tail featuring a squash tail. It utilizes Merrick’s own FCS templates in a tri fin setup. It’s pretty thin through out the length of the board and felt like a pretty high performance board…unlike most eggy shaped funboards out there.

I scored a bunch of good rights on the Water Hog and was amazed at its speed and maneuverability. It rode down the line like a shortboard, gripping the big walls of each right at 3’s allowing me to take a high line on the steep face and drive down for incredible speed. The turning ability of this board was extremely good allowing for lip smacks and nice full round house cutbacks into foam bounces.

I managed a few lefts at 3’s and the Water Hog surprised me at how well it rode backhand. I was able to drop into the flats making hard backhand bottoms turns followed by nice carves at the top of the face. This board seemed to ride like a shortboard allowing for the best of both worlds; great paddling and remarkable turning for a board of its size.

This board works extremely well on long peeling waves both big and small. I did take it out to another spot which is a quick right and it didn’t perform as well. The board generates heaps of speed as long as you have enough time to generate speed…it didn’t respond as quickly on a shorter waves probably because of its length (7’2). I would recommend the Water Hog for better surfers looking to get more performance out of a bigger board…I think inexperienced surfers will do better with a larger funboard that offers more forgiveness and paddling ability.

The Water Hog is also featured in a 7’10 x 22″ x 2″ 3/4 model for even more paddling ability.

5’8 Surftech New Toy Dimensions: 5’8 x 20 1/8″ x 2″ 5/8

Surftech’s brand spanking new New Toy by Doc Lauch of Surf Prescriptions features a pretty rad checker board paint job in Tuflite construction. The New Toy comes with Future quad fins with real pivots. Overall, the board looks like a wide/fat shortboard with a lot of thickness in the middle…and seemed to be the perfect grovel board.

I took this board out in small mushy waves and surfed it for a week straight. It paddled well and caught waves pretty easy but didn’t quite have a whole lot of speed in the mushy garbage surf as the Xanadu Wave Rocket. The board required you to surf in the pocket as it lost a lot of its speed way out on the shoulder. Some background on the wave I surfed…it’s a right hand wave that has its moments but for the most part is a pretty sub-par wave…quick barrel section (sometimes) and then mushes out until the reform on the inside…you’re basically able to do two maneuvers if you’re lucky and one cutback before the reform.

For most of the week, the waves were pretty small (3-5 ft faces) and slow all of which I struggled to get the board going and gain any kind of speed. I did manage to score a couple of waves that bowled a bit more providing a steeper face and better wall to drive across and the board finally came alive. This board rides more like a wider shortboard than a grovel fish.

The board works great with a longer and steeper wave (doesn’t have to be fully barreling but enough of a face to generate speed). It works great for those who don’t want to fully commit to a retro fish but want some of the benefits that fishes provide (better paddling/wave catching and speed) again when on the right type of wave. It also works for surfers who predominately ride fishes but want to ride more of a shortboard outline but can’t really get a stock high performance shortie to work well. Remember to keep the board close to the pocket…it also works well backside…much better than your average wide tailed fish…obviously due to its rounded tail and pointy nose. I personally rather ride the Wave Rocket in smaller surf.

The only real negative about this board is the black checkered paint job…you’ll find your wax melting within seconds on a hot day so make sure you wax prior to getting to the beach or carry a stick of wax in your pocket and wax in the water.

While visiting in Southern California, I had a chance to test drive a stock 5’2 Channel Island’s Biscuit at Leo Carillo and 1st Point Malibu. The stock 5’2 Biscuit features light glassing with dimensions of 5’2 x 19.75″ x 2.75″ and a three fin configuration. Upon first look, the amount of volume for such a short length is quite staggering but for those unsure of whether they’d be able to surf a board considerably shorter than normal is reassuring. Overall, the Biscuit looks like a thick and stubby disk with the wide point forward of center and the thickest part of the board being forward as well. The rocker is very flat…probably one of the flattest rockers I’ve seen even compared to all the retro fishes out there.

The paddling on this board was pretty easy…similar to a retro fish a few inches bigger though all this considering the 3/2 wetsuit I was in was quite restricting and affecting my paddling due to the fact that we never wear wetsuits in Hawaii. I battled a number of longboarders at 1st Point Malibu and still managed to catch a few.

It seemed that the board took a bit more energy to get it started. The 5’6 Xanadu Wave Rocket seems to generate a burst of speed right off the bat…the Biscuit took a little longer but once you got going she had more than enough. The lack of initial speed could be due to a few reasons:

1. Stiffness I experience in my full wetsuit
2. 3 fin configuration of Biscuit vs speedy twin fin fish
3. Less overall volume compared to Xanadu Wave Rocket

The maneuverability of the Biscuit was average…it felt as though you really needed a decent wave for this board to turn on a dime. Overall, the Biscuit didn’t turn as well as the Xanadu Wave Rocket turns in small mushy surf.

Channel Islands promotes this board as their small wave groveler so I was expecting it to absolutely fly at 1st Point. However, I think the Xanadu Wave Rocket goes faster off the bat and has more overall speed with more maneuverability. I plan to ride the Biscuit in Hawaii and try it backside which is an area where the Wave Rocket lacks tremendously.

Again, the surf in California is quite different than Hawaii…we don’t wear wetsuits and don’t surf point breaks and these observations are just based on two surf sessions in waist to shoulder high surf. I’ll have better insight into the performance of this board when I surf it in waves that I’m more familiar and accustomed to. Stay tuned.

Channel Islands 5’10 Biscuit Surfboard A short and stubby tri-fin: the biscuit design was developed with Rob Machado during the Hurley “Rip My Shredstick” tour through Australia . Overwhelmingly the favorite of all boards ridden on the tour – the Biscuit rides free and loose in the smallest surf and catches waves like boards a foot longer. Ride your biscuit 8” to 10” shorter – 1” to 2” wider and 1/2 in. to 3/4 in. thicker than your shortboard. You will have a great time riding one of these. “…foam is your friend…don’t be scared of it. A little bit of extra foam here and there is good for the soul… and your surfing.” – Rob Dimensions: 5’10 in. x 20 1/2 in. x 2 7/8 in.

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I started shaping in high school, around 1970….Worked for “Da Surf Hut” w/Jim McKinney. Got boards from Bob McTavish (the original egg) I designed a tri fin and thruster with concave bottoms which I was regularly teased about. Tried selling the idea to a few “reputable” shops with no avail….It was logical to me that the three fins would work better than one or two….The idea came to me after Joey Cabel won the Duke on a concave bottomed gun board. Shortly after, two Aussie’s went out on their twin fins and literally ate shit at Sunset. I give them credit for trying. I combined the twin with the gun and..well, there were two different three fined set ups. One with a larger center fin actually forward of the twins, and one that was like the current thruster…

Worked at the UH Look Lab during my Jr/Sr year and learned a lot about oceanography reducing and plotting data for the Haleiwa Harbor Project.

I got into the HFD in 1975, got into construction, and eventually got my Science Degree. I lost touch with shaping, but hooked up with Tom Parrish who shaped my boards until he left for law school…I went through a few shapers, and learned a little from all of them. Dennis Pang, Glenn Pang, D.Beckmeier, and Brewer….and started back shaping around 1982….registered Hawaiian Surf Designs in 1983 and shaped for Lightning Bolt, Seawind Challenge, Hobie Maui, and myself, HSD…

Designed the first generation of inverted vee hybrid boards(ask AM and Rusty P), and got into longboards when Quicksilver recruited me at Bill Barnfield’s Raging Isle Shop for Russ K Makaha, which lasted about 15-17 years until Rusty K left Quicksilver….

I’ve done HIC, Island Classics, Blue Hawaii, Downing, and a few other labels along the way….I still enjoy shaping and surfing….my wife and I go SUP paddling usually twice a week…Something we both really enjoy doing together besides swimming.

I’ve been fortunate enough to be in the HFD, going on 35 years…I’ve also worked for several contractor’s along the way in construction, and have been able to put two Son’s through private school and one thru collage….my third Son is autistic, and remains my best friend…aloha George

Website: www.hawaiiansurfdesigns.com

Phone: (808) 372-2073

I know this isn’t really a surf product but I know a number of surfers suffer from neck pain, especially those paddling small boards, myself included. There have been times this year when my neck has been so sore that it would wake me up at night. Most of this pain originated from paddling tiny boards which required me to arch my back and neck (probably didn’t arch my back enough) and surfing way too long and every single day. That’s when I started getting some pretty bad neck pain.

My mom had a Phiten necklace and decided to try it with a very skeptical outlook that it would help with the pain. I definitely wasn’t going to pay for a new one but luckily I was able to try one for free. I’m probably one of the most skeptical people when it comes to necklaces, bracelets, magnets, titanium, and all these other gadgets that supposedly reduce pain and increase motion but after wearing the Phiten necklace for a few days, I noticed my neck pain slowly subdued and then went away.

I wear my Phiten necklace everyday and it has kept my neck feeling great. My neck still gets a bit stiff when I surf long sessions several days in a row but I don’t experience the discomfort I did before wearing it. I recommend the Phiten necklace for surfers experiencing neck pain. You have to try it to believe it.

Price: Starts around $22 depending on which model you choose

Website: http://www.phitenusa.com

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The cool guys at GoPro Camera were cool enough to send me their new wide angle GoPro Surf Hero digital camera. These are the same guys that made the original GoPro waterproof camera that straps to your wrist. I’ve been using a Pentax WP Optio camera for a while now but those only work when someone’s willing to take photos of you 🙂 It took a while before the Surf Hero was released but it was well worth the wait.

I stuck the GoPro camera base plate on my 9’2 Kimo Greene longboard and surfed in tiny knee high waves in onshore conditions (see video above). Definitely not the most idea conditions for photos/video by any means but I was dying to try the camera out. I got home and downloaded all of the video and I was stoked to see how good the quality of the videos came out. For a tiny little camera that’s reasonably priced ($150), I wasn’t expecting a whole lot in video quality but was impressed for what the GoPro camera could do. I have to say that the video quality is better than my Pentax WP Optio which always turns out cloudy/blurry in the water.

Buy Online at GoPro’s Official Site

Screen grab of GoPro with suction mount

Here are a few specs of the GoPro Surf Hero Camera:

• 170 degree wide angle lens
• 5 Megapixels
• Comes with stick-on base plate and FCS plug mounting system
• Takes 56 minutes of video or 5 megapixel photos every 2 seconds for 65 minutes (with 2 GB SD card)
• Waterproof housing
• USB cable
• Works on both longboards and shortboards
• You can purchase extra base plates for other boards

GoPro Tips:

1. Make sure you scrape all the wax off your board and clean the surface where your mount will be with acetone…any residual wax will weaken the adhesive.
2. On longboards (9’0+), you can position the base plate anywhere from the tip of your nose to a foot below. I made the mistake of sticking the base plate 2.5 feet below the nose on my other longboard and while the shots/video came out fine, the camera ended up being directly under my chin while paddling.
3. I would stick the base plate as close to the nose as possible (needs to be wide enough to completely adhere to the deck on standard shortboards). The camera also works on fishes (I used it with my 5’10 fish). Again, the shorter the board, the better it is to position the baseplate as close to the nose of the board as possible. You want to make sure the camera can fit your entire body in the frame as well as the wave.
4. The camera works best in larger and steeper surf. I think it’s best to take a straight line and try for the barrel. Any type of pumping or aggressive turning looks weird (when the camera is facing you) and makes for dizzying video. If you look at the GoPro website, you’ll notice that barrels make for the best shots.
5. Be sure to buy rechargeable NiMN or Lithium batteries (costs around $30 for batteries and charger) as GoPro advises against using alkaline. The camera takes 2 AAA batteries and you also need to buy your own SD card (2GB max).
6. You can also use RainX on the housing lens to keep water drops to a minimum.
7. For Mac users, when deleting video/photos off your SD card, be sure to empty your trash can. If you don’t, your camera will think it’s SD card is full and stop taking photos or videos. I struggled with this for 3 days thinking my camera was broken or something was wrong with the batteries.
8. Be sure to keep the rubber seal in the housing free of dust, hair, particles, etc to keep it waterproof. GoPro doesn’t warranty against leakage so you’ll want to pay extra attention. You can remove the rubber seal and wash it with water to clean it but be sure to fit the seal back properly.

GoPro Suction Mount

I recommend that longboarders invest in the suction mount. The problem with the base plate is once you stick it on it’s next to impossible to remove. I took a couple off and had to cut it up like a pizza with a hacksaw. The adhesive is so strong that it’s difficult to remove it without segmenting it into several pieces.

You can use the leash tie stick on (little piece that you string your camera leash to) from your base plate set and use that to tie down the suction mount. The suction mount will come off if you eat it on a bigger wave so I do recommend you tie it down. If you mount it to the tail of your longboard you can simply tie the suction mount to your leash plug.

Improvements:

This camera is definitely worth the money but it would be nice if GoPro could add a few more features:

• Provide SD card and increase storage space
• Provide rechargeable battery pack
• Provide preview screen so you can playback video while you’re surfing to check the angle of your shots

I know I’m being super picky with the requests above. On the whole I highly recommend photo enthusiasts to get a Surf Hero camera. GoPro will be selling a helmet cam attachment soon. You’ll be able to strap your GoPro to a helmet and take video or photos of your friends from all different angles. I’ll be sure to write more about that when I receive my helmet expansion kit.

I’m planning to move my base plate to the rear of my board and see how that angle looks. Hopefully removing the base plate won’t be too difficult.

Stay tuned for more video/photos in better surf!

If you watched the finals of the Vans Triple Crown 2008 Pipeline Masters contest, then you probably saw Kelly Slater’s stubby looking Al Merrick surfboard. I had heard the commentators talking about Kelly’s board, dubbed ‘Deep Six’, and how unique it was compared to most Pipe boards. His board reminded me of the boards I normally ride; flatter rocker, stubby nose, and slightly thicker and wider. Another odd part about his board was its round pin tail.

Surfline.com was lucky enough to get their hands on the board and talk to Kelly about his new hybrid board. According to Kelly, he actually shaped his 5’11 x 18.5 x 2.5 Pipeline Masters winning board and did it while experimenting on the computer. He laid his Channel Islands 7’0 Step-up and 6’0 K-board on top of each other and blended the two together. The wide nose was the result of pushing the wide point forward which he claims helps him with late drops and helped him maneuver in the constantly shifting barrel at Pipe. He also added a bit more thickness and width to compensate for shorter length which helped him get into waves earlier and maneuver the board as only a smaller board could.

Another interesting aspect about this board was he pushed the fin placement up on his 5’11 like he would on a longer board while utilizing fins with more flex. According to Kelly, larger waves accommodate fins with more flex because the turns are longer whereas small waves require stiffer fins because you don’t have as much time to turn.

The amazing thing to me is that Kelly shaped this board by himself and actually one the biggest contest of the year on his prototype. He was actually planning to ride a 5’3 he shaped but broke that board a week before surfing in Micronesia! I would have loved to see him surf 8 foot Pipe on a 5’3! It’s a coincidence that I read somewhere that Al Merrick had been trying to push Kelly to start shaping boards…probably because Kelly has given Al a ton of feedback over the years and is very keen on details. Slater says he plans to keep working on his new boards all winter…who knows, we may see that board in surf shops next year. Congrats to Kelly, the greatest surfer of all time and future master surfboard shaper?

Ewa Beach shaper Mitch of Sasquatch Surfboards was cool enough to make me an awesome 5’7 retro quad fin fish (5’7 x 20.5″ x 2.5″). I wanted a board for the crowded waves in town and Mitch delivered the perfect board. I tested the board out on a smaller day at Kewalos a couple months ago (sorry for the late post!). The board looked pretty short but paddling out was a breeze and I had a feeling it would perform well in the small surf.

It’s always interesting when you ride these retro shapes. They always look like they may be hard to turn but when you actually get on the wave, these boards absolutely fly and can turn on a dime. There is quite a bit of thickness just forward of center on this board which makes it easy to get into waves early. This board had a slightly different feel from some of the other retro fishes I’ve tried…I would say it feels pretty skatey…almost like surfing on a man hole cover. It’s like you’re on a flying disk and the short length of the board takes you where you want to go. I think you should ride these types of boards as short as possible so you get the maneuverability and the fullness of the rails and wide tail will make up for the decrease in length.

As far as fins go, the quad fins definitely hold better than twin fins yet still provide similar top end speed. I think in small waves both quad and twin fins work just as well but you don’t really get the benefits of the quad’s ability to hold better. If you like to surf your fishes in bigger waves (head high +) you may want to try the quad fins out.

Website: http://ewafish.blogspot.com
Email: ewafish@gmail.com
Phone: 808-271-2463

You get a cool Sasquatch board bag when you order your board(s) too!

Surfboards by Sasquatch swag:

Surfboards by Sasquatch surf tees:

The good guys at Sea Specs were nice enough to send me one of their surf sunglasses for me to try. I surf here in Hawaii during the middle of the day and for me, those surf sessions have always been extremely painful on my eyes. I really hate squinting and was excited to try these surf shades out on my next surf.

Surprisingly I tried my new Sea Specs during a mid-day stand up paddle board session. The surf shades fit comfortably on my face and the convenient non-removable strap secured my Sea Specs in place. The smoke tint was perfect for our strong sun and the polarized lens significantly reduced the glare. These surf shades worked really well stand up paddling and I could see fish, reef, sand bars, and every crevice with amazing detail. I can’t believe what I had been missing this whole time without shades! Best of all, I got great UVA & UVB protection as long exposure to sunlight can cause serious eye problems like glaucoma (which leads to certain blindness). Most of us put sunscreen on to protect our skin from the sun…why not protect your eyes? You only got two of them!

These may even be better than the Oakley surf shades as they’re 1/5 of the price ($49.99 vs $250)! Sea Specs block out all the bad rays, reduce glare, and stay stuck on your face. If you’re one of those surfers like me who hates glare or want to protect your eyes, I really recommend Sea Specs.

Buy these for only $49.95 at www.seaspecs.com

Here are a few details on these surfing sunglasses:

• Non-removable secure strap
• A variety of lense shades/tints
• Prescription lenses available
• Full wrap around frames
• Ventilated frames
• Sea Specs float
• Variety of frame colors
• Soft nose bridge
• Free shipping world wide
• Buy 2 get 1 FREE
• $49.95