Spot on.
I’m in the camp that does not want to surf like a shortboar if I’m on a bigger boar. Every turn should be soul-arched with jazz hands!
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***The Official Mid-Length Thread***
- Thread starter 92122
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I’m in the camp that does not want to surf like a shortboar if I’m on a bigger boar. Every turn should be soul-arched with jazz hands!
What camp is Torren Martyn in? Is he trying to surf like he's on a shortboard? If not, then is his surfing no longer considered "high performance"? Aerial surfing is impressive, but give me a carve any day.Spot on.
I’m in the camp that does not want to surf like a shortboar if I’m on a bigger boar. Every turn should be soul-arched with jazz hands!
Because I started surfing in the early to mid 70's ('73 to be precise), I'll always consider boards in the 6-6 to 7-6 range a shortboard. They weren't longboards. And I'll always consider what BK, Hakman, Bertlemann, MR etc etc were doing back then to be "high performance".
I'm like Craig in the Middy review when he says, "I'll always consider myself a shortboard purist at heart," but at 61 years old I find when I ride my short board (now a 6-3, up from a 6-0 pre covid, pre back injury) I have less fun than I would have on a 7+ board. I blow take offs and miss waves which I almost never do on a mid. And my back always hurts after a shortboard session. It's a hard pill to swallow. But I'm to the point where I rather be seen as a kook for riding a mid, than be seen as a kook for blowing takeoffs.
ps Craig is so much better to watch than Yuri. But it irked me when he repeatedly said "performance orientated." Is that a word? Also, the wet t-shirt made him look like Jimbo. Why not just wear a rash guard?
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61? You ride whatever the hell you want!
Torren is in camp 1. He rides each board with lines appropriate to the design. High performance lines on the shorter twins, longer smooth lines with no flailing on the long ones.
Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with sizing your "shortboard" appropriate to weight and age but these boards aren't really what the "mid length" term was coined for, they're really "gentlemans shortboards" if you will. Midlength has just become a convenient hip rebrand of these shapes / marketing tool for some shapers to hitch their bandwagon too that misses the point a little in my opinion
Greg Webber has some 6'8"++ designs that actually has some glide and turns in them. Most middis looks like they are bogging both rails at the same time, to quote middi master Jordy "The Nipple" Smith.
Lot has to do with rocker.
The more classic mid lengths have less of it particularly in the tail which puts more rail in the water and forces a different line with less release.
The ones with more rocker get into the big shortboard realm and allow quicker turns that approximate shortboarding.
Torrens mids are pretty flat. The twins loosen it up a bit but keep a pretty classic line.
I prefer the first camp.
The more classic mid lengths have less of it particularly in the tail which puts more rail in the water and forces a different line with less release.
The ones with more rocker get into the big shortboard realm and allow quicker turns that approximate shortboarding.
Torrens mids are pretty flat. The twins loosen it up a bit but keep a pretty classic line.
I prefer the first camp.
I guess they've become a "thing."
I've always had an interest in mid lengths because the spot I surf most in winter became a "longboard spot." Short history- the spot was originally called Paddleboard Cove and there are some classic Leroy Grannis photos and some of Tom Blake riding there on a plywood kook box. But by the time I arrived everyone was on shortboards (see my definition of 70's shortboards above). When longboarding had its renaissance (when was it? In the early 90's?) the longboards returned to the spot in earnest.
A true shortboard is a handicap there no matter what the crowd or conditions are, but on some lowtide, head high + waves a 6-6 or 6-10 is magic. But good luck trying to get a wave from the 9-0s.
So I always had an interest in the boards like Rusty's "Desert Island" or CI's "M13." Midlengths have always been around. Maybe I should try to reporduce my 6-11, (3 inch thick) ET stinger that was my first new surfboard on which I got many a good wave at said spot...
Also, as far as "flailing" vs "classic lines" maybe it's the archer more than the arrow? Case in point-
vs
I've always had an interest in mid lengths because the spot I surf most in winter became a "longboard spot." Short history- the spot was originally called Paddleboard Cove and there are some classic Leroy Grannis photos and some of Tom Blake riding there on a plywood kook box. But by the time I arrived everyone was on shortboards (see my definition of 70's shortboards above). When longboarding had its renaissance (when was it? In the early 90's?) the longboards returned to the spot in earnest.
A true shortboard is a handicap there no matter what the crowd or conditions are, but on some lowtide, head high + waves a 6-6 or 6-10 is magic. But good luck trying to get a wave from the 9-0s.
So I always had an interest in the boards like Rusty's "Desert Island" or CI's "M13." Midlengths have always been around. Maybe I should try to reporduce my 6-11, (3 inch thick) ET stinger that was my first new surfboard on which I got many a good wave at said spot...
Also, as far as "flailing" vs "classic lines" maybe it's the archer more than the arrow? Case in point-
vs
That’s kinda what I was trying to get at though, it’s trying to surf the board like the length it is not the length you wish you could surf.
Back then The aforementioned m13 was really a “gentleman’s shortboard” in my definition and a “midlength” sat in that at least 6’10 but less than 9’ and on a more alternative branch of the design tree.
Damn you, I resemble that remark... at least the "older" and "intermediate" part.
But it's not that I try to ride my mid-like a shortboard, it's just that I cant ride either that well, so the mid is a bit easier in most conditions I choose to go out in.
I have this exact same board, same size, and aspire to surf well enough to always have this much fun on it. Again not trying to ride it like a shortboard or in waves a shortboard > groveler would work better, but this kind of surfing looks so fun to me.Spot on.
I’m in the camp that does not want to surf like a shortboar if I’m on a bigger boar. Every turn should be soul-arched with jazz hands!
Nice surfing. I wonder if he had the quad set up? Board looked very drivey. And loose.Damn you, I resemble that remark... at least the "older" and "intermediate" part.
But it's not that I try to ride my mid-like a shortboard, it's just that I cant ride either that well, so the mid is a bit easier in most conditions I choose to go out in.
I have this exact same board, same size, and aspire to surf well enough to always have this much fun on it. Again not trying to ride it like a shortboard or in waves a shortboard > groveler would work better, but this kind of surfing looks so fun to me.
sorry if this has been posted before but here's devon howard surfing a midlength like most don't
chick with the green car?
Great efforts and you gheys were close. But truth be told it’s far less sexy. On the bluff with a fren sipping a post surf coffee and watching the show before heading off to slave to the man:
I’m the one with the huge bulge.
above my belt.
I’m the one with the huge bulge.
above my belt.
What's interesting about that clip is the guy riding it had a narrow stance and barely moved his feet around on it. Surfing it mostly from the middle the entire time. Can see it has plenty of rocker.Damn you, I resemble that remark... at least the "older" and "intermediate" part.
But it's not that I try to ride my mid-like a shortboard, it's just that I cant ride either that well, so the mid is a bit easier in most conditions I choose to go out in.
I have this exact same board, same size, and aspire to surf well enough to always have this much fun on it. Again not trying to ride it like a shortboard or in waves a shortboard > groveler would work better, but this kind of surfing looks so fun to me.
Question for the room…
If you had to choose between a 6’10 Special K and a 7’2 Vaquero, which would you get?
Also, to confuse the issue, what about a 5’8 MP Edge?
If you had to choose between a 6’10 Special K and a 7’2 Vaquero, which would you get?
Also, to confuse the issue, what about a 5’8 MP Edge?