@j_mac where do you live? is it typically more punchy than mush? everything i've heard about the TM is it's not a small wave bord
Here's my Twinsman diatribe... provided only in case someone else has wondered
Very true, I may be biased by my local conditions and the recent run of good waves, but I have surfed it now in a range conditions where I thought a lower volume/shorter Twinsman wouldn't be ideal and yet worked well. I live near Monterey, CA. I also seek out waves with more punch, can't always get this though and stuck with slopey waves. I started surfing the 5' 6" Twinsman in bigger waves, and then in bigger, softer waves, then in smaller waves, and each time I enjoyed the board. In the smaller waves, the board fits well with performance than my short fishy-style boards. It feels like a hybrid between the Insanity and fishy style boards. It is playful in the smaller waves. Like most boards, the better the wave, the better the board feels.
I have wanted to try 5 '6" Twinsman for some time. I would do circles in analysis paralysis because of owning the 5' 8" Twinsman and debating how much difference could the 5' 6" be and with everyone stating keep volume up. I have had good surfs on the 5' 8" Twinsman, but it wasn't a board that I frequently grabbed. Based on comments, I went the wrong direction and I YOLOed a 5' 10" carbon varial Twinsman, swallow tail, as I didn't care for the 5' 10" roundtail that I also owned. I thought maybe the 5' 10" swallow would be the answer, and it was IMO better than the RT and prefer the feel of the Varial. Again fun surfs on it, but it is too big for me (
@Aruka is grabbing this one on his drive back).
At this point, I was seriously done with the Twinsman and trying - haha! I was happy with the 5' 4" Plasmic/Will's fish. I decided to finally to do a custom 5' 6" Disorder before the holidays, which was many weeks out, and then saw Plasmic EASTs showing on Varial asked about different sizing coming down the line and pre-paid for the 5' 7", which was a few weeks out (ironically delivered today). It was surfing the 5' 9" Insanity that pushed me over the edge. I gravitated to the Insanity, as I enjoyed the narrowness and lower volume and the performance of the Insanity. The length was so so when the waves got smaller. My eagerness to surf a shorter version of the Insanity grew, and when the 5' 6" Varial Twinsman popped up and I said f#$% it YOLO and got it. After receiving it, I still wasn't sure that my impulsiveness was correct as prior comments rattled in my head. Only one way to squash the voices, go surf it. As said above, each surf on the 5' 6" Twinsman was solid and saw more potential in the board for most conditions.
As someone who has owned 4 longer versions of the Twinsman, and nearly sold all of them. In similar longer sizes, I prefer the CC Lane Splitter, I believe this goes back to
@sdsrfr comments above about surfing the Albums shorter. CC Lane Splitter has fins farther forward and I believe similar to the CI Twin Pin (fins are forward), these boards work better in longer lengths. With the longer Twinsman, my feet felt out of position unless the waves were big, and many times it wasn't the board I wanted to be on in those conditions. With the 5' 6", foot position is intuitive. I still move my feet around on the board.
I went from being done with the Twinsman, to I can't recommend enough the Twinsman (but as short as possible)!
Hope this helps....