Dimensions: 5’6 x 19″ 1/8 x 2″ 1/4
Rider Height/Weight: 5’5 140 lbs

The Monsta is Todd Proctor’s latest small wave creation. It derives its roots from the Rascal family, incorporating flatter rocker, a bit of kick in the tail, full deck, and plenty of speed. The Monsta was designed to provide the same hair raising speed of the Rascal, but with more vertical surfing ability, and more control in better and more hollow waves.

This particular board came with a five fin option and I tried it both as a quad and three fin. We had pretty small surf (waist high) for the first couple weeks I tried the board out and I was surprised at how well it groveled. It generated similar high end speed in small walls just like the Rascal II but with the tighter turning ability of a more performance oriented board.

Todd originally gave me G-AM thruster fins to try out but those fins felt a bit too stiff for me…probably because of my lack of weight. I decided to try the Kelly Slater K2.1 fins and those ended up working really well for me. They loosened up the board quite a bit (K2.1 fins are more upright with a smaller center fin which makes them very responsive for quick changes and vertical surfing) with maintaining same mind bending speed. The quad setup worked ok (G-AM front, GX double foil rear) but I guess I just prefer riding thrusters nowadays as they’re way more predictable…you also can’t beat the pivot of a thruster.

Overall, the Monsta is a super fast and tight turning board…basically its something you’d want if you’re looking for a performance board in slow & mushy surf…the type of surf where you can’t get your small wave shortboard going in. Best of all, the board works great in larger and more hollow waves as well. It also rides really well backhand…super tight and pivoty but providing Rascal speed so all you need to worry about is getting your turns in.

Dimensions: 5’6 x 19″ 3/4 x 2″ 3/8
Rider Height/Weight: 5’5 140 lbs

Firewire’s Spitfire model is a variation of its popular Dominator model which features fish rocker, a full nose and round outline, a thicker foil, and five fin setup. The difference in the new Spitfire model is its odd step deck tail which according to Firewire, provides more bit in larger/juicier waves. The board also utilizes a subtle diamond tail compared to the round/thumb tail of the Dominator.

I was pretty excited to really try their new Direct Drive suspension system which uses a bamboo deck and carbon rails providing both flex and strength. My first impressions of the board when I first paddled out on the board is oddly enough it felt much wider and longer than its actual dimensions.

Over the next three weeks I rode this board a bunch of times in mostly knee to head high surf and found that it performed somewhere between a hybrid fish (like a Lost RNF type board) and a wider outline small wave shortboard (like a Lost Stealth) but leaned a bit on the fish side because of its flat rocker and wider outline.

I also tried the board as a quad (Stretch SF4) and three fin setup (standard 450 Future thruster fins) and found that on walled up waves, the quad hauled ass and generated tons of speed but turning felt very tight…probably more likely due to the fins than the board as those Stretch fins have a lot of area. The thruster setup rode pretty solid, consistent, and predictable. As a thruster, you could surf this board semi-vertically in the pocket and race down the line with enough speed to wrap around a cutback on the fat section of the wave.

The thing I really like about Firewire boards is that their boards feel really alive and responsive under your feet. I couldn’t tell if I generated more speed out of turns because of the Direct Drive suspension system, but the  Firewire boards I’ve tried all seem to go pretty fast. In my opinion, I think you can really feel the flex of the board when you lay a hard turn on rail.

I think Firewire’s suspension technology is pretty awesome, though their own shapes are lacking. The Spitfire board rode ok but it wasn’t anywhere close to some of the other boards I ride on a daily basis. I think if you’re considering buying a Firewire, you should buy a Lost model as Matt Biolos shapes are way better than what Firewire produces in house.

Dimensions: 5′6 x 19″ 3/4 x 2 3/8″
Rider Height/Weight: 5’5 140 lbs

The Back 2 the Future Mod is one of Kent’s latest design tweaks. Basically he widened the outline of his trusty Back 2 the Future model, increased nose area, used a Rocket fish tail width, and added a fang tail. This board featured thruster/quad FCS fin setup and EPS foam.

I rode this board in mush burgery town waves to get a feel at how well it groveled and tried in in both a three and four fin configuration. I found that the quad setup worked best which gave the board plenty of speed and a looser tail for those gutless waves. Front fins consisted of M5’s and rear fins GX’s. At first I tried single foiled GX rear fins which gave the board a stiffer feel with more hold and then on a whim I swapped them out for GX double foiled fins. On my first wave the board instantly was much looser and quicker in transitions on smaller/weaker waves. I guess the wider tail requires looser feeling fins because of all the area back there.

This board was ridden in knee high to head high town waves. The EPS worked best on lined-up waves with clean conditions. I noticed I could feel all the bumps in the wave during a session with slightly onshore conditions. The extreme lightness of the EPS foam made windy conditions a bit more challenging as it seems like the board didn’t want to get down the face. I think a slightly heavier EPS board with heavier cloth would help with this or possibly use traditional PU foam. The EPS foam does float better than a normal poly board and I’d prefer a slightly heavier EPS board than going back to PU.

Give Kent a call or email him to talk about your next custom shaped surfboard. For contact information visit www.toresurfboards.com