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Album Surfboards
- Thread starter Aruka
- Start date
Point being, if I were to get a thruster I’d get one from someone other than Album.
Pyzalien 2 or highline would be the call for me i think. Actually have a 5'10" highline
@EastCoastBrah P2 is great. For smaller / crappier, I’d go Gremlin
Im still pretty bullish on album but there are like 10 other shapers i'd rather get a thruster from. Guys who've been making thrusters all day for decades.
Stamps, sharpeye, lost, pyzel, ci, etc, etc...
Stamps, sharpeye, lost, pyzel, ci, etc, etc...
they’re there but not there at the same time.
6'5" The End (Pin)
Designed by Matt in collaboration with Jack Freestone, The End Pin was created as a highly functional step-up. Built for speed with a mellow rocker, along with a foiled down rail that effortlessly engages with the face of the wave. The result is easy paddle, glide and speed, while maintaining...
albumsurf.com
5'9" Freewing Twin (Used)
Matt designed this board for Jack Freestone with the intention of bringing new feeling and life into a familiar design. The result is a shortboard that bridges the gap between high performance and alternative styles, offering critical surfing with less effort. Slightly more width carried through...
albumsurf.com
honestly looks too performance oriented for the surf im talking about
very crappy and small
so if i strongly prefer thrusters i should just skip the album hype train??
always seemed to work fine for me. have had some quads for the crappy surf in the past.. but i just like the seamless transition of always being on a thruster. i feel like there's a small adjustment period for the first part of the session if you hop back and forth between quad and thruster. I offset the anchor with a little extra paddling power - then once you are up and riding it's fine. Feel like the trailer fin as an anchor is possibly a mental thing.
Album not for you then imo...go stamps - he has a bunch of small wave thrusters
Perhaps a gmm2, 5’8 could work…
on the other hand, im always trying to find a crappy wave board that i really like. so maybe i need to be more open minded.
had to google. looks interesting...
Hydrodynamica | Golden Mean Machine
Hydrodynamica is an independent film project dedicated to exploring and acknowledging the work of Bob Simmons, a brilliant and eccentric California surfer who died while surfing at Windansea Beach in San Diego in 1954.
hydrodynamica.com
Von sol flying manta...greatest groveler ever imo...200 page thread here somewhere...
thinking more about it - part of the reason i prefer thruster for a groveler is at the upper end of what i use a groveler for, at punchier spots the quads like to slide on me on a late-ish drop, and also if i try to really crank on a turn sometimes the quad will slide out.
if you're willing to pay the Album price point but want a wide tail thruster for groveling, I'd go with a Dark Arts Dad Bod. will also handle punchier
darkartssurf.com
JT Dad Bod
The DadBod is a condensed shortboard and always a good time! Great board for Beginner/Intermediate surfers to take it to the next level and Advanced surfers to maximize fun. The DadBod combined with the Dark Arts vacuumed carbon attributes, flex-back, durability, and supreme weight, make this...
darkartssurf.com
Last spring, I wanted to dial in my shortboard thruster. Like many of you, I wasn't considering Album for this type of board.
I interacted with Stamps, got a nice mini quiver. He was absolutely great to deal with. The Stamps Flare remains one of the best small wave shortboards (will never get rid of this board). The GrinderX - also good board, very similar to the CI Everyday. The Blindspot also very good board. The Stamps FX didn't care for. I also picked up a custom Arakawa Jackpot - again great experience. I also found deal on CC OP3. I got a local shaper custom - rockered pointy nose, kind of based on the CI Pro but for our waves. Along the way, I grabbed a Freewing and then VBSM.
Stamps board are solid workhorse boards that work - can't go wrong. The Flare is magic.
I would say the VBSM has similar magic to the Flare, especially for everyday waves. A lot volume is integrated into the VBSM, but it is balanced.
Freewing and VSBM, they surf a bit differently to a true standard shortboard, yet I feel they still have good performance, but are relatively easier. Especially for everyday conditions. I felt like these boards also carried more speed. I prefer to surf a shortboard, as love that feel. Many mornings I am first one in the water so I can get away with surfing a shortboard, but as the sun rises, most people are paddling out midlengths, so these type of shortboards allow me to compete easier when it gets crowded.
I believe there are simiarities between the pyzel red tiger and the Freewing, as well as differences. I haven't surfed a red tiger but I have looked at them closely.
Biases - yes, I am Album fanboi and enjoy my relationship with Matt. I think my biases developed from surfing his boards before going down the thruster rabbit hole, inherently enjoyed these boards more. If you like how the Album alternatives feel, you might be surprised by his thruster. While I really enjoy the 5' 10" Freewing, I don't care for the 5' 8" Freewing owing to the tail feeling blocky tail, it feels unbalanced.
For the true high-performance shortboard - it was between Arakawa, OP3 and local shaper. I preferred the local shaper, had the right elements for performance as well as ease that lets my surfing progress more. The OP3 was the most electric, but it needs a good wave, and the sizing was off for me. Arakawa was solid, high performance, but was missing that it factor.
For most days, the VBSM and Freewing work well, and they have been my go-to boards, until recently getting the Disorder. I surfed Freewing this morning and it was awesome.
I interacted with Stamps, got a nice mini quiver. He was absolutely great to deal with. The Stamps Flare remains one of the best small wave shortboards (will never get rid of this board). The GrinderX - also good board, very similar to the CI Everyday. The Blindspot also very good board. The Stamps FX didn't care for. I also picked up a custom Arakawa Jackpot - again great experience. I also found deal on CC OP3. I got a local shaper custom - rockered pointy nose, kind of based on the CI Pro but for our waves. Along the way, I grabbed a Freewing and then VBSM.
Stamps board are solid workhorse boards that work - can't go wrong. The Flare is magic.
I would say the VBSM has similar magic to the Flare, especially for everyday waves. A lot volume is integrated into the VBSM, but it is balanced.
Freewing and VSBM, they surf a bit differently to a true standard shortboard, yet I feel they still have good performance, but are relatively easier. Especially for everyday conditions. I felt like these boards also carried more speed. I prefer to surf a shortboard, as love that feel. Many mornings I am first one in the water so I can get away with surfing a shortboard, but as the sun rises, most people are paddling out midlengths, so these type of shortboards allow me to compete easier when it gets crowded.
I believe there are simiarities between the pyzel red tiger and the Freewing, as well as differences. I haven't surfed a red tiger but I have looked at them closely.
Biases - yes, I am Album fanboi and enjoy my relationship with Matt. I think my biases developed from surfing his boards before going down the thruster rabbit hole, inherently enjoyed these boards more. If you like how the Album alternatives feel, you might be surprised by his thruster. While I really enjoy the 5' 10" Freewing, I don't care for the 5' 8" Freewing owing to the tail feeling blocky tail, it feels unbalanced.
For the true high-performance shortboard - it was between Arakawa, OP3 and local shaper. I preferred the local shaper, had the right elements for performance as well as ease that lets my surfing progress more. The OP3 was the most electric, but it needs a good wave, and the sizing was off for me. Arakawa was solid, high performance, but was missing that it factor.
For most days, the VBSM and Freewing work well, and they have been my go-to boards, until recently getting the Disorder. I surfed Freewing this morning and it was awesome.
I like the look of this. DA never appealed to me but the shape looks nice.if you're willing to pay the Album price point but want a wide tail thruster for groveling, I'd go with a Dark Arts Dad Bod. will also handle punchier
JT Dad Bod
The DadBod is a condensed shortboard and always a good time! Great board for Beginner/Intermediate surfers to take it to the next level and Advanced surfers to maximize fun. The DadBod combined with the Dark Arts vacuumed carbon attributes, flex-back, durability, and supreme weight, make this...
@EastCoastBrah seriously, Pyzel Gremlin is what you are describing. Crappy-average wave thruster but still very versatile.
Apparently White Tiger is even more of a graveler.
Save album for a twin/ quad
Apparently White Tiger is even more of a graveler.
Save album for a twin/ quad