For guys who gave up the hp thrusters - they’ve improved a lot. Some are really easy to surf (even if the dimensions don’t seem that different from the old stuff).
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Board trends
- Thread starter VaB
- Start date
Christenson working on a few new thruster models thinking the same thing. Or so I have heard.
Lol, I’m dusting off my Fever tomorrow.
Had this convo with my brother in law in the lineup this morning.
He was asking where my Akila Aipa was, as I was on my PU JS Monstabox. I love both boards and my Aipa would have been banging, but there's just something about a regular old PU thruster that you can depend on, especially if you're not feeling yourself, or you've not surfed for a while. It's good just to whip out "tried and true" , so that all you need to think of, is the wave and you.
Modern thrusters are great but they still need somewhat of a wave for your average non QS level surfer.
I'm glad to have many good options for different conditions and I can't imagine going back to the days before I discovered this place, ordered my first custom (white diamond, baby) and discovered a whole wide world of surfboards beyond the 6'2" thruster. Like, I'm glad I learned how to make a thruster work in crap conditions because I think there are some fundamentals that you learn that you wouldn't otherwise if you always just ride boards that make their own speed but I do think there was a lot of sessions where I would have had much more fun on something else whether it be a twin or quad or just a grovely thruster. Since I'm not trying to qualify for the WCT fun is the main focus for me.
I'm glad to have many good options for different conditions and I can't imagine going back to the days before I discovered this place, ordered my first custom (white diamond, baby) and discovered a whole wide world of surfboards beyond the 6'2" thruster. Like, I'm glad I learned how to make a thruster work in crap conditions because I think there are some fundamentals that you learn that you wouldn't otherwise if you always just ride boards that make their own speed but I do think there was a lot of sessions where I would have had much more fun on something else whether it be a twin or quad or just a grovely thruster. Since I'm not trying to qualify for the WCT fun is the main focus for me.
I tend to be all over the place. I like changing boards. It's like a honey moon. A new feeling. But after a while the weaknesses become apparent. Then, like women, whatever it is the present board is lacking becomes the most desireable quality... and it's time to change...
Right now I'm liking my 2+1. But the last few sessions I've been feleing I could reduce the size of the 1...which means the next board is bascially a thruster with forward fin placement....
Right now I'm liking my 2+1. But the last few sessions I've been feleing I could reduce the size of the 1...which means the next board is bascially a thruster with forward fin placement....
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It’s about variety. The guys who only surf a hp thruster look just as goofy trying to force “high performance” surfing on certain days as the mustached sprinter van guys with 8 twin fins in their quiver (all under 5’10) and nothing else. I used to only surf a HPSB if the waves permitted, otherwise I’d do something else, but the last few years I bought a couple different types of shapes that made different conditions fun for different reasons. It keeps things interesting and adds to my surf time overall. IMO everyone should have both a thruster and something more interesting in the quiver, $$ permitting.
A board trend that needs to die (and take the surfers with it): Shitlengths.
They go shitiously bad and look stupid.
They go shitiously bad and look stupid.
Tried and true would be a 6'6" x 19 1/4" x 2 1/2" squash thruster with some minor variations for different waves.
Hey, it works.
Hey, it works.
Wait, is this why your posts are often cryptic?Well played sir, well played.
Not gonna lie, I appreciate the wisdom you share and have learned a lot from it, but often feel like my head is going to explode while trying to follow and decipher some of it.
"I trolled you a delicious Bass"
I loved my Puddle Jumper. PJHP popped up used in my dims in C4, I got it. Two pumps in = gemstone keeper.
There's a PJ Pro in the 2022 catalog. Low rocker, single/double/vee bottom that's worked for me in poly, lib tech, C4, aviso, Mayhem and local shaper. It sounds like one of the latest models has a lot of tried and true DNA to it.
I loved my Puddle Jumper. PJHP popped up used in my dims in C4, I got it. Two pumps in = gemstone keeper.
There's a PJ Pro in the 2022 catalog. Low rocker, single/double/vee bottom that's worked for me in poly, lib tech, C4, aviso, Mayhem and local shaper. It sounds like one of the latest models has a lot of tried and true DNA to it.
@Sharkbiscuit What's the Aviso like in regards to float compared to other builds in epoxies? I've seen a RNF Aviso that I'd love to own from a nostalgia point of view but concerned it may be not enough board for me (all things considered age, crowds etc).
I think it's pretty good relative to poly, but maybe some of the other EPS builds are floatier?
The no-wing quads are the most grovelly of all the RNFs. I am not sure if the no-wing thruster (narrower tail; not sure about rocker) from back in the Aviso days would out-grovel the Redux/96/97/Retro quads, but that outline/rocker seemed to be the most small-wave oriented.
I would agree if you're going from one type of board to a similar type (i.e. thruster to thruster). There's a flip side to that coin ... i see guys riding the same exact board over the course of 3 or 4 seasons and although they may have the board dialed .... their surfing skills have never improved .. still making the same exact turns, same lines, same mistakes. I think going through the process of learning how different boards work or what it takes to make them work is beneficial to improve one's skills. It also keeps things interesting and level of stoke high ... learning something new can be a lot of fun (albeit ... i typically surf 4-5 days a week .... if you're a weekend warrior and only surfing once maybe twice a week ... your comment makes more sense) . Two seasons ago i was riding only twin/twinzers - alternating between two different boards by the end of the season i felt comfortable on either board regardless of conditions ... each board has it's own little nuances. Last season ... i rode single fins for the majority of the season ... by the end of the season ... feel confident in being able to competently ride a single fin in any of the conditions i typically see. The past week or so i jumped back onto one of my twinzers .... and noticed a difference in that i was applying what i had learned riding single fins (using the rail more making turns) and was drawing lines on the twinzer that i hadn't previously.
Some like to ride a narrow range of board. These are usually HPSBs (or long boards).
That’s great and there’s something to be said about that. I totally get it.
A friend of mine rides round pin thrusters most would consider step ups only. That’s it. He knows the shape do intricately that he can get 3 identical boards and hate two of them. It’s amazing to me and think it’s awesome.
Others (like me) like to ride a bunch of widely different shapes and change things up constantly.
Both approaches and everything in between are perfectly ok.
There’s no right or wrong here.
That’s great and there’s something to be said about that. I totally get it.
A friend of mine rides round pin thrusters most would consider step ups only. That’s it. He knows the shape do intricately that he can get 3 identical boards and hate two of them. It’s amazing to me and think it’s awesome.
Others (like me) like to ride a bunch of widely different shapes and change things up constantly.
Both approaches and everything in between are perfectly ok.
There’s no right or wrong here.