Thanks!

i’ve been surfing 20 years (i’m 38), 16 of which were on PU’s. 4 years ago, i bought 6′1″ m10 ratboy surftech and rode it for about 3 years. Wanted a board that would last. That thing held up good. Although stiff, it improved my surfing mostly cuz i was able to paddle better and get into more waves. Because of the stiffness, I spent a lot of time surfing on my back leg which I needed to. It seemed faster at first but on my last year, my brother told me i wasn’t coming off the bottom turn as quick as i used to on my PU’s or as quick as the next guy.

Although I didn’t believe flex was a necessity, I wanted to try more flex but didn’t want to buy a PU board as mine only last about 6 months. I put massive heel pressures on the deck and usually, the flex dies out rather quickly. So, I opted for a 6′1″ T. Patterson TL2. Right away, my surfing got 10% faster. Although at times i fell like its 20%. Making sections, more speed, harder turns. In fact, I found myself unprepared giong into an off the lip cuz my bottom turn wasn’t as drawn out. They were really quick and vertical. I’ve now been on the TL2 for about 9 months and it’s holding up like a surftech. no dings, no pressures. The one thing I have noticed is at times under socal conditions (mostly 2 to 3 with occasional 4’s), it feels a tad big to me. So, i’m considering a 5′11″.

As is, i’m sold on flex. I know i’m getting either another shorter tl2 or trying the firewire. I’ll post my review of my experience in about two weeks. As for those who comment on price, I bought 2 PU boards a year and the last 2 cost me $450 out the door each so one TL2 that might last me 2 years or one firewire even if it only lasted 1, would be a better deal.

SOLOMON S-CORE

I bought a Solomon S core 6′1″(no longer made) I really like the performance and the spring. I could get alot of drive out of it. I didn’t realize that this was even more brittle than a standard PU board. I generally crush the toe side rail between the fins on all my PU boards. I crushed the Solomon in the same place twice as quick. Not to mention the glass could not handle the flex. It began to crack on the bottom in the center towards the nose and tail. I would fix it only to have it continue to crack. I finally gave up and figured I would ride it until it disinigrated. The airline took care of that for me. Back to my trusty 6′0″ PU.

FIREWIRE

I still was looking for durability with perfomance. I found it with Firewire. I demoed a 6′2″ flexfire Nev shaped for Gerr. The paddle was unreal. I initially found myself paddling to far out in front of the wave because of the paddle speed. The wave would end up breaking on my back. Although it took 4 sessions to figure out the sweet spot, I knew that I was hooked after 2 good waves. I ended up buying the Demo. It had a little bit of delam on the deck. Firewire took it back and fixed it before they would sell it to me. I have ridden it for a year solid with only one quarter size bubble on the bottom. (Probably from the summer day I left it in my car while getting a hair cut)dumb Otherwise, no other problems. I have ridden this board in all types of surf. Knee high to couple feet overhead, smooth to bumpy, bowling to mushy, I like the way it rides.
The response is amazing. It drives off the bottom right after hitting it off the top. I used to slightly submarine my PU boards after hitting the lip. But the Firewire just responds with speed to do it again. It can hold a rail on steep sections and feels solid the whole way. I would like to say no more digging rail but it has definitely decreased the frequency. Because the board is a custom shape the dimensions are different than the 6′2″ Flexfire on the rack. I recently purchased a 6′2″ Taj model. With only 1/16″ difference in width dimensions, I figured it was the best call. 1/16″ took a little getting used to. I guess the tongue depressor is to stop the lateral flex between the rails. The only time I felt lateral flex on the Gerr was in the beginning before I found the sweet spot. I have not been back on my Gerr Firewire since I bought the Taj. I was planning on leaving it at my in-laws in Hawaii. I bought another brand new Taj off Craigs list and will
be leaving that one there instead. I am going to hang the Gerr up. Not because it is thrashed but because it is shaped by Nev.
The bottom line is I just turned 40, I surf 3 to 5 times a week 2 to 4 hours a session, I was starting to feel old and tired on the 6′0″ PU which I had to replace every year. Firewire has put some youth back into my surfing without having to comprimise performance. I should be done buying a board for quite a while. Unless..

5′10″ QUADFLEX

I had a chance to swap boards on a small 1′ day. I loved the speed and feel of this 5′10″ quadflex. It paddled with little effort and got into waves with ease. I felt like I was getting some good hits with it. When I got back on my board I wondered about buying a quad for those tiny days. It would be nice but I am not made of money. Hope this answers any questions that people may have.
P.S. Neal have you ridden one yet?