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Good surf board for bigger guys?


Brett B

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I've been surfing more due to being a bit banged up this year and I think I need a bigger board. I'm currently 220lbs and have been riding a Hyperlite Broadcase 5'4" that is a few years old. I have to keep my weight forward quite a bit just to stay in the pocket and I sink the nose very easily. Suggestions for a board that is a little faster and won't sink quite so easily?

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I'm the same.......215-220 and I have an IS Blue Lake. Decent board for bigger guys but not the most responsive board on the market. Only reason I mention it is because there's a guy over on planet nautique that has one for sale at 350. Pretty cheap for them. ( 750+ new )

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My father in law rides a blue lake, he's 6'0 230lbs. Aside from some skill issues, he can get it ropeless. He got his hands on a hyperlite landlock and is convinced it is the board he needs to be ropeless all the time.

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I'm 6'4" 280+ and ride an IS swallow V2 that I really like. A little more responsive and fun than a blue lake IMO. I also have a phase 5 Oogle that I enjoy riding but plan to trade that in for a Victoria Factor PCX one of these days. I just wish they made the factor in an XXL. I picked up an IS fly boy big boy figuring it would fall kinda between the swallow and oogle but I didn't like it for me. I'm too big for it. My friends that are in the 200-220 range really like it. In fact, I sold mine to one of them and the other bought a brand new one.

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Depends heavily on .......

Budget?

Is this board just for you and guys your size?

Current skill level?

Are you looking to progress OR just get out and cruise around?

Do you enjoy skim style or surf style more?

Answering those questions will get you better suggestions.

Edited by -BS-
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Had the same issue on the same board as you. First solution was more ballast. Once I did that I could pull off some spins and small airs. Second solution is get a board that isn't as slow as the second coming of Christ. Bigger board like the Blue Lake or Red Rocket will do the trick but I don't find them fun to ride. The Red Rocket is like surfing a canoe. Thinking of the P5 Model X to replace the Broadcast. Suppose to be a much faster board but haven't been able to confirm yet. Probably all marketing bs.

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That's the thing, the blue lake and boards like it are directed for bigger riders. But frankly, its not very nimble and after a while don't you want to do more than just stand there? I've seen bigger guys 220lbs carve up the Danielo carbon and IS black pearl without issue.

  • Like 2
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I am new to surfing and I thought I had the same issue. I am 6' and 252lbs. I have a ronix carbon thruster and I was seeing the exact same problems you are describing. I kept sinking the nose and I couldn't ever get enough push to go ropeless unless I was at the perfect spot. I later found out that my board was rated to 225lbs. I Had been adding ballast trying to get the best wave I could. (2013 MXZ 22). I added Sumo 900's to the rear PnP, 400 lbs of shot to the area around the front hard tank, and a 400 in the walkway at the window as well as all hard tanks and full wedge. I still had problems but the kids are bailing off just to keep from crashing into the swim platform because they got so much speed.

I managed to get half a day with a guy who competes in wakesurfing and is sponsered and I found out it wasn't the board or the size of the wake, but actually my form. I came from the wakeboarding world so surfing was completely new, and my foot placement/balance is the biggest issue. Finding the center on your board will help tremendously, but the BIGGEST thing I didn't know about was getting your feet to the wave side of the board, keeping your weight on that half of the board and even if the nose dips, it won't bury, it just turns towards the wave. Anytime I wreck, because of the nose dipping, I can look at the video and tell that my weight shifted to my heels or away from the wave. I can now use a diamond donello which I think might be more around 200lbs rated, and have no issues other than it being slippery for me.

All that being said, I did go and order a custom board from soulcraft that is weight appropriate and I was looking at the 4skim squirt from inland surfer, (I still have not figured out if I like surf style or skim). I now have a much bigger pocket to work with all due to form and I can go ropeless easily, as well as move back and forth to about 3/4 of the way back before the wave curls on itself.

  • Like 3
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plan to trade that in for a Victoria Factor PCX one of these days. I just wish they made the factor in an XXL.

Call Victoria directly and they will build a custom size for you
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Thanks for the input guys, obviously I'm still learning about surf boards. While I would of course prefer to spend less I'm not real constrained by budget, although surprised to see these are $800 boards. :shocked:

This new board is just for me, I will keep the Broadcast around for others to ride.

I'm probably an intermediate rider. I can go ropeless easily and like to carve around. I can keep a 360 on the surface but can't recover from it to stay in the pocket. Any time I try and pump just a little to gain some speed back, or even just lean forward to get speed going into it, the board sinks way too easily.

I would like to be able to do some more carving with better turns, ride away a 360, and maybe start doing some airs, I just can't get any speed on this board to do it.

I have never ridden a skim style board. I don't see myself trying shuvits or anything of that nature so figured a surf style would be the way to go.

My wave is pretty good but certainly not like the dedicated surf machines around here. Stock center, port, and nose tanks full. 750 fat sac in port locker, 300lb bag under port seats, another few hundred on port side of bow. Enough that the rub rail is touching and the wave is clean. Everybody else who rides it comments on how it's a surprisingly good wave, they all do great on it but are of course 50-75lbs lighter than me.

The IS Swallow looks interesting as I do want to do more than just stand there on top of a canoe. I think the maneuverability of my current board is ok, it's just too slow and possibly a bit too small. The Phase 5 Model X in 58" also looks interesting. It's also much shorter than the Swallow. How would these 2 compare given one is much smaller?

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Ok, after some more looking I am really liking some of the Phase 5 stuff. Right now I'm comparing the Trident at 60" x 22" x .75" and the Model X at 58" x 21.5" x 1".

I would imagine the Trident will be faster than the Model X, but slightly less responsive. Any recommendations between these two?

Also how would the 60" Aku Surf differ from the Trident? Looks like the Aku may be a bit looser with only the 2 fin setup but not sure what the price premium really gets me (other than being an awesome looking board).

I'm going to skip the custom built boards for now as I am likely not at a level where the time/money investment for that project is justified. I'd like to buy something in stock and spend some time riding it this season.

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The Model X is a souped Broadcast. It is a thick skimboard with 3 wakeboard fins. It is faster and stiffer than the broadcast, but the ride is pretty similar to the broadcast in terms of what you get.

It's not really a surf style board, but also doesnt ride like a skimboard.

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For same price of a P5, you can get a custom board from soulcraft.

On my side custom board makes more sense than a P5, especially if you are looking for a surf style board.

And Jeff is doing an incredible job and have really good advice.

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Thanks for the input guys, obviously I'm still learning about surf boards. While I would of course prefer to spend less I'm not real constrained by budget, although surprised to see these are $800 boards. :shocked:

This new board is just for me, I will keep the Broadcast around for others to ride.

I'm probably an intermediate rider. I can go ropeless easily and like to carve around. I can keep a 360 on the surface but can't recover from it to stay in the pocket. Any time I try and pump just a little to gain some speed back, or even just lean forward to get speed going into it, the board sinks way too easily.

I would like to be able to do some more carving with better turns, ride away a 360, and maybe start doing some airs, I just can't get any speed on this board to do it.

I have never ridden a skim style board. I don't see myself trying shuvits or anything of that nature so figured a surf style would be the way to go.

My wave is pretty good but certainly not like the dedicated surf machines around here. Stock center, port, and nose tanks full. 750 fat sac in port locker, 300lb bag under port seats, another few hundred on port side of bow. Enough that the rub rail is touching and the wave is clean. Everybody else who rides it comments on how it's a surprisingly good wave, they all do great on it but are of course 50-75lbs lighter than me.

The IS Swallow looks interesting as I do want to do more than just stand there on top of a canoe. I think the maneuverability of my current board is ok, it's just too slow and possibly a bit too small. The Phase 5 Model X in 58" also looks interesting. It's also much shorter than the Swallow. How would these 2 compare given one is much smaller?

Good info. So with all that said I'd definitely be looking at Soulcraft. Fangtail or JS Pro seems like the best fit for your wave size and what you're looking to do.

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Go custom unless you want a skim style board. I usually agree with Wakemitch, but the Model X rides nothing like a Broadcast. It is 10 times faster. The Aku will not be looser with two fins because they are surf style fins not skim style fins. Skim fins are 2"(or less) and the surf style are 4".

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Go custom unless you want a skim style board. I usually agree with Wakemitch, but the Model X rides nothing like a Broadcast. It is 10 times faster. The Aku will not be looser with two fins because they are surf style fins not skim style fins. Skim fins are 2"(or less) and the surf style are 4".

I said it is faster and better, but the style of board is very similar
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Ok, after some more looking I am really liking some of the Phase 5 stuff. Right now I'm comparing the Trident at 60" x 22" x .75" and the Model X at 58" x 21.5" x 1".

I would imagine the Trident will be faster than the Model X, but slightly less responsive. Any recommendations between these two?

Also how would the 60" Aku Surf differ from the Trident? Looks like the Aku may be a bit looser with only the 2 fin setup but not sure what the price premium really gets me (other than being an awesome looking board).

I'm going to skip the custom built boards for now as I am likely not at a level where the time/money investment for that project is justified. I'd like to buy something in stock and spend some time riding it this season.

Trident is best board for you if you go Phase5. I hear great things about Soulcraft but have no experience. I love my P5 Model X 53" and would by another one.

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Thanks for all the help guys. Upon recommendations from a few other friends I decided to try the Phase 5 Model X 58". If it does end up being a little too small I figured the Model X would be easy to unload since it's so popular and then pick up a Trident (or something different) instead, verses going the other way around. It already arrived and I will be riding it this weekend and will let you know how it goes.

The custom route sounds fun but I just don't have time for another project right now and I wanted to ride it this season. For future reference, what's the turnaround time for getting a custom board made from start of the design process to finish of the build?

Edited by Brett B
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Thanks for all the help guys. Upon recommendations from a few other friends I decided to try the Phase 5 Model X 58". If it does end up being a little too small I figured the Model X would be easy to unload since it's so popular and then pick up a Trident (or something different) instead, verses going the other way around. It already arrived and I will be riding it this weekend and will let you know how it goes.

The custom route sounds fun but I just don't have time for another project right now and I wanted to ride it this season. For future reference, what's the turnaround time for getting a custom board made from start of the design process to finish of the build?

It really depends. It'd be worth calling and asking.

Jeff is a bigger dude himself, so you'd be getting some straight talk from a guy who is in your shoes and who also makes boards lots of people recommend.

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I would say 1 to 1.5 month for a custom board.

If you order at the beginning of the season, it will be longer, and at the end of the season it will be faster

Edited by smooky
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