hi guys
i normally ride a longboard but i am looking for something a bit smaller and more mobile for when the surf is a bit better/bigger, was looking at maybe something like a sweet potato

i weigh in at 115kg and am 6'2 so i need something with a bit of volume

thanks in advance

Jarryd

G'day Jarryd,

I'm the same weight and 5'11". I ride a 7S SuperFish XL at 7'3" in epoxy as a quad. It's 53lt volume and paddles me well. I am 47yo and not as fit as I once was, although I still go OK. Whilst some will bag the GSI boards, this thing is fast and loose enough to be thrown around. It's my second SF - the other one was PU and also a good board.

Oh, and I normally surf fast beach breaks from about waist to a couple feet overhead (maybe an 8ft face).

Worth a look.

Haven't got one myself but looking at the Lost domesticated series for my next buy, like the look of the couch potato for myself as a small wave board but the lazytoy might be the go for you..check it out

http://www.lostsurfboards.net/surfboards/the-lazytoy/

In fact anything in the domesticated range looks a cracker, I reckon Lost have this area covered

Hey Jarryd,

I'm 6'4 and weigh 130kgs and I bought a CI Pod. It's 6'10 with plenty of foam and width and it's great. I ride a longboard too and I still find I can get plenty of waves on the Pod. It holds well on a decent swell, I've surfed it in Bali and it was perfect. I also have a 7S Superfish which is also great but not as responsive as the Pod.

Good luck mate,

Simon

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Jradedmondo said...
[br]hi guys
i normally ride a longboard but i am looking for something a bit smaller and more mobile for when the surf is a bit better/bigger, was looking at maybe something like a sweet potato

i weigh in at 115kg and am 6'2 so i need something with a bit of volume

thanks in advance

Jarryd

You answered it yourself...it's the second last word in your post "advance" by firewire. Volume of a longboard in a shortboard shape. Have seen Vance surfing one and he shreds on it.

You have a few options mate depending on what route you wanna take. I weigh in about the same although am a tad shorter.

Personally I would steer clear of the Addvance - I found it to be slow and bogged down constantly. Felt like I was always a step behind from where I needed to be on the wave!

For firewire I would look at the larger size Spitfire or Dominator. Both great boards with the Dom receiving rave reviews.

Another few options are:
Rusty Dwart in a larger length - 610 or so.
Hypto Krypto - they are available up to 7.
Local shaper - There are alot of great shapers in Aus.
Grant Miller makes great boards for bigger guys.
Katana in Perth have rave reviews however I have never been on one of his sticks.
Also Gary McNeil (previously Formula Energy) makes unreal boards and can easily cater for the bigger bloke - he is a bit more modern with his use of tech whilst Grant is old school.Both are great though.

Personally I would look at going the shaper route. Cant go past a local knowledge and hands on experience.

The Sweet Potato is for small waves, its super wide & has no rocker. The only way you'll turn it in overhead is if you have size 20 feet, but the lack of rocker will send you to the bottom before get to bottom turn anyway

I'd recommend a Katana Skud if you can get one over there or a Firewire Dominator 6'4 (6'6) or Firewire Hellfire 6'6 (6'8).

People seem to recommend Miller surfboards in Sydney...never ridden one but they do look nice and have high volume models.

I'm 107kg, I don't pay a huge amount of attention to the volume more the length and width and then look for a thickness that feels right under the arm and a nice rail. The issue with going off volume too much is that they just pump thickness into the board which can make the rails really thick.

I've started saving my pennies for a new shortboarders from this shaper www.psillakissurfboards.com.au

I had a look at the hypto from HS - it's really thick, great looking board but the thickness turned me off.

For the record I ride a 9'6"x23.5" SDR longboard, a home shaped 6'10"x21.5" shortboard - next shortboard may be a 6'8"

Crazy have a look at www.grantmillersurfboards.com.au/ Grants got a new model the SUBX which might interest you. Good bloke to deal with, great shaper. I'm 103kg & just ordered a 7'x23"x3" subx.

Mate is say the last thing you want is a sweet potato when the surf is big and good. Coming off a mal why not look at something like the mctavish carver 7foot? Or a traditional big guy shortboard like Byrne easy rider sort of shape. Others have suggested the pod it would be better than a potato because its got a skinnyer tail and a bit more rocker. Food for thought anyway

Have a look at the Bourton Fat Bullet. Muzz is a ripping bloke and will spend a good hour talking to you about what you want from a board. I believe a few of the boys on here have got him to hook them up in the past.

+ 1 to comments above. I have a Fat Bullet and it is an excellent choice for what you are after. Don't be put off by the nose design or the quad setup if you are used to 1 or 3 fins - it all works. My experience is limited to just overhead waves for this board but for me the bigger it has got up to that size the better this one goes. I tried a range of mid lengths in coming down from a 9 footer but for good waves the Fat Bullet does it for me. Murray did indeed talk my ear off but he knows his stuff and will be genuinely interested in getting you sorted.

The Donald Takayama Scorpion look like they might be a bit of fun but probably more for smaller waves.

www.surfboardsbydonaldtakayama.com/surfboards/shortboards/scorpion/

I had a Rusty Dwart for a while and liked it a lot (before it was nicked out of my garage). Packs loads of volume but again it's intended for smaller surf given that it has very flat rocker and fat, boxy rails. The Hypto Krypto is a similar shape but with a more of a pulled in tail. I haven't tried it.

As others have said, don't bother with the Firewire Sweet Potato unless you want a specialist short board for small mushy waves. I've had a go on one of these and they are perfect for mush but not intended for a lot else given that they are as flat as an ironing board.

I have a Firewire Spitfire now. It's certainly more capable in bigger surf than the Dwart but if you want something for over surf over head and a half then you may want a more pulled in tail while retaining plenty of volume under the chest area (the Spitfire has quite a wide tail). Saying that, it's the board I use the most when I am not on a long board.

Hi Jarryd

Do yourself a favour and check out the East coast surfboards ECS on ebay or there website and look for the FF2 model in 6,8 size and get an epoxy bamboo veneer one for about half the price of the firewire and hayden shapes boards .Im about the same size as you and its the best board Ive owned in my 20years of surfing .I was worried at first as there made in china but dont let that worry you they are really well built and go well in all conditions not like some of these more fishy designs.For around 500 if you ride it a couple of times and dont like it you can sell it to a newby on gumtree for more than you paid for it.The design is very similar to the firewire dominator

Jrad have a look over in longboaards under Miller subx, my newie.