Hey guys just chasing some ideas/ opinions for a new board for perth/serects beachies , just curious as to what models people are riding and enjoying as I'm not to up to date with all the new boards out there and I know some of you are much more in tune with these things , been thinking of a puddle jumper but not to sure how they go when the waves turn on a bit , look foward to some ideas cheers guys

Yahoo Kelvinator. Surf mine from waist high to double overhead.

Puddle Jumpers suck - slow and dodgy turning. Had mine for two weeks and five surfs. Was frightening in head waves.

i am 6'2".

Tried a Webber Gutter Lover too for those sort of waves. Sucked. No drive to connect sections, but at least went on rail better than the puddle jumper.

Thanks for the reply mate that's a bit disappointing I picked up a puddle jumper the other day in a shop ,
really liked the feel of it , I'm a big fan of getting a bit of drive out of a board how does the kelvinator really handle once it's over head ,does it skip out at all ? and how many litres is yours ? I'm 6'3 too,cheers mate

Have not surfed the Kelvinator but have a mate down south who rates it and he surfs almost every condition and loves it. They have a bit of a cult following - appears to be a freak of a design that works and the Yahoo guys make a solid board.

Cheers souwester yeah I've now googled the kelvinator to be honest they look interesting but not the sort of surfboard id normal go for , probably should of been a bit more specific, not really interested in any twin fin / retro type of boards probably more of a all rounder type of board ....if that helps !

Kelvinator would be good at say Mandurah reefbreaks but not suited to closeout beachies like secrets or scabs

I ride a Baked Potato copy in most Perth waves until it is consistently head high or the waves are super good. Catch loads of waves and it performs in a super fun way. I have a PuddleFish copy on the way, I watched a guy on one in Bali on waves I wished I had taken my BP over for. If you are thinking Puddle Jumper maybe think Puddle Fish or even Puddle Jumper HP






PS I use Quad Keels in these fat arsed boards, provide heaps of drive.

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mocha1 said..
I ride a Baked Potato copy in most Perth waves until it is consistently head high or the waves are super good. Catch loads of waves and it performs in a super fun way. I have a PuddleFish copy on the way, I watched a guy on one in Bali on waves I wished I had taken my BP over for. If you are thinking Puddle Jumper maybe think Puddle Fish or even Puddle Jumper HP






PS I use Quad Keels in these fat arsed boards, provide heaps of drive.

Such an ugly board under the arm. So much fun in the water.

Yeah that's the one i was looking at the puddle jumper hp , anyone ever had a crack on a uber driver xl ? Looks like it could be a good allrounder ?? Hey mocha who makes the copys for you ? They look pretty good

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norty said..
Yeah that's the one i was looking at the puddle jumper hp , anyone ever had a crack on a uber driver xl ? Looks like it could be a good allrounder ?? Hey mocha who makes the copys for you ? They look pretty good

Perko Shape ( Facebook Page) he is in QLD
$399 base price for epoxy board....usually $100ish to ship to Perth.
That one in the photo cost $500 all up inc freight
New one " Puddle Fish" inspired is $450 all up

I also loved Lost V3.... had two of them, good in small stuff, great in good waves and hang in there up to double head ( face)

Hey Norty - I've got an Uber Driver XL and love it. Super easy to ride off the bat, very user friendly with its width but still has some good bite with it's fairly low rails. I bought it as a board to cover both grovelling and everyday surfing - I've got a rounded pin for the SW..If I could afford it I'd sell the UDXL, get a fish and something like a JS Monstabox but it works well enough to cover small/medium surf.
ive surfed the UDXL in solid 5ft and is became a little unstuck and squirrelly when trying to put it on a rail. Nose rocker is minimal so it's a little tricky in super sucky waves also.
I bought the 5'10 uber driver but it was too small for me in 2-3ft sloppy Metro, then the XL came out so I swapped for the same size 5'10" and defo can recommend!
Im 6'1" and 84kg btw - let us know if you want to know more..

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norty said..
Thanks for the reply mate that's a bit disappointing I picked up a puddle jumper the other day in a shop ,
really liked the feel of it , I'm a big fan of getting a bit of drive out of a board how does the kelvinator really handle once it's over head ,does it skip out at all ? and how many litres is yours ? I'm 6'3 too,cheers mate

The Kelvinator never skips out. I regularly surf mine in 6' waves. Mine is 47 litres. I can do vertical snaps on it no worries at all. It really doesn't surf how it looks (at least to my eye - I thought it looked like a dog then I got talked into tryjng one of Yahoos demos and bought on three surfs later).

I read your other post. They really aren't a "twin fin/retro thing". I get they look ugly, but they are really popular because they work really well.

But I also understand the marketing machine of companies like Lost.

my experience of the Puddle Jumper is it has very little drive and just swings around in the pocket with no projection. Then when it gets up around head high it starts sliding out. I hated it so much I didn't persevere. I tried a couple of fin set ups and it didn't work for me.

I also have a mate in Albany which has similar beaches to Perth and he loves his Kelvinator.To quote an SMS from a few days ago, "Had a great session on it...love the speed."

Anyway, there's no perfect board for everyone otherwise we would all be on the same board. Buy what you like the look of and move it on quick if it's not working.

My Puddle Jumper sold one two days because they are popular.

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Phil27 said..
Hey Norty - I've got an Uber Driver XL and love it. Super easy to ride off the bat, very user friendly with its width but still has some good bite with it's fairly low rails. I bought it as a board to cover both grovelling and everyday surfing - I've got a rounded pin for the SW..If I could afford it I'd sell the UDXL, get a fish and something like a JS Monstabox but it works well enough to cover small/medium surf.
ive surfed the UDXL in solid 5ft and is became a little unstuck and squirrelly when trying to put it on a rail. Nose rocker is minimal so it's a little tricky in super sucky waves also.
I bought the 5'10 uber driver but it was too small for me in 2-3ft sloppy Metro, then the XL came out so I swapped for the same size 5'10" and defo can recommend!
Im 6'1" and 84kg btw - let us know if you want to know more..

Cheers for the feedback mate its all very welcome pretty interesting hearing everyone's thoughts on boards that there riding, guess I'm just trying to find something that like you have mentioned covers a grovel and when it gets half decent surf still performs ,think I'll have a closer look at them

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Phil27 said..
Hey Norty - I've got an Uber Driver XL and love it. Super easy to ride off the bat, very user friendly with its width but still has some good bite with it's fairly low rails. I bought it as a board to cover both grovelling and everyday surfing - I've got a rounded pin for the SW..If I could afford it I'd sell the UDXL, get a fish and something like a JS Monstabox but it works well enough to cover small/medium surf.
ive surfed the UDXL in solid 5ft and is became a little unstuck and squirrelly when trying to put it on a rail. Nose rocker is minimal so it's a little tricky in super sucky waves also.
I bought the 5'10 uber driver but it was too small for me in 2-3ft sloppy Metro, then the XL came out so I swapped for the same size 5'10" and defo can recommend!
Im 6'1" and 84kg btw - let us know if you want to know more..

Cheers for the feedback mate its all very welcome pretty interesting hearing everyone's thoughts on boards that there riding, guess I'm just trying to find something that like you have mentioned covers a grovel and when it gets half decent surf still performs ,think I'll have a closer look at them

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thedrip said..

norty said..
Thanks for the reply mate that's a bit disappointing I picked up a puddle jumper the other day in a shop ,
really liked the feel of it , I'm a big fan of getting a bit of drive out of a board how does the kelvinator really handle once it's over head ,does it skip out at all ? and how many litres is yours ? I'm 6'3 too,cheers mate

The Kelvinator never skips out. I regularly surf mine in 6' waves. Mine is 47 litres. I can do vertical snaps on it no worries at all. It really doesn't surf how it looks (at least to my eye - I thought it looked like a dog then I got talked into tryjng one of Yahoos demos and bought on three surfs later).

I read your other post. They really aren't a "twin fin/retro thing". I get they look ugly, but they are really popular because they work really well.

But I also understand the marketing machine of companies like Lost.

my experience of the Puddle Jumper is it has very little drive and just swings around in the pocket with no projection. Then when it gets up around head high it starts sliding out. I hated it so much I didn't persevere. I tried a couple of fin set ups and it didn't work for me.

I also have a mate in Albany which has similar beaches to Perth and he loves his Kelvinator.To quote an SMS from a few days ago, "Had a great session on it...love the speed."

Anyway, there's no perfect board for everyone otherwise we would all be on the same board. Buy what you like the look of and move it on quick if it's not working.

My Puddle Jumper sold one two days because they are popular.

Thanks also for your feedback drip , its much appreciated , fully get what your saying about finding the perfect board ,ive been riding CW's for 25 years now and feel its time to spice things up and try something else , don't get wrong he makes a bloody good board i just dont pay to much attention to all the new boards /models out there , and its awesome receiving some feedback from you guys , i wish i had enough spare cash to buy and try all the different boards out there but like every one else i don't , so couple of recommendations and experiences from others is just as good gives me something to go off , feel free to keep the ideas coming guys !

I am in the same boat as you Norty, would love to have a wide ranging, rotating quiver as I feel whilst there are boards that cater for a range of conditions you are always giving something up asking a board to deal with more conditions.

Further to this, have you checked in with CW to see what they can offer, he used to have boards that suited secrets pretty wired.

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Souwester said..
Further to this, have you checked in with CW to see what they can offer, he used to have boards that suited secrets pretty wired.

I've got a 6'1 CW nomad that goes great as a quad in waist high and up Perth and Smallish down south (haven't surfed anything bigger than head and a bit on it though).

Yeah i do have a couple of different CW models that do go great in beachies, was just thinking might be time to have a change of shaper and try something different ,mix it up a bit

Can anyone report on Firewire potatonator ? How the go ?

Have ridden. Once. In sh!te conditons.
Sorry, van't comment.

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norty said..
Can anyone report on Firewire potatonator ? How the go ?

I havn't ridden one but I rented a Dominator in Thailand, its based on the Dominator. Or that is how it was marketted. Everything was modelled off the Dom, Hellfire, Spitfire, Potatonator ....its a wide board with not much rocker. Designed for small waves but will handle bigger if the waves are fat provided you nurse turns at speed.

If your looking for something with higher volume but some performance in smaller waves, check out the Spitfire. They have a stepdown rail. More boards should have a stepdown rail imo

The Hellfire was one of the best boards I've ever owned, wish they still made them

Cheers for the replys fellas, i might have to have a look at them thanks Mick ,so many bloody options out there !

This is very subjective dependent on age, weight, skill and the style of board you want.
I have tried a lot of boards over the last five years trying to get a 'go to' short board with some volume for fast beachies.
I am also past it in someways and have a standup and mal but I haven't lost the desire to ride a short board. (Late fifties, 80 Kg, two shoulder ops and could be fitter.)
I have tried everything from Beach Buggy, V3, Uber Driver, Phantom, Black Diamond, Sweet Spot, 3DX, FW Cymatic and Seaside. (All about 35 litres give or take, 34 Lt epoxy and 35-36 PU)
Of those listed I still have the Seaside (great fish, it is fast and will hold as it sucks, a bit hard to paddle in on the fast beachies. I tend to get hung up as the wave starts to suck due to all that volume in the nose and my lack of paddle power)
I was about to buy Puddle Jumper HP and was talked into a Lost Rad Ripper, as the sales rep had one and offered me his board to demo.
It is designed on an 80's shape, just modernised. I have to say I wasn't keen on the the shape, it looked to have too much surface area in the tail to hold in, but it works. It doesn't fit the groveller type but definitley a daily driver, which can go O/H. I ride it as a quad on the beachies, there is good volume but it tends to be in the middle of the board rather than all the way out to the rails or through the tail. The rails and tail are quite refined for the overall size, which I think is the key. It doesn't get hung up and tends to pivot and push you down the wave, something that other modern boards with foam forward of centre (for easy paddling) don't do for me, so it is easier to drop in. I did have to paddle 1/2 - 1 inch further back because of this but that took only the first session to get used to. I have used it as a thruster on slower waves and it feels as good as my old Terry Fitzgerald Hot Buttered Thruster from the 80's, even looks a little bit like it maybe that's why I like it, something similar to what I learnt on.
(I have no affiliation with brands or shops and it has been an expensive but enjoyable journey)

Thanks for a awesome response FH ,much appreciated that rad ripper does look interesting, probably similar to the shape of the board i also learnt to surf on many moons ago , I'm definitely going to put that on my list to check out , been so good to hear peoples experiences and thoughts on what works and what hasn't for them its definitely been a big help in trying to decide on what to buy next ,cheers all

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thedrip said..
Yahoo Kelvinator. Surf mine from waist high to double overhead.

Puddle Jumpers suck - slow and dodgy turning. Had mine for two weeks and five surfs. Was frightening in head waves.

i am 6'2".

Tried a Webber Gutter Lover too for those sort of waves. Sucked. No drive to connect sections, but at least went on rail better than the puddle jumper.

Gotta disagree about the PJ being slow. I'm 6' - 107 kg and ride a 6'2", I've found it fast enough down the line and can make most sections with it, but yeah, it's very flat and through turns and not too good on anything over 4 foot..

Just out of curiosity chindog how many litres is your PJ ? Im 6'3 and 95kgs

Still on the search for a new stick has anyone got any reports on a No Brainer ? Curious as to how they go , cheers lads

I have just got hold of a McCoy Nugget, I like my shortboards quite big so went the 6'6 (47lt)

All reviews sound promising, looking forward to getting it wet and seeing how it goes.

Sounds good Souwester , let us know how it goes mate

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norty said..
Sounds good Souwester , let us know how it goes mate

I know its a big shorty but I tried a mates 6'10 McCoy Nugget this morning - woo hoo what a blast, the sweet spot on it is huge, paddles well and found it really lively without losing grip.

If you get a chance to demo one somehow I recommend it.