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.