Album Surfboards

[Aruka]

Good, bad and ugly. This is the place to share it.

I've been riding this 5-10 x 20.38 x 2.6 XTR Lightbender a lot and very much enjoying it. It possesses most of the ease and glide of a good fish but with the narrower outline and slightly increased rocker it holds an edge and turns a bit sharper than an average twin fish.



This just arrived today, have yet to get it wet. 6-2 x 19.75 x 2.6 PU Insanity. Kind of a trippy board. Beak nose really carries foam forward. Bit fuller nose and narrower tail outline than I'd expected. Looks like it will paddle well. Rocker doesn't look extreme but its definitely not flat. Supposed to be ridden as a quad in good waves and a twin + trailer in small waves apparently. Will report back after I've given it a go.

 

[chilly1]

Good, bad and ugly. This is the place to share it.

I've been riding this 5-10 x 20.38 x 2.6 XTR Lightbender a lot and very much enjoying it. It possesses most of the ease and glide of a good fish but with the narrower outline and slightly increased rocker it holds an edge and turns a bit sharper than an average twin fish.
View attachment 95932
View attachment 95933

This just arrived today, have yet to get it wet. 6-2 x 19.75 x 2.6 PU Insanity. Kind of a trippy board. Beak nose really carries foam forward. Bit fuller nose and narrower tail outline than I'd expected. Looks like it will paddle well. Rocker doesn't look extreme but its definitely not flat. Supposed to be ridden as a quad in good waves and a twin + trailer in small waves apparently. Will report back after I've given it a go.View attachment 95935View attachment 95936

Nice, that's the blade of fishes!

 

[frontsidegrab]

My lotbander haz gon to Vltamit stock status

I lied about my leash plug statement.

 

[silentbutdeadly]

I still have my tried and true album sub (second one). took a break after getting my newest stamps but our crappy surf has the sub pulled out of the bag lately. great boar.

planning on getting one of his twins most likely late this year/early next

 

[Aruka]

My lotbander haz gon to Vltamit stock status
View attachment 95937View attachment 95938
I lied about my leash plug statement.

I like the color and fancy shmancy wax job. My leash plug hasn't caused any issues. The way the board surfs off the tail and how well it does in and above the lip has made me consider putting a tail pad on it. Sacrilegious I know.

 

[frontsidegrab]

I like the color and fancy shmancy wax job. My leash plug hasn't caused any issues. The way the board surfs off the tail and how well it does in and above the lip has made me consider putting a tail pad on it. Sacrilegious I know.

It’s such a high performance fish.
I say to each their own with the pad. My stance on that is do what feels best. People say “It looks terrible”...my response is ...”I don’t look at my feet while I’m surfing so I don’t give a fug “.

 

[Aruka]

It’s such a high performance fish.
I say to each their own with the pad. My stance on that is do what feels best. People say “It looks terrible”...my response is ...”I don’t look at my feet while I’m surfing so I don’t give a fug “.

What fins you running?

I've got the NVS Album Twins. They feel great.

 

[Maz]

Good, bad and ugly. This is the place to share it.

I've been riding this 5-10 x 20.38 x 2.6 XTR Lightbender a lot and very much enjoying it. It possesses most of the ease and glide of a good fish but with the narrower outline and slightly increased rocker it holds an edge and turns a bit sharper than an average twin fish.
View attachment 95932
View attachment 95933

This just arrived today, have yet to get it wet. 6-2 x 19.75 x 2.6 PU Insanity. Kind of a trippy board. Beak nose really carries foam forward. Bit fuller nose and narrower tail outline than I'd expected. Looks like it will paddle well. Rocker doesn't look extreme but its definitely not flat. Supposed to be ridden as a quad in good waves and a twin + trailer in small waves apparently. Will report back after I've given it a go.View attachment 95935View attachment 95936

U crazy - love it!

 

[Toobz]

Insanity Asym 6’2 x 19 1/2 x 2 1/2.

Good:
- Paddles amazing and catches waves effortlessly.
- Super fast
- Huge range from thigh high to double OH and probably more.
- Turns super tight and fast off your heels.

Bad: (for me)
- Despite the foam distribution I think this board would definitely be more suited to a “back footed” surfer and I’m front footed.
- Quite flat through the middle/front (late nose flip) with VERY knifey rails, again a bad combo for me as a front footed surfer. I’ve never caught so many rails.
- Whilst Matt’s description of forward foot placement on his Asym’s rings true, don’t take this as meaning it has a big sweet spot. A little too far forward or too far back and it slides out.
- Hard and tight turns off the bottom on forehand can be very hit and miss (again depending on foot placement), much better off taking the drawn out approach which depending on the waves isn’t always ideal.

Ugly:
My surfing on it sometimes.I must admit I think the negatives are a combination of my surfing style and this design not the design itself.

 

[frontsidegrab]

What fins you running?

I've got the NVS Album Twins. They feel great.

Been running these in every twin I own. Havent found a set this balanced:

 

[Aruka]

Took the Insanity out for it's maiden voyage in some pretty terrible conditions. Drab twin + trailer fins. Waist high, closed out wind swell dumpers. Fairly stiff side-onshore winds. I had very low expectations and actually had this sense that it was a bad idea to take a new board out in such crap but it is supposed to really blow for the next few days and it felt like it might be my only chance for a while. The first left hand corner than came to me I spun, got a few pumps through a walled up section and got a good lip smacker at the end. The rights were a little more backed off but I managed to milk a few through to the inside and fit in a turn once the wave stood up. Overall, given how crappy the waves were, I was pretty stoked on the session. I don't have a full read on the board yet but the few times that I managed to find a steep face and get my foot against the tail kick I was able to throw it around pretty well. I never felt the rails catch or anything else that would alarm me. Can't wait for some real waves.

 

[Tomay]

How does the Townsend go? Thinking of one around 6'5. Not a mid length but for fat days and slow walled up waves.

 

[LifeOnMars]

Hipster trash, $800 clear PU

 

[ChaseTMP]

Hipster trash, $800 clear PU

$779 through XTR. Get one with their $100 off deals and you're less than many OTR PU boards. If you're getting a 20% off hook-up at a shop, you're paying a little over a hundred bucks more based on an average board being $715.

 

[frontsidegrab]

$779 through XTR. Get one with their $100 off deals and you're less than many OTR PU boards. If you're getting a 20% off hook-up at a shop, you're paying a little over a hundred bucks more based on an average board being $715.

That's what I did. My lightbender came out to around $770. That's robbing the bank for the quality your getting at that price.

 

[taking one in]

I've gotten a few boards from Album over the years (Sabertooth, Riot, Disasym, Fascination, Doom-asym). All of the customs I got from him were excellent with a couple magic boards in the mix.

Every order was done as promised (timing and board details, etc.). Every time I ordered a board, Matt was quick to reply to emails and generous with his time when needing to chat through details on the phone. Some shapers seem to give you a bit of an attitude when you ask design or dimension questions, but I never got any of that from Matt or his crew. The guy simply runs a solid, exemplary business.

I may be pretty close to priced out of his boards at this point (partly because of added shipping costs), maybe not with the XTR option. But I'd probably be willing to pay the extra cost if I saw something I really wanted. Album seems to sit somewhere between the production labels and the boutique labels (maybe a little closer to the boutique); prices reflect that.

 

[Havoc]

I've gotten a few boards from Album over the years (Sabertooth, Riot, Disasym, Fascination, Doom-asym). All of the customs I got from him were excellent with a couple magic boards in the mix.

Every order was done as promised (timing and board details, etc.). Every time I ordered a board, Matt was quick to reply to emails and generous with his time when needing to chat through details on the phone. Some shapers seem to give you a bit of an attitude when you ask design or dimension questions, but I never got any of that from Matt or his crew. The guy simply runs a solid, exemplary business.

I may be pretty close to priced out of his boards at this point (partly because of added shipping costs), maybe not with the XTR option. But I'd probably be willing to pay the extra cost if I saw something I really wanted. Album seems to sit somewhere between the production labels and the boutique labels (maybe a little closer to the boutique); prices reflect that.

album matt can surf too! been out many times at trestles where he was shredding his designs.

 

[paunch23]

plasmic looks F u n!!!

and i noticed he's got a "used boards" section.

fckn covid

 

[sdsrfr]

Plastic soft top is under $400 and fitires fin boxes. USA made.

kinda tempted.

 

[JDJ]

Good for Matt for getting too dollar for his boards. Like Aruka mentioned, his xtr boards are comparable in cost to the other shapers using their foam and glassing.