*** Official 2024 Community Surf Journal ***

[Kento]

i got a couple things for you. don't read anything into it, cuz its all just my well meaning take so you can have more fun during ur limited window

hawaii is not here. neither is socal. + ur not surfing enough regardless of ur fitness. so forget what you think you know about board sizing...

and ride more foam. conservatively like a 6-4 daily driver and a 6-8 step up. 38-42l. lots of guys similar sized to you locally like their ghosts and step down phantoms so its a good place to start

ur surfing heavy beach break. shifty. lots of water moving. foam is ur friend. when its doh+ dont fuk around bring a 7-6 around 3"+ thick

also because your not in the water as much these days ur probably not reading it that well. ur quik paddle probably works oke when you can sit on the spot. otherwise its kind of a liability imo

more better to i.d. it early and put that wingspan to use. start paddling early, get some board speed up, track em down and get in early. less drama. more fun. more foam.

just my 2cents. probably less with it looking like spring out here but good luck

Thanks because tough love advice helps.

The biggest problem I have had with higher volume boards is getting them up to speed and when it's shorter period turning/paddling on a dime. So many times the lumbering boards just lag on me and the wave passes underneath - strength training issue right there. The quick 10-stroke/scratch paddle and last-minute fast flutter kick work only to a certain point.

I am definitely not reading it well at all a lot; well some days are a lot easier than most. The inside-outside shift , while the current is yanking multiple directions, is causing me problems and I swear the sand has gotten weird (or maybe that's normal) I spend a lot of time trying to be in position but where exactly is that? Don't get me wrong, I know how to read lineups and read them well but this place causes a lot of frustration.

The quick paddle works very well if waves jack steadily and aren't highly erratic (think clean Oxnard/Blacks) but when it draws hard off the bottom with a lot of water moving, it gets difficult to time because that paddle-in zone is only a few feet wide where you are either too far outside and the wave rolls or the wave is drawing and jacking hard - I have learned the hard way not to be late on those; I don't like no-speed airdrops into solid OH waves where the rest of the set is waiting to mow you down.

 

[Kento]

If I recall Kento likes longer equipment but has yet to fully embrace teh foam is ur friend philosophy.

I get it. Some of my worst boards have been ones that I oversized.

The used board market is good for buyers right now so that would be my suggestion for more cheaply experimenting with different stuff.

I think 30-32L is kinda low for someone your size @Kento, if I am remembering your rough height and weight correctly.

6'4 190. I do get that wetsuit weight needs to be factored. With literage, same thing with fins. When I got the fins sized for my weight, doing an off the lip was like pushing a wheelbarrow upside down. But like saying above, it's that light-volume board that complements the way I paddle and surf. And there is the conflict.

That Lost QuiverKiller scarred my psyche in so many ways. Just trying to sell that thing was a pain in the ass and I got reamed because I was desperate to sell. Whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth.

Right now the primary boards would be a 6'7" Lost roundpin and a 6'8" Barbera roundpin. I have no idea of the literage of either. Latter has a lot more foam than the former and actually it does work well in meaty waves. Both boards are great but not really that skaty shortboard feeling I am craving.

 

[oeste858]

6'4 190. I do get that wetsuit weight needs to be factored. With literage, same thing with fins. When I got the fins sized for my weight, doing an off the lip was like pushing a wheelbarrow upside down. But like saying above, it's that light-volume board that complements the way I paddle and surf. And there is the conflict.

That Lost QuiverKiller scarred my psyche in so many ways. Just trying to sell that thing was a pain in the ass and I got reamed because I was desperate to sell. Whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth.

Right now the primary boards would be a 6'7" Lost roundpin and a 6'8" Barbera roundpin. I have no idea of the literage of either. Latter has a lot more foam than the former and actually it does work well in meaty waves. Both boards are great but not really that skaty shortboard feeling I am craving.

Honestly, sounds like you’re just describing the middle-aged surfer’s dilemma in having to compromise the boar you want to surf (once up and riding) vs the added paddle power you start to need at some point. At 6’1, 180-185, fit but in my late 40’s, I’d be riding a 30L boar if I didn’t have to worry about paddling and catching waves (in a crowd), as it is, I’m on 33-36L.
If I were you, i’d keep an eye out on local CL/OU/ Facebook marketplace, for used ghosts, phantoms, pyzalien2s, maybe even a mini ghost… Pyzel manages to hide foam well. They also offer stock pro dims or XL dims. There’s a reason these are popular on here. As you can read in the other threads, ghost is both a good wave-catcher and handles late drops like a champ.
That’s my two cents.

 

[oeste858]

Saturday and Monday, got a few sectiony but fun runners at the local reefs. Just got my ultimate crutch boar (6’4 Plasmegg twin) back from Mathdebater so been surfing that. Easy like Sunday morning.

 

[Sharkbiscuit]

IMHO Kento is kind of an oddball. I have never ridden a Quiver Killer but I have a buddy who loves his as sort of an all-arounder. I have a Psycho Killer which is supposedly similar/derivative according to the marketing materials.

I'm shocked Kento's still on basically 20 year old designs and didn't click to such an extent with the Quiver Killer. I'd expect it to be much easier to surf than his older boards, and I'd generally expect the main criticism to be from people with dialed modern quivers who don't like the jack of all trades/master of none. Otherwise I would expect it to generally be a solid, but not necessarily excellent, all-arounder for most people. Clearly not the case here.

 

[Kento]

Honestly, sounds like you’re just describing the middle-aged surfer’s dilemma in having to compromise the boar you want to surf (once up and riding) vs the added paddle power you start to need at some point. At 6’1, 180-185, fit but in my late 40’s, I’d be riding a 30L boar if I didn’t have to worry about paddling and catching waves (in a crowd), as it is, I’m on 33-36L.
If I were you, i’d keep an eye out on local CL/OU/ Facebook marketplace, for used ghosts, phantoms, pyzalien2s, maybe even a mini ghost… Pyzel manages to hide foam well. They also offer stock pro dims or XL dims. There’s a reason these are popular on here. As you can read in the other threads, ghost is both a good wave-catcher and handles late drops like a champ.
That’s my two cents.

When I went to Oahu last summer, the surf was small but as it is over there, still has punch. I rented a 6'3" (6'2"?; can't remember now) Pyzel Ghost. Even with the tighter tail, I enjoyed surfing that board even in smaller, flatter-faced conditions. The fact I could still connect through sections that really required something fishier was kind of nice. It was definitely a good board, maybe a wee bit thick. Trunks vs. 5/4 though noted. And I absolutely will want that 6 oz (or at least a strong 4) deck glass up here. It's obvious to surf my 6'8" for the solid OH-DOH days out the back - the board is not the issue at all then; it's a mean ocean that has you dodging bombs that's affecting my wave count and so long you can get out the back, that's actually still kind of fun in its own way.

But the WH-2-foot-OH days, that's where my frustration is really setting in because they are high performance conditions but the erratic nature of the waves is aggravating to deal with present equipment.

Good idea on checking used lists. Didn't see much last time I looked but worth at least peeking more often.

IMHO Kento is kind of an oddball. I have never ridden a Quiver Killer but I have a buddy who loves his as sort of an all-arounder. I have a Psycho Killer which is supposedly similar/derivative according to the marketing materials.

I'm shocked Kento's still on basically 20 year old designs and didn't click to such an extent with the Quiver Killer. I'd expect it to be much easier to surf than his older boards, and I'd generally expect the main criticism to be from people with dialed modern quivers who don't like the jack of all trades/master of none. Otherwise I would expect it to generally be a solid, but not necessarily excellent, all-arounder for most people. Clearly not the case here.

I think the problem is I put more faith in the online board volume calculators than I should have at the time; I didn't have any basis for comparison and the last time I bought a board OTR was in 2000. I weighed 40 pounds more at the time so got the 39L 6'4" and it was just way too much board. Also, just too squatty. I think I like boards with a much longer but thinner rail-line (re: 6'7" roundpin that EB up here has kept alive) because it is so much fun to get a whole bunch of speed backside and just bury the rail to the nose through a huge OTL/downcarve. I feel more content now that I am going to ditch that 6'6" Senate once I can think of more positive adjectives for it - it would probably work for others for same reason it doesn't for me.

There was this magic time when Noah Budroe shaped out of San Clemente Surf Co. Like not buying coastal real estate early, damnit I should have had him shape me 30 boards. One of the ghost shapers there named Justin shaped me that 6'7" not long after; wanted the same as the 6'6 Budroe that held a wee bit better in solid OH+ waves. I think the custom boards I got out of that shop in the early 2000s were just really damn good boards.

 

[encladd]

Thanks. I had a decent workout routine last fall in the mornings but it got disrupted by DST and focus just shifted to endurance, especially when I got a bug up my ass about trailrunning. Practically 0 mid-upper body exercise beyond household stuff in the last few months.

And btw running 20 miles on that calf bruise later than afternoon wasn't just physically taxing but one of the more mentally exhausting things I have done in a long time, if ever.

Guess the question to ask is that if most of my endurance training is lower body, will there be any negative effects from taking 2-3 days of doing mid-upper body strength training?

Weighted jump ropes are what you're looking for.

 

[stringcheese]

Fun waves today. Head high +, 6-8 tuns a wave, wooo



pismo beach, ca

 

[b.r.]

mid morning window, tide kind of high but not good at the beachbreaks, headed to a reef I don't usually surf because the take off is kind of tight and I like to keep busy, surprise only 2 guys out, fun waves for an hour and 15 with shoulder high sets, water dropped a little but had the 8 year old 2nd hand isurus 4/3 which still does the trick, even got out of the front zip without assistance, then headed back to the factory for the rest of the shift.
yeww

 

[oeste858]

Another fun sesh today on the 6'4 eggy twin crutch boar. Bit side shore, sectiony and crowded, but found a sweet spot in the lineup and got a few that ran through all the way to the inside for 3-5 turns. 3rd day in a row on this boar and I felt like I managed to stay back over the slot channel and resisted the instinctive urge to creep up to the wide point and surf it from the middle. Probably helped that it was a bit punchier today, so I really had to stay back on steeper takeoffs to keep the nose up. This boar really does a bit of everything and can adapt to various conditions with the right approach. Great crowd killer too cause it catches waves so well.

 

[bluengreen]

That thing looks fun. I, too, rode a channel bottom today. 5'8 Plasmic in Ark Darts construction.

Sped to the beach after a job interview I thought went well, hoping the wind wouldn't rise too much.

As I was suiting up, surf fairy Coco Ho came out of the water and sprinkled some magic dust on me. Couldn't help but point out the Plasmic to her.

"That thing looks fun!"

Good omens all around.

Beach break with just enough size to really make the board go. Crumbly but pockety with 2-3 turn combos on offer. Crowd of 5 dwindling down to 3, so plenty of fun ones to go around.

Took a few to get used to the short turning radius, lightness, and responsiveness compared to the 7'7 Andreini I've been surfing a bunch.

I started to find the groove after relaxing and letting my positioning and the board do the surfing. Good practice for lippers and tight wraps with fins getting loose. Give this board a touch of pocket and it flies.

Pretty stocky day.

I call her the Green Nugget.

 

[oeste858]

Mixed it up today. All the recent tomo thread revival made me pull this lonely one out of the rack. 5’9 X-wing is meant to be a slopey wave boar but it did fine on the punchier sections . Some fun fast-slow-fast WH-CH frontside waves. Heavy crowd of 30-40 y.o. local rippers so dims picked off what I could and darted in and out of the inside peak between sets.
Boar is a bit of a trip with a thinned-out bullet nose and pretty foiled rails and tail, but it was nice n whippy… and smurfy AF. I like it as a quad, I think the rears placement closer to the stringer (than I normally prefer) and the center diamond tip add enough hold for that wide tail. Feels a lil small for me now (paddling) but a really fun boar

 

[ReForest]

Took this weapon out for some shredding. Pretty fun waves. Super crowded. Somehow Griff and his buddies decided to paddle out at my lonely little sandbar. Kinda cool to see good surfing, kinda not cool to hassle with people that don't normally surf that spot.

 

[Havoc]

Took this weapon out for some shredding. Pretty fun waves. Super crowded. Somehow Griff and his buddies decided to paddle out at my lonely little sandbar. Kinda cool to see good surfing, kinda not cool to hassle with people that don't normally surf that spot.

View attachment 173935

whoz griff?

also ur tracpad is too far forward

 

[Aruka]

yeah. what is that, a 4'10"? i'm surprised you can even turn that barge with such a sad pad.

also, you've waxed to the nose but then left a bare patch in front of the pad, right where your foot goes when you are getting shacked.

no firewire stickers on the board, hello??? this is not how you get invited to the surf ranch...

purple leash string is pretty dank though.

 

[oeste858]

also, you've waxed to the nose but then left a bare patch in front of the pad, right where your foot goes when you are getting shacked.

this

 

[Retropete]

6'4 190. I do get that wetsuit weight needs to be factored. With literage, same thing with fins. When I got the fins sized for my weight, doing an off the lip was like pushing a wheelbarrow upside down. But like saying above, it's that light-volume board that complements the way I paddle and surf. And there is the conflict.

That Lost QuiverKiller scarred my psyche in so many ways. Just trying to sell that thing was a pain in the ass and I got reamed because I was desperate to sell. Whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth.

Right now the primary boards would be a 6'7" Lost roundpin and a 6'8" Barbera roundpin. I have no idea of the literage of either. Latter has a lot more foam than the former and actually it does work well in meaty waves. Both boards are great but not really that skaty shortboard feeling I am craving.

This is pretty accurate once you get the planshape slider figured correctly for the boards you're working off.

[Slider-Bar] Surfboard Volume Calculator

Calculate dimensions to volume by a simple calculator. A step-by-step manual guide included.

nulltuul.com

 

[Kento]

This is pretty accurate once you get the planshape slider figured correctly for the boards you're working off.

[Slider-Bar] Surfboard Volume Calculator

Calculate dimensions to volume by a simple calculator. A step-by-step manual guide included.

nulltuul.com

Nice site. Looks like about 32-33 Liters is what I have generally surfed when weighing around 200 most of adult life. Possibly a little less since rails have been biased thin. Have experimented a while back with something around 28-29 liters (6'4 x 18 3/4 x 2 1/4) and that was definitely too low. Funny to surf but low.

 

[bluengreen]

FWIW, I'm similar dimensions to you Kento, and I'm on way more foam. The last standard tri fin shorties I was riding were in the 34-36L range. Even big pros like Jordy Smith are riding 33-34L contest boards.

 

[Bob Dobbalina]

My daily shortboard has been 32 and change.
I've typically kept the width under 20, thickness under 2 5/8, with some obvious variations.
I had a 6'0" DHD that was 20.5 and almost 3'" and it worked fantastic.

5'11"
195-215 depending on the season.