Official Backfooted Boards Thread

casa_mugrienta

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Apr 13, 2008
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Petak Island
A place to post boards for the back-footed.

Though it'd be nice to have one as these types of rockers are the minority.

Lost: Driver

Xanadu: all boards in Family 1

LSD: Noa model and Chlorine Model


Backfooted surfing here:

 
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Sharkbiscuit

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Aug 6, 2003
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All short board surfing is back footed.
and at the same time rocker determines the shifting of weight and how speed is generated
Don't the waves matter bigtime?

Give me a clean Goldilocks-just-right head high wave, nice tapered line, and the 'back footed board' runs nicely.
It's onshore beachbreak moguled to hell and back, and a 'front-footed board' will enable one-legged (front leg) hopscotch speed maintenance until you get a piece of face without a bump to actually weight the back foot?
 

casa_mugrienta

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Apr 13, 2008
43,214
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Petak Island
Don't the waves matter bigtime?

Give me a clean Goldilocks-just-right head high wave, nice tapered line, and the 'back footed board' runs nicely.
It's onshore beachbreak moguled to hell and back, and a 'front-footed board' will enable one-legged (front leg) hopscotch speed maintenance until you get a piece of face without a bump to actually weight the back foot?
They work fine in any type of waves.

Because of muscle memory it might be more difficult for non-pro surfers who switch between rockers.
 

Sharkbiscuit

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Aug 6, 2003
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They work fine in any type of waves.

Because of muscle memory it might be more difficult for non-pro surfers who switch between rockers.
Hell of a lot easier to switch rockers than to try to make a Sub Driver drive when you almost never get to stop hopping as quickly as possible. I don't need a very large wave, thigh-waist will do, but it must be clean enough to descend down the face and do a bottom turn. I've had good fun in thigh-waist and clean where I could go rail to rail, and been very frustrated in chest high "choppier than it looked" trash and instantly solved the problem by grabbing the Baby Buggy. Because it is better at cramming in half pumps until a bump-less piece of face stands up.

I mean have you honestly had your Driver out in certified June Juno Beach Man-o-war infested 6 second period dogshit, and it went well? It seems to me like 'front footed' boards are for onshore contest beachbreak, and people surfing only decent+ clean waves can just go with a 'back footed' board.

Also someone said Taylor Knox. The T Knox and Fort Knox definitely seemed like 'back footed' boards.
 

casa_mugrienta

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Apr 13, 2008
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Petak Island
Hell of a lot easier to switch rockers than to try to make a Sub Driver drive when you almost never get to stop hopping as quickly as possible. I don't need a very large wave, thigh-waist will do, but it must be clean enough to descend down the face and do a bottom turn. I've had good fun in thigh-waist and clean where I could go rail to rail, and been very frustrated in chest high "choppier than it looked" trash and instantly solved the problem by grabbing the Baby Buggy. Because it is better at cramming in half pumps until a bump-less piece of face stands up.

I mean have you honestly had your Driver out in certified June Juno Beach Man-o-war infested 6 second period dogshit, and it went well? It seems to me like 'front footed' boards are for onshore contest beachbreak, and people surfing only decent+ clean waves can just go with a 'back footed' board.

Also someone said Taylor Knox. The T Knox and Fort Knox definitely seemed like 'back footed' boards.
You need the right rocker and the right approach.

Less curve through the back is inherently drivier once up and riding.

Backfooted board in bumpy short period waves:


In small onshore Florida waves a short stubby board designed exclusively for groveling would be the call.
 
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000

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Feb 20, 2003
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back in the day machado was known as front footed, he had more tail and less nose rocker

sunny was backfooted with more nose and less tail rocker
 

Sharkbiscuit

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Aug 6, 2003
26,270
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Jacksonville Beach
You need the right rocker and the right approach.

Less curve through the back is inherently drivier once up and riding.

Backfooted board in bumpy short period waves:


In small onshore Florida waves a short stubby board designed exclusively for groveling would be the call.
I'd have 0 issues with a Sub Driver in those waves; that'd be one of the 5 best days of the year in Florida for shortboard surfing. I've tried tons of flatter-tail rockered alts like the 1st gen RNFQ, Shark Quad, SD2, PJ and PJHP etc small very onshore Florida, none close to as good as the Baby Buggy if there's moguls on the face (none really seen in video; faces look fine).
The one alt I've tried worth a doo doo in that is the OG Rocket.

You see here this guy, he is bogging because there's a piece of chop RIGHT in the way. I don't know how you deal with this on a flat tail rocker board, and the instant there's not moguls to hop over, I jump right on them. If I tried to do a real Sub Driver bottom turn I'd be in the same bog boat as him. I don't understand how you deal with this other than stay mid-face and light/quick, hop over it, and then quickly pump from mid-face to crest if the next section doesn't have a mogul, and not sure how a flatter rocker does that better than a flippy one.

Is there a very steep/dredging really tight pockets point at which you like more tail rocker, or no?

 

Sharkbiscuit

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Aug 6, 2003
26,270
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Jacksonville Beach
@casa_mugrienta I think you said you liked the Sharp Eyes. Most of those strike me as 'front-footed' but maybe the old SB-10 is worth a look; I remember when it first came out. Never seemed to go nuts in popularity like the Disco but maybe might suit you.

 

casa_mugrienta

Duke status
Apr 13, 2008
43,214
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Petak Island
I'd have 0 issues with a Sub Driver in those waves; that'd be one of the 5 best days of the year in Florida for shortboard surfing. I've tried tons of flatter-tail rockered alts like the 1st gen RNFQ, Shark Quad, SD2, PJ and PJHP etc small very onshore Florida, none close to as good as the Baby Buggy if there's moguls on the face (none really seen in video; faces look fine).
The one alt I've tried worth a doo doo in that is the OG Rocket.

You see here this guy, he is bogging because there's a piece of chop RIGHT in the way. I don't know how you deal with this on a flat tail rocker board, and the instant there's not moguls to hop over, I jump right on them. If I tried to do a real Sub Driver bottom turn I'd be in the same bog boat as him. I don't understand how you deal with this other than stay mid-face and light/quick, hop over it, and then quickly pump from mid-face to crest if the next section doesn't have a mogul, and not sure how a flatter rocker does that better than a flippy one.

Is there a very steep/dredging really tight pockets point at which you like more tail rocker, or no?

Rusty sez:

"Too much rocker in the nose won’t prevent pearling or poking if the tail is too straight. The back part of the board needs to fit the canopy of the wave.

A low entry may paddle well and catch waves early but it might not fit the curve of the trough of the wave and it will also set an arc (lack of curve) that fights the change in curve in the back of the board."

So I guess it's an issue of combining rocker and rail rocker, among other factors, and finding the balance of both for a wave. I don't know, I'm not a shaper.

For a wave like the one in the picture smaller and flatter at both ends is better IMO - I'd go with the 5'2 JS Flaming Pony. If anyone wants to tell me what kind of orientation of rocker it has go for it. https://us.jsindustries.com/flaming-pony To me it looks balanced, but I have a horrible eye for this stuff unless it's obvious.

I'm not sure how one rocker or another would be preferred when you're dealing with moguls of chop.
 

casa_mugrienta

Duke status
Apr 13, 2008
43,214
17,644
113
Petak Island
@casa_mugrienta I think you said you liked the Sharp Eyes. Most of those strike me as 'front-footed' but maybe the old SB-10 is worth a look; I remember when it first came out. Never seemed to go nuts in popularity like the Disco but maybe might suit you.

Never seen the SB10.

They have enough backfooted models.




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