REMINDER: THE ARENA PLATFORM, INC. has no obligation to monitor the Forums. However, THE ARENA PLATFORM, INC. reserves the right to review any materials submitted to or posted on the Forums, and remove, delete, redact or otherwise modify such materials, in its sole discretion and for any reason whatsoever, at any time and from time to time, without notice or further obligation to you. THE ARENA PLATFORM, INC. has no obligation to display or post any materials provided by you. THE ARENA PLATFORM, INC. reserves the right to disclose, at any time and from time to time, any information or materials that we deem necessary or appropriate to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, contract obligation, legal or dispute process or government request. Click on the following hyperlinks to further read the applicable Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
FW Dominator II Noel Salsa
- Thread starter ChaseTMP
- Start date
I thought he looked really good, but to me, the differences in his surfing from board to board and even fin configurations/sets of fins is pretty minimal. There has been a few reviews where he said he was struggling and it's more apparent, but he usually finds a way to make the board work well enough for him that they're not a complete write-off.
I wish I was as consistent as Noel board to board. When I'm struggling, it's much more obvious.
I loved the OG Dominator. The round tail was the best part. The tail on this new one looks a lot more pulled in and its a squash. I doubt it will feel like the OG.
exactly why i want it. the tail felt too fat at times. spitfire helped that quite a bit. i like the different bottom on this one as well. i like the feel of some double to v in the tail.. single's throughout are fast but the doubles turn so much easier imo
Problem with Noel's reviews are that he surfs the same no matter what board he's on. He's a good surfer on the same good, ripable wave all the time- waist to chest high Trestles.
That said, this one looked pretty good, at least as a quad but to really be a resource to the typical Firewire buyer he really should be on at least the 5'10 at 33 liters to match typical over voluming.
That said, this one looked pretty good, at least as a quad but to really be a resource to the typical Firewire buyer he really should be on at least the 5'10 at 33 liters to match typical over voluming.
I agree. I loved the dominator and then moved onto the spitfire as well. This seems like a more high performance version of the OG. But looking back, i think that wide tail is what made the dominator so fun and cruisy. That said... i still want to give this one a try.
i like how Noel did the Aipa twin with a trailer. The board looked loose and super fun. Timmy used the Aipa fronts and machado rears in the Twice Baked and he said it went insane for small waves!
Last edited:
Especially if he never leaves such a good wave, I don’t watch his reviews but I see him at Lowers and I’m positive he’s there for 99% of his reviews. I’d actually tune in if he traveled up and down the the coast to shoot reviews...even if it’s only within OC
All you guys saying he surfs the same from board to board don’t know what you’re looking at and the fact that he surfs the same wave, that wave in particular, is what makes his reviews far and away the most useful surfboard reviews that have ever existed.
in order to get the most out of them is to watch a bunch of his reviews. Watch them closely. Then find 3-4 boards you might be interested in and watch those very very closely. The consistency of Trestles and Noel’s surfing is the closest thing you can get to an apples to apples comparison. And that’s the point here. Comparison.
Once you become familiar with his surfing you can pick out the differences in how he surfs on each board. Thats very useful information.
Do I surf like him? No. But I know how he surfs and I know how I surf. When a board rides a certain way compared to another board I can get a good idea of how it will ride for me.
I watched his Fever and OG Flyer reviews over and over. His surfing looked better on the OG Flyer (IMHO) but my gut told me that i would like the Fever better. I went against that instinct, bought the Flyer, hated it. Bought a Fever an love it. Should have listened to my gut.
A single viewing of a single board review is basically worthless. You need to download a lot of data and plug it in to your own system to get an idea of how things will work for you.
‘With that mindset there’s nothing better out there.
in order to get the most out of them is to watch a bunch of his reviews. Watch them closely. Then find 3-4 boards you might be interested in and watch those very very closely. The consistency of Trestles and Noel’s surfing is the closest thing you can get to an apples to apples comparison. And that’s the point here. Comparison.
Once you become familiar with his surfing you can pick out the differences in how he surfs on each board. Thats very useful information.
Do I surf like him? No. But I know how he surfs and I know how I surf. When a board rides a certain way compared to another board I can get a good idea of how it will ride for me.
I watched his Fever and OG Flyer reviews over and over. His surfing looked better on the OG Flyer (IMHO) but my gut told me that i would like the Fever better. I went against that instinct, bought the Flyer, hated it. Bought a Fever an love it. Should have listened to my gut.
A single viewing of a single board review is basically worthless. You need to download a lot of data and plug it in to your own system to get an idea of how things will work for you.
‘With that mindset there’s nothing better out there.
so close analysis pays dividends unless you're gut tells you something different.
ok.
ok.
Defroster conspiracy theory :
was it by chance after I made Bob Tanner his
All wave Dominator around 12 years ago that the name Dominator was borrowed ;-)
just terrifying
was it by chance after I made Bob Tanner his
All wave Dominator around 12 years ago that the name Dominator was borrowed ;-)
just terrifying
Noel kinda masks some things that make me hate boards bc he surfs so much and so much more consistently. Example, I'm fat and old and dont get my feet into perfect position as well as I used to. Got a blackbox3 last year and found board bogs like crazy when too far fwd. Have worked on it all year. (was good for me... no track pads were modified) I rode my old bottom feeder this past weekend in fun but small surf and was instantly reminded by how forgiving that board is -- did a cut back standing too far fwd and bogged lightly compared to "up to my neck." Noel never wld do this but... if he finds the board is catching... I likely will not like it (I do like the blackbox3 alot but I do believe others have hated it, I suspect for this reason)
Last edited:
No. Me buying the wrong board based how Noel surfed but not considering my own strengths and weakness was a learning experience.
The point being that just because Noel surfs one board better doesnt mean that board will be better for you. But if you know his and your surfing well enough you can determine which board will work better for you.
My analysis of the Fever/Flyer reviews was right, I just failed to act correctly with the information that was there.
Again, a learning experience.
This is exactly what I was talking about above. Subtle changes in Noel’s surfing from board to board will likely result in much larger changes in how us regular people will ride that board.
Noel “catching” and you “bogging to you neck” is a perfect illustration of that.
Watching Noel closely, notice small adjustments he makes and then blow those adjustments up by whatever factor is appropriate and that gives an idea of how good or bad a board might work.
And again, just because it works better for him doesn’t mean it will for you. It’s just information. Very valuable information if you know what to do with it.
I think the biggest drawback to the reviews is being at Trestles. Boards that work there don't always work in steeper punchier waves. In my opinion boards with wider and flatter tail rockers work well there and he seems to favor those, but those boards don't work for me on steeper faces.
Noel is a very talented surfer surfing a very consistent hero wave. On the one hand it's a good control, he's always kinda surfing the same wave in the same way so it makes for good comparisons board to board. On the other hand, if you surf say a dumpy beach break or some other wave that doesn't have Trestles good manners and consistency, the videos are more entertainment than anything else. Also you might not approach waves the way he does out of preference, talent or ability.
You're better off watching people at your local break who surf around your level and seeing what they ride.
But the new Dominator doesn't look as porky as the old one.
You're better off watching people at your local break who surf around your level and seeing what they ride.
But the new Dominator doesn't look as porky as the old one.
Again, it’s not about choosing THE board that works best for Sausage at Trestles. It’s about removing variables in board reviews as much as possible. You’ve got Noel, a very consistent, predictable surfer at Trestles, a very consistent predictable wave.
It’s up to you to understand the characteristics of the board, his surfing and the wave and make an educated guess based on the available information presented in this consistent manner.
To use your example, Noel might mention that he’s feeling a little hindered by too much tail rocker and/or he’d like it with more width. That’s when your brain adds in your data from you local spot and your surfing style to say to yourself “mmm Sausage says too much rocker (for him at trestles). That might be something good for me” and to could look into that board a little more.
it’s the very fact that he surfs the same wave with a polished, consistent style that makes these so valuable.
Step away from the “if it works for Noel it should work for me” mindset and instead just absorb the valuable information that he presents.
Of course the prerequisite here is that you are a better than intermediate surf with a fairly decent understanding of how board attributes affect your surfing.
His reviews are useless for beginners or lower intermediate surfers.
Last edited:
FWIW I've had a Dom 2.0 for about a month. They sent some out to SoCal shops before it hit the world wide webs. I was a 1.0 fan, just so you know who this is coming from. Definitely less grovel and more hybrid all-arounder....Rocket Redux range. My biggest troubles with 1.0 was the big flat round tail wanting to skip on bottom turns with some speed. That's completely gone now. I haven't had it anything more then soft, head high, but 2.0 holds and I'm not nursing the tail when it gets a touch bigger. It also feels like the pulled in squash/hip has given it enough curve in the back half that it re-directs with a lot less effort if you put it on rail.
The Firewire Hellium construction is toooo light imo. Would be awesome to try these in an XTR type construction. But is what it is. Dan Mann's (non Kelly) shapes have always just worked for me. So rather deal with Hellium and have the right board.
Would echo the Noel review, the quad set-up feels better to me (i'm not a quad or thruster guy...just board by board feel).
x2 on Duffy's take. I've found the same surfer on the same wave super helpful. But agree you kind of have to watch them all so you can actually pick up on the differences.
The Firewire Hellium construction is toooo light imo. Would be awesome to try these in an XTR type construction. But is what it is. Dan Mann's (non Kelly) shapes have always just worked for me. So rather deal with Hellium and have the right board.
Would echo the Noel review, the quad set-up feels better to me (i'm not a quad or thruster guy...just board by board feel).
x2 on Duffy's take. I've found the same surfer on the same wave super helpful. But agree you kind of have to watch them all so you can actually pick up on the differences.