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.
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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