Saw Chad from Walk Fantastic in the water with a sick looking longboard. He let me try the Walk Fantastic 9’2 Retro noserider he personally shaped for himself. The board measured 9’2 x 23″ 1/4 x 2″7/8, 50/50 rails, reverse vee in the nose, wood block in the tail, and beautiful paint job. This single fin noserider reminded me of the noseriders you normally find in California and its super flat entry rocker made paddling and wave catching effortless. The board has an extremely blunt nose and wide square tail typical of the boards from the old days and the one aspect I liked about this board was its thinner nose which gave the board a sleek look offering better noseriding control.

I never had a chance to noseride thiseoard due to the short wave length on this day but I imagine you can easily hang ten on it. I’ll write more about this board the next time I bump into the Walk Fantastic guys. If you’re looking for a retro/Cali style longboard, this one is a sure thing.

The other day I was at the book store reading the current issue of Transword Surf magazine (I think it was Transworld) when I stumbled upon an intriguing article on the new trend of routing 5 boxes in your new board. The article wasn’t talking about some weird 5 fin bonzer or experimental surfboard. It was referring to a board with a thruster setup. And Quad fins. The recent popularity of quad fins surfboards has created a large movement of open eyed surfers who have added an extra fin and gotten rid of the one in the middle for way more speed and quicker turns and snaps. However, the majority of hardcore thruster setup enthusiasts are still somewhat apprehensive to fully embrace the four fin setup. A number of these ‘on the fence’ quad adopters have experimented with 5 fin boxes which allow you to ride your board both with a quad or thruster fin setup. For those that have been stubornly downplaying the advantages of four fins, the 5 fin box allows you to put the quad setup to the test. Go ahead and ride your thruster first and then switch them out with a quad fin set (Future quad fins seem to be the most popular here in Hawaii). And remember, give your quad setup several sessions for you to acclimate yourself to the increase in down the line speed and much more responsive turns. Like the not so old adage goes, “don’t knock it till you try it”.

Besides getting hardcore thruster believers to try quad setups, the 5 fin box is also providing new school surfers with a much versatile board. You can use your quad in quick beach break surf and go back to your trusty old thruster setup when you need a little more drive and not as much speed (what idiot doesn’t need more speed besides Mick Fanning). The aspect I really like about this versatility is that your board stays the same. Same rocker, outline, thickness, foil, rails, and every other minute detail. You don’t have to re-adjust to the actual board when switching between quad or thruster. In essence, you only need to get used to the different fin setup characteristics and feel. The only slight downside to having 5 boxes is that it may make your board slightly tail heavy (depending on the size of your board and glass job) but I personally don’t think most surfers will even feel the difference in weight. In my opinion, the extra weight is definitely worth the versatility and fun that you’ll achieve.

Infinity Surfboards began business in 1970 where Steve Boehne and his wife Barrie open their first shop in an old gas station in Huntington Beach. Since then, their shaping business has grown considerably with over 30,000 Infinity surfboards shaped and the shaping crew currently features Steve and Dan Boehne, Larry Cobb, and Ryan Engle. As Infinity’s founder and main shaper, Steve has shown all their shapers his techniques and views on shaping water craft. Steve began surfing in 1959 and years later moved towards making surfboards. He had shaped a hundred boards as a back yard shaper when he began work at Gordie Surfboards. Steve learned a lot from Gordie (known for fancy stringers & tail blocks in his classic longboards) who helped Steve develop his philosophy and shaping style. He currently still shapes over 250 surfboards every year. He and his wife have also had great success as tandem surfers winning six USA Championships, six Makaha International meets, two World Titles, and other tandem contests.

Infinity Surfboard Models

Cluster – Three fin design featuring V bottom and the biggest finds on the rail and with clustered fins.
Secret Weapon – Cluster model that works great in beach breaks. Short and thick with shortboard maneuvering.
Rad NoseRider – This model is a fast trimming and levitating nose rider.
Competitor – High performance longboard designed for competition. Light 4 oz glass, thin, responsive, and a double concave bottom.
Classic – 60/40 raisl provides a natural feeling ride along with smooth and flowing turns.
Stylemaster – Classic design with improved performance features.
Rich Chew Models – Competition model but with more floatation.
Floater – Designed for big or matured guys to give you enough float.

Infinity Shortboards

The Blurr
Geoff Brack Pro Model
The Automatic
The Silverback
5F
Ariifa Gun
Rawson Guns
Authentic Retros
Summer of ’83