Salsa Reviews the Sharp Eye Infernal 72

[ehiunno]

Also shout-out to @JDJ and @MathDebater for encouraging me to go to Trestles in the other thread. I posted up there for a day and had a great time. Obviously super crowded but lots of waves to go around and pockets/peaks with less people... besides its not like Huntington and Newport are uncrowded lol. Will have to go back sometime.

 

[MathDebater]

Glad you went! It might be a zoo, but if you've got plenty of time it's not hard to get some really fun waves.

 

[ehiunno]

For sure the key is having a lot of time. I was expecting it to be super aggro and to get burned a bunch (Santa Cruz style) but everyone was really nice despite it being baringly obvious that I am not from SoCal lmao.

I also struggled to read the waves more than expected because it broke SO differently from what I am used to but I was starting to get it figured out towards the end. Apparently I've got a free place to crash half an hour away so yeah... will definitely be back.

 

[Aruka]

Welp, I YOLO'd this board after all, there's a story here... WoT warning

I was recently in Orange County visiting a non-surfing friend. I was riding my Shadow in some janky low tide Huntington when I tried to kick out of a wave, lost my board, and when it came up I found this...
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I guess the board got slammed into the sandbar by the lip and a chunk broke off of the corner. I still have the missing piece, but obviously that's a super difficult repair with no guarantee the board would surf the same. I love this board and am pretty freaking bummed out. With a solid swell on the way for the next couple days and a Gremlin as my only other board I had basically two options if I wanted to surf: 1) try to find a used board to ride for a couple days and pray that after an expensive repair the shadow will still be good or 2) YOLO

I stopped by a few shops to check inventory, obviously lots to choose from given my location which was nice. Eventually I found myself in Jacks Surfboards Newport and there it was... a skinny 5'10" Sharpei I72 for only $660, and the last I72 that they had left. Given that most clear pu/pe hpsb are now north of $700, custom turn-arounds are insanely long and this board is super in demand I figured it was a sign that YOLO was the way forward

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Dealing with the wax on the black deck was annoying so I did some pad surgery and moved the front pad I had gotten to try on the Gremlin over and holy sh!t does it look dope.

The only problem? It's FCSII and not Futures . I called SE to get a fin rec. Marcio answered and was happy to answer several questions which made me extra stocked to support them. He (unsurprisingly?) recommended the Toledo fin. He actually suggested I try the large for my weight (160#) as he felt the FT Large was on the smaller side for a large fin. He also said he loved the H4 but I was skeptical so I went with the FT Larges.

I rode it for a couple of days before I came back home and it felt really good overall. That said it was pumping and on some of the larger waves (approaching DOH but mushy) I had it felt a little stiff on turns, but on closer to HH waves it felt good. I definitely needed to push harder through my turns with the larger fins than I am used to but that might be positive for my surfing overall. I'm not totally sold on the L fins yet but I want to try them in some smaller waves as I can see the potential there.

Honestly though? I'm probably more bummed about the Shadow than I am stocked to YOLO the I72. That board is/was a favorite for sure. I'll attempt a repair and maybe I'll get lucky and have two sick hpsb on my hands, we'll see. When I get some more surfs on the I72 in some waves I am more familiar with I'll report back!

Bummer on the shadow but a good ding guy should for sure be able to get it back to normal i would think.

Keep us posted on the i72.

Mine arrived while I was gone on a surf trip and I just got home and unboxed it. First impressions are really good. Feels a little heavier than my other darkarts which im happy about. Some interesting things going on with the rail transition from sharp tail to round above the fins. Rocker up front looks to be a fair bit with the mid to rear section being more moderate. Should work well for me. The 6'3" has a 14.75" tail width and nose is just a skosh over 12". Not a far cry from the Driver in some ways but it has a pretty deep double con vs. my Driver which is strait single. Can't wait to ride it in some freezing wind slop. I haven't checked forecast but just assuming since I got a new board...

 

[Havoc]

Bummer on the shadow but a good ding guy should for sure be able to get it back to normal i would think.

Keep us posted on the i72.

Mine arrived while I was gone on a surf trip and I just got home and unboxed it. First impressions are really good. Feels a little heavier than my other darkarts which im happy about. Some interesting things going on with the rail transition from sharp tail to round above the fins. Rocker up front looks to be a fair bit with the mid to rear section being more moderate. Should work well for me. The 6'3" has a 14.75" tail width and nose is just a skosh over 12". Not a far cry from the Driver in some ways but it has a pretty deep double con vs. my Driver which is strait single. Can't wait to ride it in some freezing wind slop. I haven't checked forecast but just assuming since I got a new board...

Sukoshi, des ne!

 

[ehiunno]

Bummer on the shadow but a good ding guy should for sure be able to get it back to normal i would think.

Keep us posted on the i72.

Mine arrived while I was gone on a surf trip and I just got home and unboxed it. First impressions are really good. Feels a little heavier than my other darkarts which im happy about. Some interesting things going on with the rail transition from sharp tail to round above the fins. Rocker up front looks to be a fair bit with the mid to rear section being more moderate. Should work well for me. The 6'3" has a 14.75" tail width and nose is just a skosh over 12". Not a far cry from the Driver in some ways but it has a pretty deep double con vs. my Driver which is strait single. Can't wait to ride it in some freezing wind slop. I haven't checked forecast but just assuming since I got a new board...

Whoa fast turnaround didn't you order that pretty recently?

Similarly it will probably be fall before I can properly put this board through the paces. But you never know we do sometimes randomly get decent waves in the summer. Either way will be interesting to grovel on it and see what the range is like. Will report back!

 

[trifish]

Man sucks the shadow got the tail trashed, but sounds like you were able to make the best of it.

 

[feralseppo]

Man sucks the shadow got the tail trashed, but sounds like you were able to make the best of it.

The important thing is the leash string looks like it made it through unscathed.

 

[Aruka]

The important thing is the leash string looks like it made it through unscathed.

ya, are we sure this wasn't faulty leash string related? looks a bit lengthy to my eye but i'm no expert. not yet, at least. still a few credits away.

 

[Aruka]

 

[LifeOnMars]

nice board Rodin

19.88 wide?

 

[Aruka]

19.68

 

[Aruka]

First session in the books. DHD L fins. Chest high +/- bowly near shore sand bar. Good push on most but some flat sections to skate across as well. The board felt pretty natural right away. Nothing weird or worrisome. No problem getting into waves which was a relief as looking at the board it appears to have quite a bit of nose rocker but I think a lot of it is the flip in the front 4 inches or so. I actually found myself getting a nice early entry on a few waves and as soon as the wave stood up the board really felt tapped in to the power. Volume felt about right. Adjusting to the thick suit again after 10 days in Cabo was probably harder than adjusting to the board itself. The waves were really fun and the board just felt better and better as the session went on. Got a lot of fun snaps but the best feeling turns were carves in the pocket. It's a turn I struggle with in small waves because I'm so tall and ride longer boards but the I72 felt like it was meant to do that turn. Definitely feels like a little more low end than the Driver 2.0. Whether that is the shorter/wider dims or the rocker/concave it's hard to say. The tail is a little squarer than the Driver's so it probably has slightly more area but overall I think they have similar tail widths at 12". Had a few waves that went slow through the midsection and I was able to carry speed over the flat spot and get in a final turn. It was mostly right handers but I did get a couple lefts and the board felt equally good or better on the backhand. Overall one of the best first sessions I've ever had on a new HPSB. The waves were really fun and I probably could have ridden a lot of different boards and had a good time but overall I felt like this Sharpeye was kind of killing it.

 

[jkb]

First session in the books. DHD L fins. Chest high +/- bowly near shore sand bar. Good push on most but some flat sections to skate across as well. The board felt pretty natural right away. Nothing weird or worrisome. No problem getting into waves which was a relief as looking at the board it appears to have quite a bit of nose rocker but I think a lot of it is the flip in the front 4 inches or so. I actually found myself getting a nice early entry on a few waves and as soon as the wave stood up the board really felt tapped in to the power. Volume felt about right. Adjusting to the thick suit again after 10 days in Cabo was probably harder than adjusting to the board itself. The waves were really fun and the board just felt better and better as the session went on. Got a lot of fun snaps but the best feeling turns were carves in the pocket. It's a turn I struggle with in small waves because I'm so tall and ride longer boards but the I72 felt like it was meant to do that turn. Definitely feels like a little more low end than the Driver 2.0. Whether that is the shorter/wider dims or the rocker/concave it's hard to say. The tail is a little squarer than the Driver's so it probably has slightly more area but overall I think they have similar tail widths at 12". Had a few waves that went slow through the midsection and I was able to carry speed over the flat spot and get in a final turn. It was mostly right handers but I did get a couple lefts and the board felt equally good or better on the backhand. Overall one of the best first sessions I've ever had on a new HPSB. The waves were really fun and I probably could have ridden a lot of different boards and had a good time but overall I felt like this Sharpeye was kind of killing it.

Nice Aruka!

How was Cabo?

 

[Aruka]

Nice Aruka!

How was Cabo?

Pretty fun. We surfed all over. I think only one day did we strike out but it was good to have a rest. Lots of driving and lots of crowds at some places. We had a friend who lives there show us around so we managed to get some fun stuff away from the hordes. The travel had a bit of extra covid hassle and a flight delay that resulted in us not getting to our hotel back in the states until 230AM. Still, worth it.

 

[kool-aid]

First session in the books. DHD L fins. Chest high +/- bowly near shore sand bar. Good push on most but some flat sections to skate across as well. The board felt pretty natural right away. Nothing weird or worrisome. No problem getting into waves which was a relief as looking at the board it appears to have quite a bit of nose rocker but I think a lot of it is the flip in the front 4 inches or so. I actually found myself getting a nice early entry on a few waves and as soon as the wave stood up the board really felt tapped in to the power. Volume felt about right. Adjusting to the thick suit again after 10 days in Cabo was probably harder than adjusting to the board itself. The waves were really fun and the board just felt better and better as the session went on. Got a lot of fun snaps but the best feeling turns were carves in the pocket. It's a turn I struggle with in small waves because I'm so tall and ride longer boards but the I72 felt like it was meant to do that turn. Definitely feels like a little more low end than the Driver 2.0. Whether that is the shorter/wider dims or the rocker/concave it's hard to say. The tail is a little squarer than the Driver's so it probably has slightly more area but overall I think they have similar tail widths at 12". Had a few waves that went slow through the midsection and I was able to carry speed over the flat spot and get in a final turn. It was mostly right handers but I did get a couple lefts and the board felt equally good or better on the backhand. Overall one of the best first sessions I've ever had on a new HPSB. The waves were really fun and I probably could have ridden a lot of different boards and had a good time but overall I felt like this Sharpeye was kind of killing it.

looks sick bro. Assuming this was a custom? What kind of turn around time we talking about here?

 

[Aruka]

it was custom but stock dims were actually pretty close (little wider) to what I would order so I just went with stock 6-3 sizing. was quoted 10-12 weeks and it was done in 6 which I was not expecting.

fit and finish was great but there was a pretty big glob of epoxy in the left fin box which took me a bit of chiseling to get clear. far from the first time i've had that on a new board but this stuff was next level hard and stuck in there and it didn't flake out like poly or most epoxys do even. I think it was whatever the black stuff they use to set the fins is. got it cleaned out though and the fins all look bang on and strait. not sure I can say the same for my traction pad

 

[racer1]

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This is the content I’m here for.

 

[Havoc]

it was custom but stock dims were actually pretty close (little wider) to what I would order so I just went with stock 6-3 sizing. was quoted 10-12 weeks and it was done in 6 which I was not expecting.

fit and finish was great but there was a pretty big glob of epoxy in the left fin box which took me a bit of chiseling to get clear. far from the first time i've had that on a new board but this stuff was next level hard and stuck in there and it didn't flake out like poly or most epoxys do even. I think it was whatever the black stuff they use to set the fins is. got it cleaned out though and the fins all look bang on and strait. not sure I can say the same for my traction pad

i intentionally put my pad on crooked so if it ends up straight i'm not irritated. if not, then fk it, it was intentional.

 

[ghostshaper]

i intentionally put my pad on crooked so if it ends up straight i'm not irritated. if not, then fk it, it was intentional.

OCD sucks!