Pyzel Mini Ghost

j_mac

Legend (inyourownmind)
Aug 16, 2020
418
1,567
93
The Ghost is epic. The last time I was in Indo I rode a 3 board Pyzel quiver and it was insane. 5'11 round tail phantom, 6'1 radius, and 6'2 ghost. I still have two ghosts in my quiver and they are undoubtedly awesome boards. I have really solid memories of surfing uncrowded well overhead plate glass race tracks on the radius and having the time of my life.

Definitely going to switch up the fins (smaller thrusters, try it as a quad). See how it goes like that. If the board is meant to be for better surf and it has to be kind of pushy and round then I'm skeptical. The board is just too chunky and corky for me to believe it will be fun in those conditions but you never know. Definitely think this just might not be my jam and it's going to be a YOLO gone wrong.
I think what you are experiencing is similar to me and why I downsized and tried different fin set-ups. If you ever want to drive farther south and meet up- fun, beautiful punchy beach break to try.

These are the typical waves that I am surfing the MG in (picture is not me)

punchy_break.png
 

kool-aid

Michael Peterson status
Aug 28, 2003
3,026
2,614
113
San Francisco
I think what you are experiencing is similar to me and why I downsized and tried different fin set-ups. If you ever want to drive farther south and meet up- fun, beautiful punchy beach break to try.

These are the typical waves that I am surfing the MG in (picture is not me)

View attachment 132132
Did you go below your normal volume to get the desired feel?

If I had felt up the board IRL I might have done that TBH.
 

j_mac

Legend (inyourownmind)
Aug 16, 2020
418
1,567
93
Did you go below your normal volume to get the desired feel?

If I had felt up the board IRL I might have done that TBH.
Yes, I am below what I would consider my normal volume by liter maybe more @ the shorter size. At 5' 6" and because it doesn't grovel well, I felt was stuck in-between not enough volume and yet too much board/width. With 5' 5", it made it more fun. One size down, it feels like a bigger step than other boards in changing dimensions. ***Last night, it was slight decrease in paddling and wave catching, but significantly more fun on the wave. I was 100% comfortable at these dimensions and it felt right, and wouldn't go lower than this for me. I think I am rightsized now for what I want to get out of this board, still TBD, need more surfs on it.
 
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sdsrfr

Phil Edwards status
Jul 13, 2020
5,856
11,262
113
San Diego
Felt up a 5’10 yesterday OTR and was kinda like woah, I thought I might like a 5’9?

these things are chonky with considerable tail flip.

could def see how riding one’s “album volume” could go wrong.
 

kool-aid

Michael Peterson status
Aug 28, 2003
3,026
2,614
113
San Francisco
Got the board in the water today for a second session. Here are my impressions.

Switched the JJF larges out for AM2 larges which was definitely an improvement. Started with the JJFs because the tail seemed pretty chunky and I thought it would benefit from the extra fin but I guess that wasn't the right move.

Also ripped off a front pad that I had put on there. Every now and then I think a front pad is a good idea and without fail it never seems to really work for me. Getting rid of that was also an improvement.

Surfed three days in a row. Also an improvement... or at least I can take that variable out of the equation.

I'm still pretty lukewarm on the board. I feel like once I removed the front pad the board paddles pretty decently but I'd still say it catches waves alright but maybe not as well as a board with more planning area. So the board can definitely move when there is a bit of a curve to the face. When the board is going I can definitely see how it's a fun, rippable, shred machine.

But once the wave flattens out it feels like it completely hits the brakes. Almost like the rocker break is in the wrong spot to glide over the flat spots??? Unless the waves at OB are really good they tend to go steep - flat - steep so it's a bit hard to have a board that doesn't want to cruise over flat sections.

Just to be clear, I wouldn't call this board a dog or a bad shape by any stretch of the imagination.

But definitely don't think it's for me, or for OB, or for the waves I wanted to use it in, or for some combination of all of those things. If I compare the board to say a rad ripper, I can see how this is a tiny bit more high performance but I don't think it has more range necessarily and it's A LOT less fun from my perspective. If I compare it to say a Sub Driver or a Happy Every day, I'd say those boards outperform this one on every single dimension.

I'm not trying to suggest these are apples-to-apples comparisons but I don't think this board is going to have a spot in my quiver. Will give it one last go to see if it grows on me or happens to be fun/good enough for better waves to justify keeping but I'm not getting my hopes up.

If anyone is dying to try a 5'9 LMK because it would not be hard to convince me to part ways.
 
Last edited:

oeste858

Phil Edwards status
Sep 11, 2017
6,931
17,272
113
San Diego, CA
That’s a bummer. I hope that’s not gonna be the case for me. I’m looking forward to trying mine whenever we get some waves over… marginal.
 

Pyzelsurfboards

OTF status
Jul 14, 2015
316
1,606
93
Visit site
Got the board in the water today for a second session. Here are my impressions.

Switched the JJF larges out for AM2 larges which was definitely an improvement. Started with the JJFs because the tail seemed pretty chunky and I thought it would benefit from the extra fin but I guess that wasn't the right move.

Also ripped off a front pad that I had put on there. Every now and then I think a front pad is a good idea and without fail it never seems to really work for me. Getting rid of that was also an improvement.

Surfed three days in a row. Also an improvement... or at least I can take that variable out of the equation.

I'm still pretty lukewarm on the board. I feel like once I removed the front pad the board paddles pretty decently but I'd still say it catches waves alright but maybe not as well as a board with more planning area. So the board can definitely move when there is a bit of a curve to the face. When the board is going I can definitely see how it's a fun, rippable, shred machine.

But once the wave flattens out it feels like it completely hits the brakes. Almost like the rocker break is in the wrong spot to glide over the flat spots??? Unless the waves at OB are really good they tend to go steep - flat - steep so it's a bit hard to have a board that doesn't want to cruise over flat sections.

Just to be clear, I wouldn't call this board a dog or a bad shape by any stretch of the imagination.

But definitely don't think it's for me, or for OB, or for the waves I wanted to use it in, or for some combination of all of those things. If I compare the board to say a rad ripper, I can see how this is a tiny bit more high performance but I don't think it has more range necessarily and it's A LOT less fun from my perspective. If I compare it to say a Sub Driver or a Happy Every day, I'd say those boards outperform this one on every single dimension.

I'm not trying to suggest these are apples-to-apples comparisons but I don't think this board is going to have a spot in my quiver. Will give it one last go to see if it grows on me or happens to be fun/good enough for better waves to justify keeping but I'm not getting my hopes up.

If anyone is dying to try a 5'9 LMK because it would not be hard to convince me to part ways.
I've been keeping up on all the back and forth here and sorry to hear you aren't clicking with your MG. Without a doubt not every board is good for every surfer. Hopefully you aren't giving up on us!!
 

Aruka

Tom Curren status
Feb 23, 2010
11,981
22,510
113
PNW
Got the board in the water today for a second session. Here are my impressions.

Switched the JJF larges out for AM2 larges which was definitely an improvement. Started with the JJFs because the tail seemed pretty chunky and I thought it would benefit from the extra fin but I guess that wasn't the right move.

Also ripped off a front pad that I had put on there. Every now and then I think a front pad is a good idea and without fail it never seems to really work for me. Getting rid of that was also an improvement.

Surfed three days in a row. Also an improvement... or at least I can take that variable out of the equation.

I'm still pretty lukewarm on the board. I feel like once I removed the front pad the board paddles pretty decently but I'd still say it catches waves alright but maybe not as well as a board with more planning area. So the board can definitely move when there is a bit of a curve to the face. When the board is going I can definitely see how it's a fun, rippable, shred machine.

But once the wave flattens out it feels like it completely hits the brakes. Almost like the rocker break is in the wrong spot to glide over the flat spots??? Unless the waves at OB are really good they tend to go steep - flat - steep so it's a bit hard to have a board that doesn't want to cruise over flat sections.

Just to be clear, I wouldn't call this board a dog or a bad shape by any stretch of the imagination.

But definitely don't think it's for me, or for OB, or for the waves I wanted to use it in, or for some combination of all of those things. If I compare the board to say a rad ripper, I can see how this is a tiny bit more high performance but I don't think it has more range necessarily and it's A LOT less fun from my perspective. If I compare it to say a Sub Driver or a Happy Every day, I'd say those boards outperform this one on every single dimension.

I'm not trying to suggest these are apples-to-apples comparisons but I don't think this board is going to have a spot in my quiver. Will give it one last go to see if it grows on me or happens to be fun/good enough for better waves to justify keeping but I'm not getting my hopes up.

If anyone is dying to try a 5'9 LMK because it would not be hard to convince me to part ways.
5-9 seems kinda small for you or am I misremembering your height/weight?
 

kool-aid

Michael Peterson status
Aug 28, 2003
3,026
2,614
113
San Francisco
5-9 seems kinda small for you or am I misremembering your height/weight?
I'm 5'11 x 180 on the dot. 30.5L is in my strike zone volume-wise for an everyday shortboard.

My normal everyday shortboard dims are 5'11 x 19 1/4 x 2 9/16 and 6'0 x 19 1/8 x 2 9/16.
 
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kool-aid

Michael Peterson status
Aug 28, 2003
3,026
2,614
113
San Francisco
I've been keeping up on all the back and forth here and sorry to hear you aren't clicking with your MG. Without a doubt not every board is good for every surfer. Hopefully you aren't giving up on us!!
Not even close. I'm deep into the Pyzel lineup...

ghost (3)
shadow (2)
radius (2)
phantom (1)
padillac (2)
tank (1)
mini-ghost (1)
pyzalien (2)

Every single one of these boards has been super solid and featured a meaningful rotation in the quiver.

In fact, I honestly can't think of another shaper that has had as high a hit rate on board quality as this list.
 

oeste858

Phil Edwards status
Sep 11, 2017
6,931
17,272
113
San Diego, CA
Not even close. I'm deep into the Pyzel lineup...

ghost (3)
shadow (2)
radius (2)
phantom (1)
padillac (2)
tank (1)
mini-ghost (1)
pyzalien (2)

Every single one of these boards has been super solid and featured a meaningful rotation in the quiver.

In fact, I honestly can't think of another shaper that has had as high a hit rate on board quality as this list.
How was the Phantom as a step-down ghost for the “getting through flat spots” issue you’re having with the MG?
 

kool-aid

Michael Peterson status
Aug 28, 2003
3,026
2,614
113
San Francisco
How was the Phantom as a step-down ghost for the “getting through flat spots” issue you’re having with the MG?
I honestly remember it being a little bit more forgiving in those situations. I remember it having good low-end range for a shortboard but it certainly wasn't a groveler.

It was a custom though 5'11 x 19 1/4 x 2 9/16 with a round tail in XTR so it was meant more like an everyday HPSB and I'd use it in the same conditions I'd use a Sub Driver.

http://instagr.am/p/BpVC3Mkn-K9/
That was the board. Ended up selling it eventually and the guy I sold it to loved it as well.
 
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Swallow Tail

Billy Hamilton status
Oct 6, 2017
1,679
2,938
113
Your Mom’s House
I think what you are experiencing is similar to me and why I downsized and tried different fin set-ups. If you ever want to drive farther south and meet up- fun, beautiful punchy beach break to try.

These are the typical waves that I am surfing the MG in (picture is not me)

View attachment 132132
AD7950D3-5C14-4D19-9C8B-78284F14DF3D.jpeg

same bar, w a lil more energy this past winter ;)
 

Pyzelsurfboards

OTF status
Jul 14, 2015
316
1,606
93
Visit site
Not even close. I'm deep into the Pyzel lineup...

ghost (3)
shadow (2)
radius (2)
phantom (1)
padillac (2)
tank (1)
mini-ghost (1)
pyzalien (2)

Every single one of these boards has been super solid and featured a meaningful rotation in the quiver.

In fact, I honestly can't think of another shaper that has had as high a hit rate on board quality as this list.
stoked! Thanks for that ?
 
Dec 23, 2017
5
7
3
Hi all, looking at custom ordering an MG squash or maybe even swallow for Queensland beach breaks here in Oz.

Really enjoyed and appreciated everyone's ride reports and feedback. I love the concept of the MG as I'm short (5'6) and like my DD around 5'4 27.5L for waist to HH WAVES. However, I keep hearing mixed reviews on the MG, it looks like it should grovel okayish but from the sound of it, it's a board that likes better waves?

Not sure whether to order a shortened and beefed up Pyzalien 2 or MG squash/swallow. Any more insights on the MG would be great.
 

casa_mugrienta

Duke status
Apr 13, 2008
43,209
17,636
113
Petak Island
Can you explain to me what that means to you? I have never felt like a board is either Front or Back footed!
Backfooted = most rocker curve from the middle to nose of the board, drive coming from the middle of the board to tail.

Front footed = Entry rocker is low, with most rocker curve 1/3 of the way back from the nose to the tail. Doesn't drive off the tail but instead the middle of the board.