Here are some quick reviews for you guys... Starting with the Sub Driver 2.0
I think you’d be hard pressed to find an everyday shortboard that is more versatile than a Sub Driver. I’ve had a good time on them in 3 foot slop and I’ve found them to actually work in overhead Indo waves or anything in between. The last couple years I took a break from riding Losts in favor of my Pyzel quiver. But towards the end of last season I decided to bring out the good ‘ol driver to see what I was missing. It turns out I was missing quite a bit and that the Driver is a really nice fit between the Shadow and Radius and made for a nice reprise from the Pyzel’s highly composed feel with it’s more raw, aggressive approach.
When the 2.0 series came out I knew I’d be ordering some for this season and obviously the sub driver just arrived. The driver is still on the way. Fortunately the waves turned on a bit this last week which gave me a chance to get a few of my new boards in the water. From the very first wave I caught on the Sub Driver I was impressed. The board is seriously fast. LIke faster than any shortboard I can remember out of the gates fast. Maybe I’m familiar with the board but it just felt easy to surf right off the bat and totally clicked. Like every time I stood up I was in the exact right spot. It does all the things you’d hope a short board to do, goes fast, is loose, has a drivey, positive feel and is willing to do a cutback or go above the lip. Maybe my only complaint is that I found it to be a bit reluctant in tight spots but that might also just be a matter of getting used to it. I can definitely tell you that I’m excited for the driver to arrive.
Did I mention that it’s light speed construction? Yeah, I did. The light speed feels good. It’s not quite as light as carbon wrap but I think it’s definitely lighter than a standard PU. Not really sure how to explain the feeling, and I might just be making things up, but I found the light speed to feel a little bit more smooth and damp than a carbon wrap. I like carbon wraps but I felt like they had a tendency to be a little tweaky and unhappy in anything beside glass or light onshore. I feel like light speed is a little bit smoother and feels more like a PU in a good way.
The Rad Ripper I haven’t actually ridden but I ordered this custom because a stock Rad Ripper that I got last year was one of my favorite boards of the season. I found the stock 5’8 to be a tad small so I ordered a 5’9 in the same width and thickness to give it a little more length and volume which I thought would be a benefit at OB. I love the rad ripper, it’s seriously so much fun. It absolutely flies in 2 foot waves as long as there’s a little pulse behind it. But it also totally works when it starts to get square and shoulder to head high. These are pretty standard conditions for the inner bars here at OB so that makes it a pretty fun sled to have when the waves are fun, even good, but not big. From day one I threw a pair of large reactors on the board and it was so fast, loose and positive it just constantly kept a grin on my face when riding it. The custom came out great and looks absolutely insane.
For
@Aruka, I did also just get a Pyzalien in Dark Arts. I’ve had a pyzalien before and I’ve had some boards from Dark Arts (aka Justin) so I was pretty excited to try it. Honestly, I’m not too stoked but I’m reserving judgement for now. The first time I rode it the waves were very weak and I put a pair of fiberglass fins it and the board just felt dead. Thinking that the fins probably weren’t a good fit, I pulled those out and got the board back out in some slightly better conditions. With some fun, but still not great waves on tap, I threw in a pair of Jack Freestone future speed generating fins and expected a much better experience. Just as bad, if not worse. The board would catch waves fairly well but as soon as I stood up it was like slamming on the breaks. Not really sure what’s going on but there are definitely a couple possible issues. One is that I really don’t have future fins wired. Two, is that in my experience Pyzels are fairly sensitive fins and prefer raked templates which I don’t have a lot of. Three, I had a pyzalien in the past and don’t remember loving it. Four, is that the Pyzalien is a more high performance board that it seems??? Five, the board is an outright dog. If that’s the case, it’s going to be a very expensive mistake so I’m really trying to make it work.