I was lucky to score a new Firewire Baked Potato surfboard for my birthday. It's an epoxy 5'9" flattish rocker and WIDE. Have been riding it for a couple of months as a small wave board and is a really fun board, super early take off and so fast.
I reckon this board would be good as a light wind cruiser. 8-14kts range minimal chop in flat water. I'm concerned about the durability of the board and was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this?

They look like a fun board, the pro's definitely rip on them!
Never seen a Firewire kited on, I wouldn't think they would be any worse than your average performance surfboard durability wise.
Would be good to hear how it goes if you choose to end up kiting on it.

I didn't know that Firewire have a kite range on boards. There is a forum there with a few people already sussing this out.
The Hellfire would be a good board. They use a different deckskin and instead of carbon rods they have balsa rails.
I think just for cruising the white rapidfire construction on the Potato should hold up but for anymore than that you need stronger core and deck.

I've also got a Chilli sb which has been reinforced with an extra layer of 4oz on the top deck. Used once for kiting and has no heel dents in it yet. Wonder if it's worth reinforcing the Firewire.

My understanding of the firewire SB construction and early KB construction is that the issues they had were with delamination of the deck skins rather than denting etc. when used for kiting

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blueprint said...
My understanding of the firewire SB construction and early KB construction is that the issues they had were with delamination of the deck skins rather than denting etc. when used for kiting

Apparently sorted out last year. Im keen on the hellfire 5'6 for the mush i normally ride..

^^ believe you are correct in regards the boards with the kite construction but don't know if this is true of the surf construction when used for kiteboarding. I have always like the look of the Hellfire as well just wish they'd make it in a 6'0"

Dominator looks like the big kids weapon of choice.

Anyone compare the range of kite specific boards?

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blueprint said...
^^ believe you are correct in regards the boards with the kite construction but don't know if this is true of the surf construction when used for kiteboarding. I have always like the look of the Hellfire as well just wish they'd make it in a 6'0"

Do you need a 6'0"? A lot of the boards now are meant to be ridden a lot shorter. The BP I got is 5'9" and it is a dead set boat. I could go down to a 5'5" at least in that board. I'm 80kgs and an average surfer.
For kiting only I could get away with the 5'6" but the 5'10" would make a great travel board to surf on as well.

In a Hellfire yep I'd say I do, in BP then yeah I could go smaller but hellfire doesn't have as much volume, has more rocker and is narrower. I should say also I read somewhere recently that they are adding to the kite range, couple of bigger boards, a LW board and a few other bits if memory serves

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Nuking said...

blueprint said...
^^ believe you are correct in regards the boards with the kite construction but don't know if this is true of the surf construction when used for kiteboarding. I have always like the look of the Hellfire as well just wish they'd make it in a 6'0"

Do you need a 6'0"? A lot of the boards now are meant to be ridden a lot shorter. The BP I got is 5'9" and it is a dead set boat. I could go down to a 5'5" at least in that board. I'm 80kgs and an average surfer.
For kiting only I could get away with the 5'6" but the 5'10" would make a great travel board to surf on as well.

I tend to agree with Nuking, be a little careful with the length and volume of these boards and look at the thickness and area in the tail as well.
I was 85kg when I had a go at surfing a mates Dominator 6'0" (I am aware the Hellfire is less volume.) Anyway I hated it, it was easy to paddle in but it was so thick in the tail that I struggled to dig a rail in to make it turn, it was near impossible on my backhand. So I had to ride it flat and do 'skatey' turns which I found boring and it didnt perform when the waves got bigger and steeper. If had kited with it, it would have been a good light wind option.
It will also depends on your height, weight and skill level but try and demo one. I have found it isnt just the volume that effects these boards, it depends where the thickness, width and volume is distributed that can make the board perform quite different for a similar buoyancy

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Flying High said...

Nuking said...

blueprint said...
^^ believe you are correct in regards the boards with the kite construction but don't know if this is true of the surf construction when used for kiteboarding. I have always like the look of the Hellfire as well just wish they'd make it in a 6'0"

Do you need a 6'0"? A lot of the boards now are meant to be ridden a lot shorter. The BP I got is 5'9" and it is a dead set boat. I could go down to a 5'5" at least in that board. I'm 80kgs and an average surfer.
For kiting only I could get away with the 5'6" but the 5'10" would make a great travel board to surf on as well.

I tend to agree with Nuking, be a little careful with the length and volume of these boards and look at the thickness and area in the tail as well.
I was 85kg when I had a go at surfing a mates Dominator 6'0" (I am aware the Hellfire is less volume.) Anyway I hated it, it was easy to paddle in but it was so thick in the tail that I struggled to dig a rail in to make it turn, it was near impossible on my backhand. So I had to ride it flat and do 'skatey' turns which I found boring and it didnt perform when the waves got bigger and steeper. If had kited with it, it would have been a good light wind option.
It will also depends on your height, weight and skill level but try and demo one. I have found it isnt just the volume that effects these boards, it depends where the thickness, width and volume is distributed that can make the board perform quite different for a similar buoyancy

Yeah That'd be great when I'm 85kg's but I'm 6'1" tall and 100kg's. I currently have a brand new riden once board of similar construction to the Hellfire that's 5'11"x19"....I'm not into it and I'm pretty damn sure that's a big piece of that is because it just too small. My standard everyday is a 6'1" Rawson Skate which I like, the lesson I have learned is that for me anything under 6' needs to be +20" wide or it's just not happening, and I'd rather keep a little less width and extra length for the longer rail line. The rocker is also a huge factor (again the Hellfire has more than Dom or BP, which are both incredibly flat through the tail) My opinion but that's what I like, hence I'd love to see a 6'0" Hellfire but then I hate Futures too so I'm stuffed anyway.

New stick thanks to Nathan from SurfnKite and Firewire - the Hellfire 5'6

Solid design, sweet dbl concave so it gets moving easy as and still digs the powered turns, comes with vector 2 437 quads and is only 24.5L. Was gonna throw thruster setup on for 80kg of pies from 18kts and up on a 9m, but think it'll leave it as is. Weights 4kgs with grip, and balance point is just behind front foot. Can't fault the board yet in the few hours ive had on it so far in mushy easterly swell conditions.

I think nathans still got some in stock right now so give him a call on 0402 332 777 if ur keen for one.

Stoked as here

˄Nice board! Not sure why your copping the reds....maybe it's to do with the leash.

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Nuking said...
˄Nice board! Not sure why your copping the reds....maybe it's to do with the leash.

Leash,colour choice of grip, futures, grass length ,lack of decals,or pimping? Endless choices to thumb,either way Ive got the stoke

A nice new board is reason enough for me to green thumb. Hope you enjoy your new board!

I'm just a newbie at kite surfing but I'm a bit of an expert on FireWire surfboards for surfing as I love the boards and have a bit of an addiction. I have a 5'5 baked potato, 5'8 spitfire, 6'0 hellfire, 6'1 Hellrazor, 6'3 Hellrazor, 6'8 alternator. I'm 80 kg and I tend to surf a volume range that I think is right for me, about 31 to 32 liters (alternator is older before I figured this out and BP is more volume for grovel days).
So far I have kited the
Alternator 6'8, good for light wind obviously and I use it more because I'm learning and I don't care so much if I damage it.
Hellfire 6'0, goes good but only used when I was very early in the learning so need to try again to know.
Baked potato 5'5, only tried once in very light wind and didn't go so good but kite was falling out the sky so can't really judge. My impression was that the bigger, longer 6'8 would have been better.

All these boards are the FireWire surf boards, not the beefed up heavier kiting versions. FireWire surfboards are stronger than the regular pu boards, especially the fst balsa rail ones. The baked potato pictured above is the rapidfire construction, which is weaker (I broke one once) but still stronger than most surfboards.

Ive got a Firewire Sweet potato and have kited on it. Its the FST construction. Its good for light wind though pretty doggy for turning etc. Its a bit of fun in light wind that I couldnt normally get out in.

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Nuking said...
˄Nice board! Not sure why your copping the reds....maybe it's to do with the leash.

Maybe because he has put his tail pad in the 'kook position' way too far off of the tail, you want your rear grip as far back as possible without interfering with your leash plug.....

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Paul1 said...

Nuking said...
˄Nice board! Not sure why your copping the reds....maybe it's to do with the leash.

Maybe because he has put his tail pad in the 'kook position' way too far off of the tail, you want your rear grip as far back as possible without interfering with your leash plug.....

Snaps are fine with where the rear pad is now, which is slightly behind the strap lugs,and the front pad is about an inch in front of the front strap holes as strapped up she bounced a tad.

Know what u mean tho. Call me grasshopper,but thats what the boards like.

Yew, the firewire boards are sick, just got myself a 5'6 Hellfire and a Taj to add to the quiver...
they work and come in a fullrange of sizes...
check out www.firewire.com
look up kiteboards its on the top left...
Alternately if you want to demo one of the following
and your in Qld on the Sunny Coast or Gold Coast
shoot me a call Nat Katterns 0402332777
See you in the waves...

I kitesurfed on a 5'8'' dominator FS for a while. It was not the kite version, and could not handle the kiting. It's a sick board, but after a few months I had about 5 repairs done on the deck. It gets ugly, and once a repair is made the deck tends to crack really easy on the edges of the repair. One thing I did not like about it is that it tended to break out/slide on high speed turns (both as quad and thruster).

So I can tell you first hand that the deck of normal firewire surfboards is not strong enough for kiting. I like doing small jumps, which does not help.


Then I got the kite version of the 5'6'' hellfire, which works really well and is way stronger> It's also heavier but that doesnt bother me. I have been abusing it for half a year now, taking it out 3-4 times a week, and there are no signs of damage or even hairline cracks on the deck. (It got dinged from crashing my harness onto it but that's normal I'd say)

The only weak point of the firewire kiteboards seems to be the nose. It's very thin and on my board it cracked near the rail from being crashed onto the beach by the shorebreak after losing it. I ended up putting an extra layer of 4' glass on the top 30cm of the board and that seems to hold.

From talking to other guys on the beach and seeing other firewires with fixed up noses it seems to be a common problem. Firewire should probably beef up the noses a bit.

Bottom line: Firewire makes awesome boards but get the heavy duty kiting version of the boards if you want to kitesurf.

I also ride my Hellfire without my kite. It's pretty heavy but works just fine. It's a good option if you want to minimise your quiver.

good luck to u all!
my (kite specific hellfire) snapped directly in half straight through the stringers on a slightly off snap off the lip that ended with me almost landing it. then two weeks later my taj surf board (not kite specific) snapped clean in half in kalbarri during a wipeout straight through the stringers. response from firewire was "bad luck"..

lesson learn't - stay the hell away from firewire.
my heavy glassed boards last longer then that rapidfire/flexfire tech u pay twice the coin for! both boards saw less than a handfull of sessions

Theres a video floating around on YouTube by someone called "angry surfer" or something that shows a firewire board broke in half on what the guy claims was just a duck dive. The guy doesn't really seem like a surfer either, sit he most likely wasn't charging on it or anything. I've never heard of any delam problems though.

Nuking: Here are my thoughts. I have the 5'11" version with the bamboo decking in rapid fire.

Durability is non-existent, in fact I'd have to say that it's quite pathetic. I took mine to TOS on the Gold Coast on a two foot day and managed to totally annihilate the board.

I came off awkwardly on a wave and whilst being rolled around in the wash I must have hit the rails a few times with my shins. Another wave resulted in a corked calf which I can only assume came from hitting the rail.

The Damage: Everywhere I impacted the board on the rail ended up cracking and delaminating away from the foam. I'm disappointed in the overall strength of the construction, had I done the same thing on one of my other epoxy boards, my shins would have come off second best. In my opinion you really have to baby these boards otherwise they wont last. I'll try and get some pictures up when I clean up the board so I can show you the damage.

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maximumboost said...
Nuking: Here are my thoughts. I have the 5'11" version with the bamboo decking in rapid fire.

Durability is non-existent, in fact I'd have to say that it's quite pathetic. I took mine to TOS on the Gold Coast on a two foot day and managed to totally annihilate the board.

I came off awkwardly on a wave and whilst being rolled around in the wash I must have hit the rails a few times with my shins. Another wave resulted in a corked calf which I can only assume came from hitting the rail.

The Damage: Everywhere I impacted the board on the rail ended up cracking and delaminating away from the foam. I'm disappointed in the overall strength of the construction, had I done the same thing on one of my other epoxy boards, my shins would have come off second best. In my opinion you really have to baby these boards otherwise they wont last. I'll try and get some pictures up when I clean up the board so I can show you the damage.

Ditch the RF and go FST boards from firewire. Solid as construction imo

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Abesy said..

good luck to u all!
my (kite specific hellfire) snapped directly in half straight through the stringers on a slightly off snap off the lip that ended with me almost landing it. then two weeks later my taj surf board (not kite specific) snapped clean in half in kalbarri during a wipeout straight through the stringers. response from firewire was "bad luck"..

lesson learn't - stay the hell away from firewire.
my heavy glassed boards last longer then that rapidfire/flexfire tech u pay twice the coin for! both boards saw less than a handfull of sessions

This is similar to many stories I've heard around here from surfers as well.

p.s. Maybe we should start a new brand? Lets call it Solomon S-Core sounds pretty cool no?... .

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sir ROWDY said..

Abesy said..

good luck to u all!
my (kite specific hellfire) snapped directly in half straight through the stringers on a slightly off snap off the lip that ended with me almost landing it. then two weeks later my taj surf board (not kite specific) snapped clean in half in kalbarri during a wipeout straight through the stringers. response from firewire was "bad luck"..

lesson learn't - stay the hell away from firewire.
my heavy glassed boards last longer then that rapidfire/flexfire tech u pay twice the coin for! both boards saw less than a handfull of sessions

This is similar to many stories I've heard around here from surfers as well.

p.s. Maybe we should start a new brand? Lets call it Solomon S-Core sounds pretty cool no?... .

Salomon S-Core sounds better imo but whenever I hear the word "Salomon" I think of euros

^ hahaha, yeah sorry small Typo... You get the drift though.

I have a Salomon S-Core board I surf on.. Am really hesitant to Kite with it... Will it snap??

These board are sick to surf!! Don't really ant to risk for kiting.. Has anybody kited with the S-Cores??

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RosieKB said..

... Will it snap??

Unless you're very light footed, almost certainly. There's not much inside the ones I've seen. I reckon one decent jump would do it

The very first batch of Firewire kite boards were magic, sick sticks. Unfortunately the construction wasn't up to scratch and most of them delamed at the heels. They were really flexy and had that alive feeling you get from a really good surfboard. Firewire improved the construction strength in following years, but the boards weren't as good as the first ones - still good though.