Hi everyone. It has been a while (again!). But I have been riding my new Lost Firewire Round Nose Fish so I would like to give a bit of my own review.
What did I buy?
RNF 5’10. 5-fin slots but set up as a quad for this review.
What type of surfer am I.
While I have been at it for a long while, I would say, I am still an intermediate level surfer. I can pretty much surf any types of waves, but not just as well as the best of the packs. I am sure many of you can relate.
How Tall and How Much I Weigh
I am 5’5 and about 145 – 150 lbs range.
Where and What Do I Surf
When I got this board, the main reason I wanted this board was to surf small waves about 6 ft being about the biggest. After that I would pull out a longer board. My favorite waves are beach breaks, mostly because the best reef type breaks are already owned by good surfers and pickings are very slim.
On weekdays, I surf closer to my home at Linda Mar, Montara, Half Moon Bay Jetty, Dunes. On weekend my go-to spot is Waddell Creek to just about any other spots in Santa Cruz as far south as Manresa.
How Many Times Did I Surf on RNF?
About dozen times.
What Did I Think?
First, this is about the shortest board I have ever surfed at 5’10. It’s a bit taller than my own height. Typically, when I cut the board length, it means more paddling and hard taking off.
This board is amazingly stable when I take off whether I am going straight down or set up to take off in an angle. I can almost always contact with the board as I get up.
Many people have said that quads are “skaty.” I do skate board a bit, but I do not do tricky stuff, so I am not quite sure if I understand that feel. But I can say that I do ride this board a bit differently than other boards. I ride other boards more with rail-to-rail style way. It has been my own preference. I would rather use the rails than to pivot around the tail or the front. I tend to turn fairly wide and slower.
One thing I realized with this board is that I can now start to switch the style a bit, in a sense that I can now really press any direction of the board, front-back, side-to-side etc. The board responds much more than the other boards I’ve ridden. This required a bit more “getting-used-to” but I think I am getting a hang of it.
The board seems to be more permissible to do these moves without sacrificing the balance. So I certainly had fun with it, and I almost wished that I got this board much sooner, and I’ve learned these types of riding styles a lot sooner.
Also, I was paddling next to a long-boarder and I can pretty much keep up padding out with him. Which is a big plus for such a short board, but its high volume helps. Of course, it does not paddle like a long-board, but it is definitely an easier to paddle board than other short boards I use.
I did also try a 6’0 fish, but that was actually too big, rode like a long board. For these designs, the volume can quickly overwhelm you. So if you are frustrated with your short boards or ready to graduate to a short board or want to have something to ride “crappy” local waves, this is definitely worth a try and I would say do not be afraid of using a shorter length than the standard short board types.
