What's your favorite board between a groveler and a shortboard?

Aruka

Tom Curren status
Feb 23, 2010
11,990
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Good lordy that looks fun. Can't wait for Tim to start taking orders again.

I've gotten 3 boards this summer that pretty much fall into the "between fish and shorty" category.

First was the 5-10 Album Lightbender in XTR. It's basically a narrow fish which I've mostly ridden with the upright Album twins in G10. Really fun board and with the fairly narrow tail it has much less of the common fishy downsides that come with only having two fins on a fat tail. It's not the most grovelly fish ever but it does a good job carrying speed from one steep section to the next and if surfed actively it can handle some pretty lame conditions. It handles some size too and I like how it feels on a wide open face in the head high to a little overhead range but it has some limitations when the waves get really steep and bowly. Just hard to shed speed and surf aggressively in the pocket when it's very juicy. It paddles and catches waves really well. Large sweet spot. High marks for this one.

5-10 Hayden Loot FF: I kind of expected to hate this one but it's actually pretty good. Very full nose so it paddles great but the tail pulls in quite a bit and it has very mellow bottom contours so it's a fairly planted ride. Probably has a slightly higher range than the Lightbender. Definitely not my favorite in tiny waves but if there is shape it works well. Handles an impressive amount of size and power which has been nice for when I misjudge the conditions and it ends up being better than expected. Had a long stretch of surf in Sep. and rode this one all over from overhead mushy reef to fast little barrels and never felt like it really let me down. Played around with many fins but settled on AM2 sides, AM1 center as a pretty good all around combo. The board doesn't have tons of built in drive and more upright fins felt okay in bowly waves but not great when chasing sections. Fun board that's easy to ride and pretty versatile. Could see this one working for a wide range of people.

5-11 SMTH Shapes Drive Thru in PU: Only two sessions on this one. Basically a Lost Rocket outline. Wide tail, fairly narrow nose. Totally different vibes than something like the Loot or the more wide nosed fishy hybrids. Doesn't have the super ez entry glide. Feels more like a HPSB with nose and tail chopped off. Still does pretty well in crap waves which is all I've ridden it in. Had some fun turns on it this morning. Started with Jordy fins and then changed out the center for a smaller one because it was feeling a little draggy. Had a couple moments where the forward rail wanted to catch a little on bottom turns. Wide tail maybe not wanting to sink and free up the nose. Tried to surf it a little more off the back foot and that seemed to help. Overall I don't feel like I have a read on this one but first impressions it reminds me a little bit of the Neckbeard. I think in the right conditions it will be fun.
 
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trifish

Gerry Lopez status
Sep 23, 2009
1,338
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Shred City
@trifish is your gremlin a swallow or squash? Mine is swallow, which I like, but makes me wanna lean towards quads
Mines a Squash tail in XTR 8.c. I'd say give it some time with both setups if you have the extra fin sets laying around. Its solid as a quad if you ride those more. That was the first time I've ever used a twin+trailer set on a board of mine. I liked it so much, it was one of the reasons I ordered that Aipa with the extra trailer box.
 
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sdsrfr

Phil Edwards status
Jul 13, 2020
5,857
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San Diego
been riding my stanps flare quite a bit when I’m not convinced the forecast is worth the hype. doesn’t hurt my GX has been feeling undersized.

at first was turned off by the nose lacking a distinct flip in the last 4” or so, more like youd expect on a fish. all aesthetic tho, never had an issue with it catching or getting in the way.

curious how the GB compares to a GBx.
 
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cjs2002

Nep status
Jan 24, 2008
854
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i have a lost 5'10 short round at 32L. pretty much the best in-between groveler/HPSB I've ridden.
 

aldo

Nep status
Aug 13, 2012
639
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Oceanslide

Kelly Slater status
Mar 5, 2008
9,698
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Oceanside, CA
Ha! Clicked on this and am happy to see that I'm only up 10 lbs. in 11+ years...thought it was more!
:bricks:
 

claw87

Legend (inyourownmind)
Jan 30, 2017
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Anyone ridden a Lost rocket Lib tech redux? Figure it fits in with the parameters of Aruka's initial post requirements.
I have ridden one for the past 6 months. Initially I was really happy with it. The board went well in from punchy knee high waves to a bit overhead. It performs great in the pocket, really snappy. The construction is pretty damn bulletproof. However it is up for sale now. I think it has just too much tail rocker for me, the board lacks down the line speed which I really require for some of the reefs I surf.
Plus the lib tech build feels a bit "dead" and is considerably heavier than regular PuPe.
 

Retropete

Phil Edwards status
Jan 20, 2006
5,962
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Sunny Coast Qld Australia
I have ridden one for the past 6 months. Initially I was really happy with it. The board went well in from punchy knee high waves to a bit overhead. It performs great in the pocket, really snappy. The construction is pretty damn bulletproof. However it is up for sale now. I think it has just too much tail rocker for me, the board lacks down the line speed which I really require for some of the reefs I surf.
Plus the lib tech build feels a bit "dead" and is considerably heavier than regular PuPe.
Thanks for your thoughts. Much appreciated.
 

oeste858

Phil Edwards status
Sep 11, 2017
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San Diego, CA
May have commented earlier in the thread, but I’ve been riding these boars the past year that definitely cover the lower end of waves: Gremlin swallowtail (PU), Akila AIPA Cont. Fish (PU), and Plasmic (Varial). I’ve been impressed with their versatility in SoCal DD waves up to shoulder-HH, Particularly if the conditions are not real clean/steep. Ridden these much more often than my beloved TKFs the past year or so.

Edit: curious if OP @Aruka has since found one that fits the bill
 
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Aruka

Tom Curren status
Feb 23, 2010
11,990
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Hello, my name is mr. 2002:roflmao:
Yeah I ride shortboards my own height you little midget :poke:

@oeste858

5-9 pleasmic has been fitting the bill for me in this category. Good paddling and wave catching, nice built in speed. Probably better in waves that arent too steep and dumpy with the low rocker but still holds a line in small tubes. Equally fun backside or frontside. I like that even though this board is a twin it doesnt feel like it needs to be nursed and transitioning back to a thruster when the waves pick up is pretty painless.

5-11 smth drivethru is another one that I had a lot of fun on. Not as high of a cheat factor as the plasmic. Wants to be surfed a little more actively. Probably handles more size with a little more rocker and foiled rails.