Boards Ridden in 2023

[ReForest]

I created a list of all the boards ridden in 2023. Does anyone else do this?

I thought it would be helpful to make a list and reflect back on a few things. 1) how fortunate I am to be able to ride so many boards; and 2) reflect on how the boards felt and looked so I can plan out my purchases for 2024. haha. #PlanAccordingly.

Here is my list for boards ridden in 2023. Going into 2024 I think I'm liking a longer board. So I'm going to try and ride some longer outline boars.


BOARDS RIDDEN IN 2023

1. HYDROSHORT – 5’5” (LFT)
2. EL TOMO – 5’5”
3. FLAT EARTH – 5’6”
4. REVO – 5’3”
5. SCIFI- 5’7”
6. HYDROSHORT 5’6” (HELIUM)
7. ALBUM 5’4” (TWINSMAN)
8. DEATHSTAR 5’1” (XTR)
9. EVO 5’0”
10. SUNDAY 5’6”
11. ZEN 4.1 5’4”
12. CYMATIC 5’3”
13. ZEN 4.0 5’6”
14. EL TOMO TWIN 5’7” (CUSTOM)
15. DT FLYING FISH 5’6” (CUSTOM)

 

[santacruzin]

1. Tomo V4 5’10
2. GG hovercraft 5’2
3. GG modfish 5’4
4. Gg modfish 5’6
5. GG hp twin 6‘2
6. CI 2happy 5’10
7. Ci Black Beauty 6’3
8. GG step up 6’9
9. Tomo hydronaut 6’0
10. Sunset single fin 7’0
11. Ryan lovelace 9’2
12. Deepest reaches mega fish 7’6
13. Christian beamish 7’0 rifle ranger

i am leaving some out but its time to go surf some more.

 

[Kento]

6'6" Lost Speed Demon - magically found a leftside original FCS YU fin to refill the set. Can't wait to use when surf is small enough again and I don't risk breaking it.

6'2 Pyzel Ghost - wrong type of board for smallish conditions but good time on that board and now I know that 31-32 liters is what I need

6'6 Terry Senate - Stopgap board. Need a high performance thruster to replace this. Speed demon above is an outstanding template - need to get back to boards being shaped off that, not a template of a template.

6'7" Lost roundpin - Almost 25 years old, yellow, repaired many times, still explosive in any surf from 1-6'+, but does not paddle as fast.

6'8" Barbera roundpin - like butter in waves up to (and probably beyond) DOH. Well balanced board - I like it. Debating whether I should throw those JJF Techflex into it. Only medium sized fins but should still hold I think? The base F6s do, maybe a little too much.

 

[tedshred5]

had a goal this year to be a lil more minimalist with the constant quiver-swapping in-and-out, I know....erbb blasphemy

5'11 Pyzel Pyzalien 2 XL dims - keeper, versatile - was my 2022 Xmas present to myself

5'9 Dark Arts Dad Bod - can confirm, don't over-volume carbon stringerless epoxy

5'8 Eric Arakawa Half Pint - a groveler for North Shore HI doesn't work so much to grovel Southern California

5'9 Panda Rocket Fish - TKF with more performance

5'11 Pyzel Red Tiger XL dims - verdict still out on this one

5'8 AJW Classic Twin - knifier rails, also more performance than typical keel fish

 

[sh3]

1. 5'7" GMM2 (Tomo/Hydrodynamica - XTR) - Bar of Soap. LOVE this board.

2. 5'9" RNV4 (Tomo - XTR) - My old magic board in CA, HI & Fiji, but she's been beaten down so hard. Glass is cracking apart and peeling at the channels. Want to get her a full makeover; she's my baby and she deserves it.

3. 5'9" PodMod TPH6COTB (MW at CI - Varial) - Insanely fun mash up by Mikey. CA and Fiji board. Couldn't be happier. Flies. TPH with deep 6 Merrick channels. Only issue is FCS. Not sure how to remedy that.

4. 6'1" PodMod step up, TPH6COTB (MW at CI - Varial) - Step up from Mikey. Perfect partner to #3. CA and Fiji use as well. Zero issues - so reliable.

5. 9'4" Wayne Rich CJ Nelson (Wayno of course, and PUPE) - The green giant. One fin, one God, one country. Love this board. Rides so smooth and easy, you can't help but need to cross step and go chill.

6. 8'0" Wavestorm for stormin' the surf, baby (Chinese child & state of the art materials with double foiled fins screwed in with a coin) - My only poop-out. This board does it all - lefts, rights, A-frames, green rooms - you know, and it's stupid.

7. 5'9" OB1 (Tomo - PUPE) - Interesting board. I like it, but I'm not enamored as yet. It works and works well, but I'm not feeling that immediate "GO" off the line that I expected. Not bad, but not great. Using thruster CI fins.

8. 5'6" Squit Fish (First ever Burch - PUPE, two sessions and traded it back to seller for incredible and unused XTR 5'6" GMM I haven't yet used) - Wasn't my cup of tea. Had to greatly modify my style for a traditional fish *style* board, even though it's apparently not a trad-fish. It is. Not my thing, but I tried. Bought it used for a lot but able to trade it for a new board hand shaped by Daniel T that I really really wanted.

9. 6'1" Secret Agent Asym (Burch - PUPE) - As of the first session in under head-high waves I knew it worth every penny and then some. Will get another Burch. Can't wait to use it in the surf it was intended for. Fast, loose but holds a line, breaks track with zero issue, and you can push it hard. I'm going to need to surf better!

10. 8'8" CA Gun (Hess/EPS & Wood) - Incredible step-up from my 7'2" gun from Danny. Fully reliable in large surf. Paddles in and pushes through the chop. Might need to change out the EA quad fins for something smaller in front and larger in back. Not sure what to run on it yet. Used twice and survived, so it felt like a win.


It's been a good year, other than the fact that from April through October I wasn't able to surf due to shoulder reconstruction surgery. God it felt good to get back in the water. This week's flu-issues notwithstanding, overall I was pleased I got a few waves.

-sh3





Edit: I'm old and my memory is suspect. There might've been others, but these are the ones I know I rode in 2023.

 

[vanrysss]

5'7" Album Twinsman
6'4" Album Moonstone
6'4" Arakawa RP
6'8" Arakawa RP
8'0" Arakawa Stun Gun
5'6" Bing fish
5'4" Christenson Fish
6'0" Christenson Nautilus
6'8" Christenson Pahi
8'0" Christenson Pahi
9'6" Hank Byzak Model T
10'6" Josh Hall Fish Simmons
5'4" Mandala superchunk
5'6" Mandala twinzer fish
6'11" Mandala ASQ
9'3" Michael Miller Fish Simmons
9'0" Owl Chapman Gun


Looking back I really should have just gone full Arakawa with my NS quiver, they were all fantastic dependable boards. Transitioning between twins, thrusters, and then singles for big days was just dumb. Better to have stuck with thrusters all the way through. Current quiver is markedly different, but I'm working on paring it down to just a longboard, fish, midlength, and something socal stepup-y.

 

[Aruka]

5-11 album symphony twin pu
6-1 sharpeye disco xtr
6-1 album bomdia varial
6-5 lost driver pu
6-6 stamps warhawk pu
6-6 album townsend xtr
6-8 npj 2+1 pu
7-0 mid6 tbolt
7-2 chili faded 2.0 gun pu
9-11 cj nelson apex tbolt

Probably a few others but these were the ones that were ridden multiple times. Fav boards this year were the bomdia , chili gun and the apex.

 

[stringcheese]

No boards over 5’7 all year, @ReForest is a Christmas elf

 

[nolibos]

5'4" Lost Bean Bag Freak Flag (just sold it the other day. very fun)
5"9" Stamp's Flare
5'10" Pyzel Astro Pop
5'11" CI Fred Rubble
6' 0" Stamp's Blindspot
6'2" Stamps Polaris DT
6'4" CI MBM II
6'10" Byrne shaped by Michael Barron
7'4" Pearson Arrow

 

[erik1938]

10'-0 second hand waterlogged wavestorm
9'-0 second hand waterlogged wavestorm
8'-0 second hand waterlogged wavestorm
7'-6 Terry Senate board from the 80's that has a big crack in the nose and the fiberglass is flapping around.,

 

[doc_flavonoid]

ill play. a suspect and most likely incomplete list, in order of descending length

andreini glider
phillips kpa
wayno pro mod
parmy makaha machine
stretch buzzgun
parmy vector cuda
arenal b68
stamps run up
stamps rerun
arenal quadfish

 

[Mr J]

5’ 6” local custom shorty

3’ 9” Drag boog - had a Shorey standup in the Gulf of Thailand on this yesterday

5’ 4” tuflite pro-carbon New Flyer - standups in the Gulf of Thailand this morning

4’ 8” Mullet door design foamie - bought for re-hab but of general fun. Been a bad year for injury for me

5’ 2” Chilli Mini Bird - rekindled my love of this boat after a couple of years disuse. It is not easy to take off in heavy steep waves on this boar.
It is clear that the New Flyer is a much better stubby thruster for me. Just performs better in every way and still capable of tight turns. Going to keep it on ice in Bangkok for next year and want it to last into retirement (maybe another couple of years working, will have to see) don’t want to risk getting it damaged on international flights. This tuflite is no longer in production

5’ HS Loot foamie - was on sale at $200 ! disappointingly heavy but very good in very windy pitching conditions- get a lot of this in Vic

 

[sdsrfr]

5’5 plasmic
5’8 twinsman
5’9 flare
5’10 lane splitter
5’10 RCP
6’3 moonstone
6’10 gh bonzegg 5

5'7" Album Twinsman
6'4" Album Moonstone
6'4" Arakawa RP
6'8" Arakawa RP
8'0" Arakawa Stun Gun
5'6" Bing fish
5'4" Christenson Fish
6'0" Christenson Nautilus
6'8" Christenson Pahi
8'0" Christenson Pahi
9'6" Hank Byzak Model T
10'6" Josh Hall Fish Simmons
5'4" Mandala superchunk
5'6" Mandala twinzer fish
6'11" Mandala ASQ
9'3" Michael Miller Fish Simmons
9'0" Owl Chapman Gun


Looking back I really should have just gone full Arakawa with my NS quiver, they were all fantastic dependable boards. Transitioning between twins, thrusters, and then singles for big days was just dumb. Better to have stuck with thrusters all the way through. Current quiver is markedly different, but I'm working on paring it down to just a longboard, fish, midlength, and something socal stepup-y.

how di you like the nautilus compared to the moonie?

 

[Havoc]

7'8 a$$hole twinzer

 

[Brsnstein]

5’3 tkf
5’4 white tiger
5’6 Rick Cane Pro
5’7 gigglebox
5’7 habanero/rereun mashup
5’7 synthetic 84
5’8 scarecrow
5’8.5 warhawk
5’10 scarecrow round
6’6 Christensen flat tracker

 

[trifish]

5'6" Ryan Sakal SD Fish
6'8" Ryan Sakal Sabre
5'6" Gary Hanel Pill
6'10" Arakawa Holy Moli
5'7" Akila Aipa Contemporary Fish
6'3" Pyzel Ghost
5'10" Pyzel Pyzalien 2 XTR
5'10" Duke Aipa Dark Twinn XTR
5'11" Chilli BV2 XTR
5'6" Album Sunstone XTR
6'8" Album Townsend XTR
6'2" Album Moonstone XTR
6'8" Album Moonstone XTR

 

[vanrysss]

how di you like the nautilus compared to the moonie?

Moonstone I really like, feels like a good socal stepup from a keel fish if that's your daily driver. Obviously needs a bit of canvas to work with but I'm fine with that limitation. Surfed it on NS, and definitely had to be a bit more selective given how much power you get given and how pockety places can be. Do you like yours?

Nautilus honestly a dud for me, it's taking the quiver slot of a squashtail thruster in my eye and doesn't do vertical surfing particularly well. Haven't even bothered trying to ride it in San Diego, might do when I get back from this trip but 90% I'm putting it on Craigslist again and cutting my losses.

 

[montygoesbananas]

5’9” Tomo revo - love this board in 2-4’ beaches and point waves with a softer face
6’00” ESP vortex - my sons board now but I steal it back every now and then
6’02” Tomo SKX - go to for most sessions, still my favourite board in the quiver after 5 years, ride it as a quad
6’4” Chilli Shortie RT - great hpsb or when it’s steep and barrelling
6’6” DHD sweet spot 2 - rode it on a couple of doh+ days

5’9” Tomo cymatic doesn’t make the list - unridden waiting for knee to heal up.
I’m 95kg/210lbs and 6’4” tall for reference

 

[Maz]

Pyzel 5'10 Astro Twin (too small now, will have to go. Loved this board).
Pyzel 5'10 Nugget Wing Swallow. Great small/ok wave allrounder, but too small.
Pyzel 6'3 Pyz2. Great board.
Pyzel 6'4 Ghost. Gold standard good wave board.
Bourton 6'6 Reef Swallow. Ultra foiled, super carvy step up.
Christenson 6'8 Wolverine. Quiver of One, super fast, looks shithot.
Ray Finlay 6'9. Foiled step up. Great for OH waves.
Webster 6'10 Desert Storm. Fat gun for getting in, plowing through chop, power surfing.
Chilli 7'2 Mid Strength. Shin high to OH do it all. Rock board for small points.
Webster 7'6 Spartan. Semi gun for proper waves.
Keogh 8'0 Haz Gun. Best large wave board ever?
Webster 8'6 Desert Storm. Hi vol gun.

 

[cjs2002]

5'6 Burch Squit
5’6 Pendo Twin Keel
5’7 RNF 96
5’8 Gremlin (shaped by DK)
5’10 Sharpeye cheat code
5’11 Ryan Sakal Weapon of Choice
6’0 Pyzel Shadow
6’3 Ryan Sakal Chief
6’8 Pavel Single Fin
7’0 Rusty Blackbird

2024 Goals: get more Sakals