Death of the Modern Shortboard?

They already have in my quiver. Being a big guy I always hated those paper thin narrow boards. I would think that anyone who is skilled could ride a short wide round nosed board as well as a chip and have an easier time doing it.

 

it's a heck of a lot easier to turn a big board than it is to paddle a little one. I think there will still be a place in surfing for the hi-performance board--for small guys who are lighnting quick and have the reflexes and desire to ride hi-performance boards. But surfers and board makers (and board sellers) have gotten real and figured out that the majority of us guys aren't banging airs or fins-free slides, etc., and we need boards that paddle nicely, catch waves easily, and hold up for a longer time.

Of course there will always be the guys who think they need a pro board, but will never be able to surf it well. I love sitting in the line up near a 200 pounder on a 6-0 chip, snagging every wave he misses with my 7-8 retro singlefin.

 

To each their own, but I'm with Zippy. The "regular" shortboard doesn't fit my style, so I don't buy/ride them.

 

Internationally, no... Where there are good waves, there will be shortboard thrusters... I agree that wider, shorter, thicker boards are super fun on a summer day in OC... But down in the Banks when its OH+, you wont see much other than thrusters.... Where I surf, guys ride fishes and stuff on the off days, but when its firing, everything in the lineup looks the same. Fast, thin shortboards.... So, until all the local pros and up and comers start riding other materials, I dont see them going anywhere...

For the everyday surfer, yes, the boards you speak of are fun, but for guys who are out every day trying to compete and surf their best "high performance" boards, they will be riding thrusters for a while.... There is a reason that EVER guy on the CT and QS are all riding thrusters...

I know one of you guys just made the valid point about how most surfers arent pros and ride the wrong boards, but I dont compete anymore since I am 29, but I ONLY ride boards that are designed for the pros. They just perform better. I dont get the super thin potato chips anymore but the high performace thrusters turn bettter, glide better, get more speed, get more ait and turn on a dime... Other than an easy paddle in and more foam, I dont see any positive reason to ride those other boards unless its knee high. Thats just me though.

 

I agree. I think it's happening slowly but surely. Probably will always be a place for the 6'0" by 18 3/8 thruster but it will become limited to competitive light-weights and wannabes.

I bet if you ask Channel Islands or any of the other big guys they will tell you that the shorter/wider boards are growing in demand and the chips are shrinking. There product lines reflect that. Look at the Lost line, so many variations of a short/wide board now on offer. Even the step-ups are going this way (Rock Up, Slayer, Deep 6, etc.)

I think this is particularly welcome trend for bigger guys... Shorter/wider fits better and surfs better than than longer/thicker.

 

I have always been an alternative shape, twin keel surfer but have recently started riding a T Patterson Rising Sun and after a month or so of use cannot see a downside to the thruster set up and shape template. I was very worried that the center fin would slow the board down but it seems faster to me and much more responsive. I can stay high in the speed zone of the wave as opposed to that wandering speed of the keels. The shape of the rising sun is full and it is relatively thick so I guess it can't be considered a typical high performance board but it combines the best of both worlds in one shape.

 

considering that windsurfing and skiing has taken the move to go shorter and wider over ten years ago, surfing is a bit behind, no? The styles have been around, but the marketing hasn't been there, along with the surfing community to believe in them. experimentation of pro surfers using them could only be seen by free surfing vids, which could barely make an impact on the overall scene. Even today we are still in awe and curious (at least I am) when we see a pro ripping on an 60/40 egg in overhead Bali.

 

Yeah, I agree that many more shapers and companies are pushing the wider, shorter, thicker boards... But more than anything else, I think that it just goes to show how much the surfing population has expanded in the past decade or two. I think that generally, more people are surfing and buying surf boards, and I think that we all know, that for the masses and for the weekend surfer or the summer guy, most people are not very good. Surfing is really hard, so yes, I agree that we will continue to see more of these boards, I am just saying that it might take a while for them to break into the high performance markets... Lost Surfboards is a huge company, but they are stationed out of Newport beach, and most of the year, Newport isnt exacly DOH and firing, which is why the boards are really popular... I love taking out a short, wide board on a mushy, smaller day or even on a slower reef break, but on any good day, I don't see much use for them...

They don't turn as well, thicker foam slides out when I do sharp angled turns, then don't hit the flats very well for me and allow a change of direction with real power, and the sluggish horizontal top turns that wider boards promote is poop to me. When you are pumping down the line on those little wide boards, when you either lay one down and bury the rail trying to hack a turn, it just slides out. Its ugly and doesn't feel right to me... Too much foam and weight doesn't allow the rails to cut through the wave like butter. All though they have a nice feel if you are "cruising" and just playing around, but if its 4-5 feet and glassy at my beach break, I would never take out some wide little fat hybrid fish. They are slow and meaty and dont allow very structured, good looking turns... You gotta stay too lvertical over the center of the board because its un-responsive. It you lay out or lean too much the thing craps out. Thats my opinion... Maybe I just dont ride them enough to dial them in, but in my experiences, those boards are only good for a sh**y summer day....

Every board has its place. Longboards, shortboards, fish, eggs etc. They all work well in the right conditions.

 

Seems to me the shorter wider trend in surfboards started in the late 90s. The ...Lost RNF and CI Flyer became huge sellers around that time. Then it went to another level about 5 years ago when everyone decided all at once that you needed KG fishes and Walden CDs to tame the summer waves and ride a 6 foot board with winter rubber. But i agree...the marketing of short wide eggs and fish shapes has kind of gone crazy in the last year to the point where it seems like over half of CI, Rusty, ...Lost etc models are fish/mini egg shapes.

 

Read the Sam Hammer interview on thesurfersview.com. Even he is stoked on the shorter, blunter boards for steep, high-performance barrels. It's not about going "retro" or thicker. It's about redistributing volume in a more functional way. Eliminating excess useless thin nose area and redistributing that volume as width under the chest. Board thickness is usually the same as a "regular" shortboard. Paddling is improved, board is even more precise in the pocket with the shorter rail line and reduced swing weight.

Slater is on the same program. This time he is doing all of us "regular" surfers a favor by pushing something that is functional beyond just the pros.

 

That's funny since Ashton has been doing that for me for years.

 

Never... at least not completely. And I say that not because of egos or skill levels, but because the smart(er) surfers, with average or above ability - and there are plenty of them - know that a certain type of WAVE necessitates a certain type of board, if you want to surf at the higher end of modern performance in surfing. I would argue that in the right wave, it's actually easier to perform many modern maneuvers on a wave with a more highly rockered, more highly foiled board than a shorter/wider/thicker one. This is not to say that more people will benefit from such boards in the future... that's certainly the trend, at least today. But there's still a very large population of talented athletes that will continue to choose typical "high performance shortboards" in better than average surf.

 

LBCrew,
I pretty much agree with everything you say, but I would argue that the definition of "high performance surfboard" may be evolving in the direction that Slater is taking it (not that he's the only one, or the first, but he's certainly the most visible and influential).

If you look at the typical high performance thruster (90s to today), there is a very thin, very narrow pointy nose that people are starting to figure out doesn't serve any purpose. If you chop off 3-4 inches of that nose, and redistribute the lost foam further back via more width in the nose area, you have a shorter, more nimble, high performance board. Overall volume and sensitivity are the same as the "old" HP board, but now it's in a shorter package with lower nose rocker (since you chopped off the nose).

The best guys are starting to figure out that the positives of this modification outweigh any negatives, and thus the trend of state-of-the-art HP shortboards seems to be heading this way. Nice thing is that the dumbed-down spin-offs of this philosophy translate well to "the rest of us".

 

Lets not forget that Kelly is a freakish Surf Monster... So what he does doesnt really relate to the rest of us, at least for a few years until we get what hes doing.... But what kelly does is a completely different ballgame. Kelly is surfing 5'6s and 5'7 discs in DOH surf just because he is bored... The boards he uses are onlu going to perform at a high level if you are a freaking CT professional. So, since Kelly has one EVERY title, all 10 on a thruster, I wouldnt say that kelly is trying to re-define the model shortboard... He is just a freak of nature who got bored with pro surfing so he is making things fun again...

And guys, I am not trying to defend thrusters in the modern age. I mean, Most of my quiver are super thing, potato chips 5'10s and 5'11s. I am 5'9 and 160, and a few years ago I was about 150, so those little boards were perfect for me. I could get so much speed and air on those things... Now, everyday I go to the beach, I find myself grabbing my 6'1 or my wider 6'0 even if its somewhat small just cause its less work. Its just that, I need more speed to get airs nowdays. I need a little more foam to get into some bigger beach break waves... I guess its the natural progression for the human body as a surfer. I am about to turn 30... So, I see the future of my boards and what I ride changing in the next decade... But until I can no longer get air born, or do the things I love to do best, I will probably stick with my shortie thrusters until the fins fall off...

My shaper has made me a few of these hybrid shortboads in the past... Maybe I will try one again with his newer technology and see what happens.

 

Hey Zach, you might also find you're boards changing because you're moving back east.

 

Well I would pose the question, have looked at what it has done to modern surfing. An air is now a standard move and you need to throw more than one nowadays to impress anyone. So my thought would be that most people disire this type of surfing so this short fast boards are going to take priority. I think its a full circle and just goes in phases, the regular thruster will be back for sure but only when some pro makes them fun again.

 

Well played sir. Well played indeed.

 

well said, i always thought the Gemini nose made some sense by DRASTICALLY reducing swing weight (i mean why stop at stubbing the nose, cut the whole center out!) Plus it preserves the more parallel shortboard rail line in the side of the wave, Plus it looks "pointy" which makes no difference to me but might make a difference to someone who think a stub nosed board will be harder to duckdive...

This board below looks a couple inches shorter than the same board would be with a stub nose with less swing weight and no compromise in paddling. The glassers might not like you much!

 

wow. I need to start thinking outside the box. thats a wild design. Makes sense tho. Ive accidentally hacked the nose of my shortboard off on rocks before and when I sanded it down, it was just a stub nose. Visually, it threw me off a bit at first, but it really rode better without that few inches of blade on the tip.