Dimensions: 5’6 x 19.25″ x 2.25″

The other week I tried a 5’6 T&C T1 shortboard shaped by Glenn Pang. The T1 also known as the “Travler” is a copy of Dane Reynold’s Channel Islands Dumpster Diver…basically a wide and short shortboard with flatter rocker and single concave. I’ve seen a bunch of guys riding these boards out in the lineups and the board looked like it worked pretty well.

Unfortunately the one I tried didn’t have the same responsiveness…the board felt dead and slow. I couldn’t figure out if the problem was caused by the fins or the board itself. The waves were decent the day I tried the board…around chest-head high that particular day which leads me to believe it wasn’t the waves. The board is a pretty high performance looking shape and I wanted to pump it aggressively up and down the face but the board lagged and felt like it was suctioning on the wave face. I tried hard to get it to respond but it was nearly impossible to get the board to do anything…what a bummer.

I had written this board off as a dud but tried another T1, this one slightly narrower around 18.75″ wide. It would be a true test as the waves this particular day were pretty soft and small…around waist high with marginal shape. Surprisingly this board felt alive and rode like a performance small wave shortboard. The flat entry rocker and extra width help the board paddle into waves early and get around flat sections…the board won’t get around flat spots like a true wide nosed fish but will make it much easier than your typical performance shortboard in small/weak waves.

This board excels in knee to head high surf and sloppier wave faces but you can push it in overhead waves. I think the board I first tried was a dud and everyone else I’ve talked to really likes their T1.