G'day,

Just bought the much hyped Hypto- on the advice of a mate who knows his surfing- i hadn't actually heard any of the hype before i bought it! I have been riding a 7"6' for the last couple of years and was looking for something easier to use and get out the back with, as well as a bit more versatile.
It moves great thru the water and a lot easier to duckdive and use.... except I can't catch a cold with the bloody thing.... would have had ten surfs on it.... can't generate speed to get on any waves, always feel like they are going straight past me... has been better the last couple of 'surfs' but I have to work bloody hard to get close to getting on a wave and then when i go stand up i lose all speed again!
Have tried varying my position on the board- it feels too far back so I edge forward- and the nose goes under straight away. My surfing ability is not great by any stretch, but I'll be stuffed as to what I'm doing wrong!

any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Too high performance too soon I would surmise.



I was gonna suggest moving forward, but since you've already tried that...

What size is the board, whats your weight & where are you surfing

If the waves passing under you I would suggest you are trying to stroke in from out the back. With shorter boards you need to sit under the lip more, be further inside. I have recently done the exact opposite and increased the length of my boards partly to get in earlier. Duck diving is non-existent though.

As far as drive down the line, shorter boards have less glide and you probably need to learn how to pump the board when moving in a straight line, or bend your legs and extend through turns. Short boards require more rider input. You need to work it from rail to rail.

Plus, I reckon the lack of drive is a bit of a thing with epoxy boards (at least in my experience).

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MickPC said..
What size is the board, whats your weight & where are you surfing

6 foot board, i'm about 78 kgs, surfing eastern beaches in sydney

1. Be closer to where the wave breaks. It's not like your big board where you can catch the wave early.

2. Make sure you are forward on the board. The board should be flat on the water when you are paddling.

Hi found the hypto very corky and we all know corks don't paddle well. It's very light too which doesn't help it gain momentum. It's not really a groveller board as well (footage of Ando riding it is usually in serious waves) so maybe your using it in the wrong conditions?
Too me it sounds like you bought the wrong board

so glad i bought a CI Average Joe over a Hypto. Sounds like you are similar to me in surfing ability, but i find the Joe so easy to get onto waves.
Agree but, got to be up front nose on nose and in the right spot paddling in, these boards arent longboards!
There are plenty of hyptos along trigg tho and the riders ripping.

I'm 80kg & have had a go on a friends 5'8 HK in head height fattish waves. Other than it feeling weird coz it was so short, I found the board caught waves easily. The 6'0 has heaps of volume, so if you can duck dive that your laughing...peeps have given you good advice, you just need more practice reading the ocean & getting a feel for your board. Forward/back weight distribution is going to feel touchy after you've been riding a 7'6 & until you get that sussed your not going to be able to plane along smoothly & generate speed.

Agree with MickPC. Im 90kg and surf 5'10 Hypto. It paddles well and I catch heaps more waves than on my 6'4 short board.

When I am paddling the Hypto the top of my head is in line with the top of the board, which looks and feels weird. You need to be really really far forward to catch waves.

My guess is that you are not far enough forward on your board.

You might want to pay closer attention to your paddling technique as well.
Especially when paddling for a wave.
Keep your chin low and your feet together and paddle like your life depends on it.
You see so many people with their head fully raised which transfers their weight back, not forward with the momentum of the wave.

I had a hypto.
My greatest memory of it was the day I sold it for $50 less then i paid for it after probably 5-6 ****ty surfs on it.

Not saying its a **** board. But it didn't agree with me after getting sucked into the hype. Felt like surfing a small PU dingy.

My advice to anyone who is thinking about buying one. Go shorther than you think you should.

^^^ ha ha gold had exactly the same experience

Miltonb,
i bought the Shred Sled . I would say I am a competent surfer, but this board had me worried . Every thing you mentioned I your post I had .
i surfed it at home in Margaret River , took it to Bali ........it had to go . Check my Seabreeze history SOLD ..goodbye .

I would sell it and go see your local shaper tell him where your at and get something that works properly for you

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expatruds said..
Miltonb,
i bought the Shred Sled . I would say I am a competent surfer, but this board had me worried . Every thing you mentioned I your post I had .
i surfed it at home in Margaret River , took it to Bali ........it had to go . Check my Seabreeze history SOLD ..goodbye .

I rode a 5'8 SS and liked it. Plenty of people like their hyptos too. It seems the larger sizes is where people dislike the Hayden boards. Perhaps they are made for skinny lightweights. Isn't Ando like 63kgs or something? Or perhaps they are made to be ridden in lower volumes, similar to high performance shapes.

Warning warning warning. GRATUITOUS KATANA PLUG

mate if you want a Hypto like board , that from what I can tell, get a SCUD from Katana.
similar shape minus the complaints ya hear about hyptos

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mocha1 said..
Warning warning warning. GRATUITOUS KATANA PLUG

mate if you want a Hypto like board , that from what I can tell, get a SCUD from Katana.
similar shape minus the complaints ya hear about hyptos

Yahoo also do a similar shape. Its not on their website, but Oggie told me he has done a bunch for people who don't mesh with epoxy boards, yet like the shape.

^ both great WA shapers. Skud is my number 1 board right now.

Everyone craps on about buying from your local shaper
But would it be frowned upon if Hayden Cox is your local shaper
And if I was interested in his designs.
Probably

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TimKay said...
Everyone craps on about buying from your local shaper
But would it be frowned upon if Hayden Cox is your local shaper
And if I was interested in his designs.
Probably

Well from what I have heard, the pop out boards are not the same as a hand finished board. That's the reason a lot of shapers who have licenced their shapes to GSI have withdrawn that licence. Those subtle 1/4" and 1/8" variations in concaves and rails do make a big difference. Al Bean, who owns a shaping machine, still spends and 1 1/2-2hrs on each blank and he does 50% more passes of the machine for his own boards than other shapers.

So I reckon Hayden would do a better version of his own shapes than GSI mass produce. That's not to say mass produced boards are utter rubbish - one of my present go to boards is from TheSurfboardWarehouse - but that local shapers know local conditions, respond to feedback, and can add that polish to a shape that you want but aren't quite clicking with.

Plus you get to choose the art, sticker placement etc

So much $$$ goes into marketing these boards. The reality is for 90% of us that what we ride we adapt to anyway, it's only large changes to a board which we'll really notice. Take the examples of guys ripping on foamies, or that guy in Bali riding the donger&balls shape.

If you sell boards in 72 countries (like HS) it becomes all about turn-over and margins.

- How do you increase turn-over? A good marketing team.
- How do you increase margins? Make them in Thailand.

There is one benefit to these boards - Resale - thanks to the marketing department.

I see where your coming from, but to discard every other tech and shaper in the world is a bit narrow minded
To me it's all about the shape, volume, rails, rocker and how it feels in the hands
Im also interested in different techs, shapers, shapes
Which is why I think the boards made abroad have something to offer
If you get the right elements together and it clicks for you does it matter that it's mass produced
I still order the odd custom and i still get excited by a freshy but which ever way you go your taking a calculated risk. Either you put your trust in a shaper or you put in some research and grab one off the rack.
If you know your surfing well enough I think you can nail down a magic board straight of the racks at your local surfshop regardless of where it comes from or its materials.
For the record I don't own a Hypto

Hey like I said earlier in this thread, I have surfed a 5'8 SS and it was a great board.

The best thing about big brand boards is that you can try many and resell easily.

I reckon it's a shame though. We used to see ads in surf mags if we were lucky enough to get a copy. Now kids are online and although YouTube, Instagram, etc provide content, the real objective is marketing and selling a product. So the kids want what Ando is riding and lap up the hype. Many don't even know about the local guy.

So if Hayden is the local guy do we blow him off because he is now big brand

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MickPC said..
I'm 80kg & have had a go on a friends 5'8 HK in head height fattish waves. Other than it feeling weird coz it was so short, I found the board caught waves easily. The 6'0 has heaps of volume, so if you can duck dive that your laughing...peeps have given you good advice, you just need more practice reading the ocean & getting a feel for your board. Forward/back weight distribution is going to feel touchy after you've been riding a 7'6 & until you get that sussed your not going to be able to plane along smoothly & generate speed.

Thanks mate. There are a few new things to work on and a couple more that I need to get better at.

Thanks everyone!

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TimKay said..
Everyone craps on about buying from your local shaper
But would it be frowned upon if Hayden Cox is your local shaper
And if I was interested in his designs.
Probably

It's more about getting something built for exactly what you want and how you surf rather than getting something that's made for someone else that might work....its called a custom for a reason....

And if you can get something off the racks that is exactly what you want then you don't have to go custom.
Theres an argument for both.

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TimKay said...
And if you can get something off the racks that is exactly what you want then you don't have to go custom.
Theres an argument for both.

Something you think you want and something you need are two different things. I have bought two boards off the rack recently and one is sensational. Having said that, a shapers knowledge far exceeds my own, and telling a shaper what I want a board to do, what I currently like and don't like about a board, and letting him go from there very often results in a board different to what was in my head.

Of course, most people think they know exactly what's right for them so they buy off the rack. Funnily enough I surfed with a guy on a Hypto this morning and he was missing a heap of waves having them pass underneath him. My mate and I snaffled a bunch off him. Maybe he should have spoken to a shaper about what he needs rather than seeing exactly the shape he wants and buying off the rack.

I start every conversation with my shapers with "Don't listen to me, but here's what I am thinking...and here's what I want it to do...whatdya reckon?"

So what happens to your custom if you decide six months down the track that you don't like it
You move it on
You might put it in the racks of your local surfshop
Some random comes in picks it up, flicks it through the hands and maybe decides after much deliberation it's the board for them
They take it down for a surf and it could be the best board they have ridden (Or it could be a lemon)
Is that person suddenly wrong for buying your old board
If so, does every board that gets discarded have to be put in the rubbish?
I think with the ever expand surf population your going to get a great deal of newbies going for the latest and greatest and they would benefit from shaper knowledge
But if you know your surfing well enough and are honest with yourself, an experienced surfer can make good decisions on their craft.
That said, if you can afford it, some shapers are worth there weight in gold.
Will it be better than a rack board (keep in mind who makes the rack boards)
Maybe
Maybe not

The best shaper I know is happy to listen to you for an hour then completley disregard everything you have said and give you what you need....I reckon he has about a 98% hit rate.....experience surfing doesn't do much when you actually have to delve into the minutue of design, how many experineced surfers can tell you :

1. If they surf more of the front foot or more of the back
2. Where the rocker apex should be in relation to wide point
3. What effect does a close fin cluster have as opposed to a wide cluster
4. What effect does having a hard edge have on your surfing and the boards


......it takes a lifetime of shaping to get all the details dialled in...why pay $900 for something off the rack when for $750 you can tap into all that knowledge?