After writing a post on Firewire Surfboards back in March of 2007, I finally got a chance to try one of these hyped up boards. Luckily for me, Kumau at Tropical Blends was cool enough to let me his personal board. For some reason, the Firewire people have been uninterested in letting me demo a board…who knows, perhaps they’re not into free publicity? Anyway, I recently got a chance to try a 5’10 Futura on a dying south swell which would be a good test to see how this board worked in less than perfect surf. The Futura is available in 3 models:

5’10 x 19 1/2″ 2 1/4″
6’0 x 19 3/4″ x 2 3/8″
6’2 x 20″ x 2 1/2″

All come with swallow tails and a thruster FCS setup. An interesting note on Kumau’s board…he set it up with FCS MR twin fins (glass) and added the smaller trailer to it. I had never heard of anyone riding this other than as a thruster but he said it worked well for him so I figured it would be very interesting.

This board has a somewhat fuller shortboard outline, lower rocker, yet overall the board is pretty thin…especially in the nose area. Paddling was very easy and it definitely floated a lot better than it would have if it were traditional polyurethane.

I ate sh!t on the first wave…guess I wasn’t prepared for the slippiness of the twin fin setup but after a few more waves I figured out where my weight needed to be and voila…I was very impressed at how responsive the board felt. The biggest thing I’ve heard about Firewire boards is how they flex out of turns. Well I didn’t really feel the board pushing out of turns and giving me a boost of speed (probably because the surf was only waist/chest high at best) but the board did feel a bit more springy and lively than even a fresh fiberglass board. The Futura demonstrated exactly what the Firewire website claimed: “The Future Series merges the innate performance of new school fish design with the acceleration of Future Shapes Technology, creating a surfboard with pedal to the metal top end speed and remarkably tight turning radius. Buckle your seatbelt.’ This board could definitely fly and I was blazing on the small little walls. It’s hard to say if it’s because of the flex in the board or more because of the twin fin setups which usually go faster than tri-fins. Either way, this particular setup is killer for smaller days head high and under with twin fin speed and thruster performance. The Future basically rides like a traditional shortboard yet it’s so much more forgiving in less than ideal surf.

I have another day to try this board out in a tri-fin setup so I’ll report back on my findings. So far, the hype is true and these boards are quite remarkable. Best thing about them, they’re pretty resilient to dings and damage so if you’re the type of surfer that always wrecks your boards, you may want to try a Firewire.

I recently received a question from a surfer.

What is the retail value of a vintage signed Gerry Lopez lighting bolt surfboard in great condition?

Does anyone have any idea? I know it’s hard to tell without a photo and much details…I”ll see if they can send some over for me to post. I guess it does matter what it’s condition is, if it’s been restored, who shaped it, when, etc. If anyone knows anything please post a comment below. Mahalo.

Updated, just got more information about the board: Attached photos of board. 7′ 6″ yellow lighting nolt. A pure source TM. It is numbered, however resin was attached over number for an ankle strap. Part of the number is visible – 898. Mahalo for your help.