I've had a few Shadows and liked them.
As mentioned earlier in the thread, it's a good paddler and fast down the line. The wide point is more forward than most HPSBs, and the foil is thicker than most upfront. To the extent that it's a more "forgiving" board, it comes from the stability and paddle power that comes along with this. Like most Pyzels, it has a pretty high ceiling in terms of wave size and power. My experience was that the placement of the widepoint also contributed to the board feeling a little stiff at times. Turns require more front foot commitment than other boards. For me, it was more at home projecting down the line than surfing top to bottom.
The hip in the tail adds sensitivity to the board. And to me, it could feel too sensitive at times. Yeah, I know, I've said the Shadow could be both stiff and too sensitive. Like the Ghost on which it's related, the Shadow wants you actively be shifting your weight front to back to front to back. The front to back transition just works better for me on my Ghosts which I continue to love. I'm not sure if this is from the rocker or smoother outline or just the fact that in bigger surf, I'm looking to make different types of turns.
When I went back to a more traditional HPSB outline with the widepoint rear of center, it was like I rediscovered how much pivot a board could have. For waves under 6' this was a freeing feeling. I haven't ridden a Fever, but I think this is inline with it's design.
This got me thinking about the widepoint relative to stance. The "recommended" length of a Shadow is your height or your height plus an inch. My boards were 1" over my height. I've been curious about how JJF sizes his Shadows relative to his other boards and in the past year he seems to be riding lengths 3-4" shorter than him with increased thickness. I've wondered and keep wondering if he's doing this to effectively move the widepoint of the board further back relative to his stance.
Anyway, I'm tempted to try another Shadow, but this time shorter. And I'm also pretty interested to see what the Pyzel High Line will be like. From the description shared in this forum, it sounds like the widepoint will be behind center on it. Just one element of the design but enough to pique my curiosity.