Pyzel Ghost?

fishtank

Gerry Lopez status
Jun 20, 2010
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funny request, the ghost's rails are quite foiled for the thickness . have one at 2.56 and it feels about 2.4-44 on the mid rail, and really knifey through the tail. could have just asked them to take some foam off the rail. felt a phantom at 2.44 I would have to do the same on a custom order, it felt very chunky at that thickness.
 

bluengreen

Michael Peterson status
Oct 22, 2018
1,763
4,641
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SF x Encinitas
funny request, the ghost's rails are quite foiled for the thickness . have one at 2.56 and it feels about 2.4-44 on the mid rail, and really knifey through the tail. could have just asked them to take some foam off the rail. felt a phantom at 2.44 I would have to do the same on a custom order, it felt very chunky at that thickness.
That's not my experience. The stock Ghost doesn't have rails that are foiled enough for my taste, given the overall volume I want in the board.
 

Aruka

Tom Curren status
Feb 23, 2010
11,987
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PNW
My 2.5 Ghosts have way thinner rails than my 2.44 Phantom, FWIW.

Waves have finally been big enough to ride my 6'3" XTR Ghost again this fall. It never lets me down. DHD Large Fins.

If I break it I will order another at 2.6 thick.
 

Maz

Michael Peterson status
May 18, 2004
3,041
4,551
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Innzid
Yeah, I'm surprised about your rails, bluengreen. Every other Ghost I've seen or surfed has had very foiled rails.

But mine is 3 years old, and maybe the file/model has been tweaked slightly. Hence my questions to Jon.
 

daave

Gerry Lopez status
Dec 28, 2002
1,159
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Would recommend trying the boards as intended before tweaking. They don't necessarily surf how you might think.
 

surfysurfy1476

Nep status
Jan 27, 2018
907
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Would recommend trying the boards as intended before tweaking. They don't necessarily surf how you might think.
That's what I do with all pyzel boards now. Learned the lesson once. You trust his thickness and then tweak if needed after trying it for a season. My stock dims 6'5 ghost rails aren't super foiled out at all.
 
May 10, 2018
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At the same thickness the Ghost’s rails are a lot more foiled out than the Phantom’s rails.
I was checking them out last week and the phantom is chunky as compared to the ghost
 

feralseppo

Billy Hamilton status
Feb 28, 2006
1,469
1,125
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I have a custom Phantom. I was looking at both boards yesterday at a shop. In the mid-section of the board, the rails on both for the same thickness seem to be the same or there is not much of a difference I could tell. The tail section of the Ghost is significantly thinner or foiled if you like.
 

bluengreen

Michael Peterson status
Oct 22, 2018
1,763
4,641
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SF x Encinitas
Yeah, the mid rail (like where you hold a surfboard under your arm) is the part I want thinner on the Ghost. I must have a special Phantom. In my experience, it has a pretty fine rail for a board 2 5/8 thick. Like I said, the rail on my 2 5/8 Fever is fatter. My stock Ghost is 2 3/4 and just too much of a boat even though the litters are about right for me. I think there's variation depending on how the pre-shaped blanks are finished by hand.
 

Maz

Michael Peterson status
May 18, 2004
3,041
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Innzid
Yeah, the mid rail (like where you hold a surfboard under your arm) is the part I want thinner on the Ghost. I must have a special Phantom. In my experience, it has a pretty fine rail for a board 2 5/8 thick. Like I said, the rail on my 2 5/8 Fever is fatter. My stock Ghost is 2 3/4 and just too much of a boat even though the litters are about right for me. I think there's variation depending on how the pre-shaped blanks are finished by hand.
Your Ghost sounds very different from mine. Fine rails, foiled tail. Only beef on on the stringer, and mainly up front.
 
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Pyzelsurfboards

OTF status
Jul 14, 2015
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Hi Jon

I felt up some channel bottom Ghosts (and Padillacs) at Drifter on Bali. Very nice looking - all of them.

A question on the Ghosts: There was a 6'4 x 19 3/4 x 2 3/4, and it felt quite a bit chunkier than my stock 6'3. The volume was 35.5L, which supports that. Did you make that batch with thicker rails, or is it a variation some shops order, or a new tweak to the design?
Hey Maz--- Just keep in mind that making boards in different places around the world, no matter that we are using shaping machines and very accurate files, is going to result in some variances from place to place. It's definitely a science, but an imperfect one that comes with many variables.
 

Maz

Michael Peterson status
May 18, 2004
3,041
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Innzid
Hey Maz--- Just keep in mind that making boards in different places around the world, no matter that we are using shaping machines and very accurate files, is going to result in some variances from place to place. It's definitely a science, but an imperfect one that comes with many variables.
Absolutely!
I was not questioning your manufacturing process or quality. And that 6'4 Ghost felt epic. Just curious - and a little spoilt to have the man himself come on stage and answer questions. Thank you for that.

Btw, just got an Astro Glider Twin here in NZ, and it looks and feels perfect. Very much looking forward to riding it.
 
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Lohena

OTF status
Oct 30, 2019
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Thought I'd add to this discussion. Recently got a custom 6'4 XTR Ghost and am very impressed with it. Smooth take offs on steep waves with a great balance of down the line glide and rail work. Great paddler with lots of volume up front. I initially was concerned about the volume up front, but surprised it doesn't seem to hamper performance. So far rode it in 5-12'+ surf on Kauai and 5-8' at OBSF.

This year I've been experimenting with eps/epoxies and love them. This board was me testing stringerless epoxies into my step up range and my first XTR. It is parallel carbon 8.0, with a flex value of 4. Feels amazing in overhead to doh surf. Very responsive.

My $.02 for anyone considering this option.
 

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kool-aid

Michael Peterson status
Aug 28, 2003
3,026
2,614
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San Francisco
Thought I'd add to this discussion. Recently got a custom 6'4 XTR Ghost and am very impressed with it. Smooth take offs on steep waves with a great balance of down the line glide and rail work. Great paddler with lots of volume up front. I initially was concerned about the volume up front, but surprised it doesn't seem to hamper performance. So far rode it in 5-12'+ surf on Kauai and 5-8' at OBSF.

This year I've been experimenting with eps/epoxies and love them. This board was me testing stringerless epoxies into my step up range and my first XTR. It is parallel carbon 8.0, with a flex value of 4. Feels amazing in overhead to doh surf. Very responsive.

My $.02 for anyone considering this option.
What are the dims on that board and what is your weight? That flex value seems pretty low for a step up. But I've been pretty surprised by the size of the boards XTR has been producing in their parallel flex construction. They say it's their most flexible construction so you'd think they'd dissuade the construction for bigger surfers / conditions but maybe I'm mistaken.
 

Lohena

OTF status
Oct 30, 2019
307
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What are the dims on that board and what is your weight? That flex value seems pretty low for a step up. But I've been pretty surprised by the size of the boards XTR has been producing in their parallel flex construction. They say it's their most flexible construction so you'd think they'd dissuade the construction for bigger surfers / conditions but maybe I'm mistaken.
This was definitely an experiment for me, so as you can tell I’m very happy it worked out!

So the board is 19 7/8 x 2 13/16 at 35.8 liters and I am 6’4 and 195 lbs. I made it clear that this board would be for 8-12’ solid ocean beach and they recommended going with parallel carbon as I told them HS future flex has been my favorite eps construction so far. Javier said they can control the flex with the number of carbon strips they put in the parallel carbon, which for me they put a bunch.

Full confidence on drops and tons of down the line speed, but still maintaining the responsiveness and liveliness of the epoxy feel I like now. I would say the feel is somewhere between the EPS and PU feel. The 8.0 construction also feels more solid than an eps.
 
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racer1

Tom Curren status
Apr 16, 2014
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All my ghosts are XTR 8.0 (stringered though) and I can't see them ever breaking.

And yes, the feeling of XTR is so good. I feel like it takes the best of EPS and the best of PU with added durability. And for a pyzel, it's the same cost as PU off their website! Also agree on confidence in the Ghost. Sticks late drops. I just trust it. I started with a 6'1 and after a few big days on it, ordered a 6'6 immediately. They feel like shortboards, not step ups, but can handle as big as a wave as I could paddle into.
 
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