Been riding the 7'6 seaside and beyond with the Machado quads for a few months. It somehow paddles faster than my 80L Longboard. No idea how but it really is the easiest paddling board I've had. It also is very intuitive to surf - I was able to pop up and do some great turns on my first wave. Have never dug a rail.
Just got the Seaside and Beyond 7'4" LFT, probably got about 10 hours on it so far. The board definitely has a learning curve and I am much lighter yet still hang up rail on initial bottom turn. The other thing I have noticed is that I am stalling when I use pressure on my back foot. I am using the Machado Quad and I believe he designed the board to be ridden fin specific and did not take rider weight much into consideration. I bought the bigger board for ease of paddling and having a larger take off window. I actually have a Christenson 7" Tracker V1. Also your review and comparisons of the TT Gem / Special T were very helpful. I ended up with the TT Gem 9'1".
Thanks Chris appreciate you letting me know your experiences too it helps me build a bit of a picture. I have had a few people say similar things so yeah maybe it's just getting that right combo of fins and some adjustments for us as riders. Big fish designs I guess will always be a little more tracky than a nice veed out round tail but if you want the speed that's probably a trade off. It certainly does a lot of things really well just a couple of minor issues I can hopefully iron out too. Nice glad people are finding my content useful. It's only my opinion but if it's helping people to match up what they want to what is out there that's a win for everyone. thanks for your support and feedback
Not ridden this one but have ridden similar long fishes. The issue probably isn't the fins, the issue is having such a wide straight rail line in the tail along with a load of board up front. That makes it hard for a low intermediate who doesn't surf on rail and off the back of the tail to hold consistently through a turn, especially when it's not perfect glassy Cardiff reef waves with long curly locks for style points! The massive surface area and width translates to a lot of push back on the surfer which if you aren't in perfect glassy waves makes precise control of them hard. That's why fishes always surf better shorter - less area and easier to control. I've seen the LFT ones in the shop and they have ridiculously thinned out tails compared to this one so maybe they surf a bit easier. Most surfers would be better off with a rounded pin like the Channel Islands or Pyzel, less surface area and more predictable. Funny how Machado's boards are all weird shapes that are hard to surf properly but intermediates love them. Maybe it distracts from the challenge of learning technique?! Anyway rant over.
Yeah mate I think your fairly well on point with most of those comments I went on my round tail piggy yesterday in better waves and could do everything I wanted. That's a bit more like the ci but wider and bigger nose so kinda like a slight step down version and that's a favourite. I did wonder about the LFT in a 7 too. Like you said quite possibly a big fish thing though too if you want that nice glide and speed off that tail being a little tighter to turn maybe a sacrifice you have to make. Could just be me or the need to get it in some better quality waves too though. It's super responsive to pump and short turn and on the forehand it's really just backhand cutties thay I sometimes get a little bogged or hung up on. I'm still thinking rear quad fin position isn't helping but it definitely goes better with less grovelly fins. As you say fish are in their ideal element short. Its still an extremely good all round board and one of the best examples of an easy to ride big fish with a wide wave ranges too. I think Machado had done a lot of extremely good board models. Thanks for the feedback and information 👍
You've nailed this. I'm an intermediate and got this board as I was transitioning. Now I mainly only bring this board on points when it's clean and glassy. It's my alternative to taking my longboard out/longboarding. Side note for others, duck diving the S&B is challenging. You really have to nail sinking the front and that's tough with all the foam up there.
I love my timbertek 6'10, I'm 79kg, but as I'm improving I wonder if it holds back my turns as I've bogged a few times on backside cutbacks. I've stuck a tail pad on it which looks awful but hopefully will cue me to have the foot further back.
I had this board for about 6 months. Wanted it to work. Took it out in all sorts of waves. I kept digging the rail maybe trying to surf it too hard. This board carries great over flat sections, but like you said, hard to turn. Perhaps the LFT's are easier to turn with less volume? Anyway if I'd rather be out on the twice baked in similar conditions...
You just have to get used to it. I had the same issues the first 2 or 3 surfs until I adjusted to it. To make it way easy to turn and much more fun imo, put in the machado keels. It surfs unreal as a twin.
was just watching the first part of your review and perfect timing with this next one! thanks again for what you're doing - not much of these out there. was previously commenting to ask your opinion on size for this timbertek version. i'm nowhere near becoming a good surfer, but was hoping to transition to a shorter board and hopefully play around a bit. have been eyeing the seaside and beyond (in timbertek) as my first mid-length but debating what size to get. i'm mid 40s, 5'7" and weigh about 62kg and have been having fun with my 9'1" gem for the better part of the past year. will be surfing this in knee to head-high waves, and maybe occasionally overheads when it's firing. was originally thinking of getting the 7'2" as anything sub-7' might be too difficult for me, but after seeing your review, i'm now considering the 6'10". would that be too difficult for a beginner to intermediate surfer of my age/size/weight, coming down from a longboard or you reckon the 4" difference won't matter as much (and might be more useful in my quest to eventually try to learn to ride shortboards) appreciate any feedback!
Hey Nic. Sorry buddy I thought I had gotten to that one so apalogies for the late reply. Yeah absolutely you could go for a 6'10" You could go less still at your weight if you wanted it to be a bit easier to duck dive but at 62KG you should be fine to still catch waves and be fairly stable, you will be able to do shallow duck dives with a bit of practice too so yeah would be a great transitional board if as you improve and go shorter. one tip as you transition from a longboard to a shortboard is spend more time paddling yourself to the pocket of the wave rather than trying to get a run up into the wave like you might on a longboard longboards have the glide to chase waves in a bit more where as you get shorter its more and more important to be taking off closer to the breaking part of the wave. You could get a 7'2" but I think that's probably a little more than you need at 62 KG if your up for it I would get the 6'10" as you still have a chance of being able to learn to duck dive a bit and it will turn better but go with your gut feel I think people usually know themselves better than someone else making a guess for them knowing only a few factors about how your surf etc.
@@lawson45uk no worries at all - these videos are a great service and like the other commenter, I purchased my Gem partly because of your review. Definitely an advantage if I could learn to duck dive and that's part of the reason for seeing if I could handle a slightly shorter board. Not in a rush and won't be getting one for a few months, but will report back here later on to see how I went. Thanks again!
@@lawson45uk hi mate, just circling back to report that i did end up getting the 6'10" timbertek version (47L) with the machado quads and while i've only had a go at it a few times, i'd have to say i'm having a lot of fun with this board. obviously a very different board coming from a 9'1" gem that i normally use and still so much to learn, but i did take your advice trying to take off from the pocket and was able to catch the usual 2-4ft ones we have here with ease. super stable on the drop, and i think i'm going to have a lot of fun trying to learn how to do sharper turns and cutbacks. already dreaming of the next step lower (maybe a sub-6' seaside or greedy beaver? haha), but for now, will try to take this out every chance i get and just have the gem as backup when it's really tiny and the longboard's the only way to salvage some fun out of a session. thanks again for the tips - now to watch your greedy beaver review :D
Hi Richard. Yeah different boards and a fair bit of volume difference. I actually really enjoyed the beaver but it was quite a lot of volume. So long ago would be hard to give a really objective comparison but I did have a lot of fun gliding around on the beaver on smaller days. Guess one is a like a giant hypto ish design and the other is a long fish design. Beavers turn nice off the tail but you need a bit of a wave to get over the tail. Would have a lot to do with your weight too I guess as to how over volumed it is to your weight.
Thank the gods!... I was afraid your love of it would cost me another board!:) try it with the am keel twinnys!? I was tempted to go with the 40l 6'8... btw the 7' pyzel mid length is a ripper so is the 6'10 lost c.k
Lol yeah too many good boards around aye :-P Actually just sold this to a mate. Went out on my piggy again the other day and think the round tail more eggy design works better for me. I just ride that as a single fin. Nice all round board but struggling to beat the piggy for our fat waves. I have and like the Party crasher but gonna look at selling that too. Cool the Pyze looks nice considering something like that or the mid strength or even the HI Mid 6 for more of a step up mid/gun again for our fat waves but well overhead so still dont want over rockered.
Hi Sorry for the late reply. Yeah the beaver is a cool board think it's a bit more volume at this length like an extra 3 litres. In the larger size it's a really fun board but a big rail to get into the water and in the smaller sizes it's a little polarizing as it turns really well if you ride it off the tail but then there is nose in the way that you probably wouldn't have on a more balanced board and also there isn't actually much in the tail to give you lift too. I think the beaver is a fantastic one and done board for an average guy though and definitely deserves a lot of praise. I would probably go a 6'6" as a small to medium wave fun option as I have a longboard and a hybrid shortboard. Porbably make a magic all rounder for a bigger surfer, it's definitely got range and versatility too. Yeah it's wider and fuller rail so likely a bit more stable than the SSB but it's been a while between so can't be sure. Cheers.
I could probably write pages on the minor differences but it really depends on you, your ability what waves you ride and what you want out of the borads.7'0" mid 6 I wanted but it was too much of a step up kinda board for me. Narrow, low volume quite a bit of rocker. Greedy is a lot of fun and generous on volume per length. Sometimes found the nose a little big for how pulled in the tail is but they surf very well off the tail and have good carry that's more of a do it all board but the nose size and volume can be hard to duck dive in bigger surf. The Beyond a lot of people really love, I found that also behaved better when the waves are better so worth keeping in mind but both very fun boards and the Mid 6 I would only go that way if you have decent waves personally dont expect it to love under head high slow peelers from looking at it but I haven't ridden it so that's just my opinion. I would probably pick it for an indo trip personally if I were to choose the kind of wave it's better suited to. Cheers.
Great review - trying to decide between the 7'4 LFT and the 7'2 Timbertech - concerned about responsiveness of TT construction - should i be? I have LFT and Helium boards and like them. thanks
Yeah the TT is a little stiffer and a touch heavier for sure so up side to that is it will have a touch more momentum and deal with chop better but will be a little less lively and poppy compared to LFT. Depends what your priority is. Shame they don't make them in Helium I reckon but they don't.
Great effort Dave, been waiting for your feedback on this one. I’m riding the gem (selected cause of your great feedback and review ). Love that board, but are looking to downsize for better response turns etc. At a weight of 70kg do you think the 6 8, 40 litres would work at the local beach for a very average surfer, it just seems 47 litres (this is what fw website state) is heaps, and I might struggle to duck dive but do want a board that I can actually catch the waves on (without going to Taylor’s).
Hi Nic. Think we have chatted in the water aye my memory for names not as good as for faces sorry :-) Yeah if you want something you can still duck dive and ride a good variety of waves on there are a lot of people at a similar size saying the 6'8" is the one. Skipper surf and one of another aussie guy all chose the 6'8". I don't think that would need taylors kind of power but would beed a couple of foot at Scarborough but also handle taylors and NZ roady waves too I suspect. Obviously you will have to adjust to needing to be more in the pocket with your take off and riding but that's all part of the progression your probably looking for anyways. I think backdoor actually have a few SSB in stock here in CHCH. If your keeping your Gem or a longboard for the smaller waves a 6'8" SSB could be nice for everything else. Hope that helps see you in the water :-)
@@lawson45uk thanks Dave, yes we have chattered in the waves, I think I asked you how the s & b was going. Thanks for the advice, I’m a bit of a regular browser at back door. I will be keeping the gem as I love that board. C u in the waves.
I'm 72kg, intermediate skill, i confirm you the 6,10 (47L) is not that easy to duck dive, at least not deep enough most of the time. It takes quite a while to go down, so timing is a little trickier i think
Hi, I have the exact same board as you and I've had 5 surfs in pretty average surf, plenty of speed and glide, good paddling but I am not sure I've got the right fins (MB split keel). I keep bogging the rail when turning so I think you need to be more active moving your weight around and get more on the tail than I'm used to. I wonder what keel fins would be like?
Yeah sounds like a few people having the same problems then. Split keels are my go to fins for all other grovel bosrds anything with a wide tail that I want speed on. Finding this one goes better with more standard fins. I'm considering trying a twin and two trailers too and yeah maybe keels might be ok. I'm still not convinced they meant to put the rear quad boxes where they did. Like you say it's a shame as sooooo many other things about the board work so well. cheers.
Hey Kyle, for what it's worth, I've had this board for a year now and what I found is that it works best in pushy shoulder high + waves, semi powerful point breaks or high tides. I see it as almost like a step up board to the Seaside for shoulder high+ waves when you don't want a missile under your feet. It does tends to bog when there isn't enough size or power in the wave and IMO it really isn't a good groveler at all. Also, to your point, for the board to really work, you have to make sure your back foot is all the way back on the traction block and set a narrow stance. Once I started focusing on shifting my weight all the way back onto the tail, it started to light up for me. Fins I like - Machado quads, Machado keels are fun but not my favorite, and regular Large controllers work well - but haven't taken those out on a good day yet (hopefully soon). For reference I'm 210-215lbs and ride the 7'4" LFT version. Cheers!
@@Ironlung330 excellent feedback thanks Ian. Always good to get others point of view that have different conditions and experiences. Appreciate your input 👍
@@Ironlung330 Thanks for your comments, i got some modern keel fins and it feels completely different, loose and fun. The split keels are better in head high surf. I realise now I'm a front footed surfer from surfing longboards forever. That means that on hollow waves I'm burying the nose a lot on steep drops but that is my problem not the board!
Cheers Ollie. Nah I didn't get to try it as a twin though I can imagine it would work well. Board has plenty of speed and glide and if anything a little sticky on the back hand like fish shapes can be so I would expect a twin or keel could compliment it well. Cheers.
@@lawson45uk Hi Again, I have experimented a fair bit now with running the machado keels in the seaside & beyond, It's a real nice setup & I think I'll leave it as the default fin set in this board. Super Fun! A quick question I have for you being that you really seem to know a lot about fin placement. Are the front boxes in a seaside and beyond (also 6'10) relatively optimal for twin fin placement? could it be even better perhaps to place the keels in the rear boxes as they are further back and further from the rail?
@@cosmoganic Hi Ollie. Cool mate glad it's working for you. To be honest the front boxes aren't going to be miles out especially on Futures and with Keels as most of the extra fin above and beyond a normal one goes backwards on the box anyway so wouldn't get too wrapped up in it. The back boxes won't actually fit front fins if your in futures and would be in a really wring position anyway. Lets hope I get these numbers right but just take it as a rough example...Lets say you had a 6'0" fish... Front fins on a thruster and quad might be around 282mm up from the tail, around 32mm in from the rail and running a toe of around 6mm... Keel fins would be more like 235mm up from the tail 36-40mm from the rail and running about half the toe maybe 3-4mm and the distance from the tail moves forward as the board gets longer so basically in the ideal world if your beyond was made as a dedicated twin the fins might be say 20-40mm further back and say 5mm ish further in so it's not the end of the world it's just not optimal to place twins where quads are meant to be.. Most people might not notice or might actually even like them further up depending on where their feet land but on your board if it's working your all good. It's not like your gonna change the box position on a built board for the bit of difference it makes I just try to be open and honest with helping people understand that sometimes what they are trying isn't quite where the shaper might put it if they designed it like that to start. Next time your in shop have a look at the fin position on a sunday vs a Beyond, you should see the twins a little futher back on the Sunday but it's not miles different.. Hope that helps mate, as I say most people might not even notice but if the beyond was designed as a twin you would probbaly get a little more hold and drive out of a more optimal position is all. Also cant is a factor. Cant is built into the fins on Futures and the box on FCS so if you put a keel fin in standard quad/thruster position Futures boxes it's closer to a sensible cant for that set up because it's built into the fin if you do that on FCS you might find your keel fins splayed out at 9 Degrees cant which is a lot more than would be normal on a twinny. It's way more technical than most people need to get to be fair so dont worry.. If it feels good it's right... If you really wanted say a custom twinny built and designed as a twinny it might be worth while having a shaper do exactly that but for production boards and getting a feel you like and having fun dont worry about it too much :-) Cheers.
@@lawson45uk Thanks for the detailed response, yeah I wondered about the cant angle also as I am using FCS, Either way though I'm really enjoying the setup and having a ton of fun. It's interesting that the box position on a seaside & beyond isn't a mile off of an optimal twin position as I have heard of a few folks really enjoying the board as a twin with a nice big keel template. I'm finding it's a great board for many days & conditions and definitely ups your wave count and stoke factor. Greetings too from the Sunshine Coast, Australia
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Been riding the 7'6 seaside and beyond with the Machado quads for a few months. It somehow paddles faster than my 80L Longboard. No idea how but it really is the easiest paddling board I've had. It also is very intuitive to surf - I was able to pop up and do some great turns on my first wave. Have never dug a rail.
Nice mate sounds like its working well for you that's what matters at the end of the day :-)
Exactly ，my 5’6 32Lis paddling faster than my 5’8 38L
Just got the Seaside and Beyond 7'4" LFT, probably got about 10 hours on it so far. The board definitely has a learning curve and I am much lighter yet still hang up rail on initial bottom turn. The other thing I have noticed is that I am stalling when I use pressure on my back foot. I am using the Machado Quad and I believe he designed the board to be ridden fin specific and did not take rider weight much into consideration. I bought the bigger board for ease of paddling and having a larger take off window. I actually have a Christenson 7" Tracker V1. Also your review and comparisons of the TT Gem / Special T were very helpful. I ended up with the TT Gem 9'1".
Thanks Chris appreciate you letting me know your experiences too it helps me build a bit of a picture. I have had a few people say similar things so yeah maybe it's just getting that right combo of fins and some adjustments for us as riders. Big fish designs I guess will always be a little more tracky than a nice veed out round tail but if you want the speed that's probably a trade off. It certainly does a lot of things really well just a couple of minor issues I can hopefully iron out too. Nice glad people are finding my content useful. It's only my opinion but if it's helping people to match up what they want to what is out there that's a win for everyone. thanks for your support and feedback
Not ridden this one but have ridden similar long fishes. The issue probably isn't the fins, the issue is having such a wide straight rail line in the tail along with a load of board up front. That makes it hard for a low intermediate who doesn't surf on rail and off the back of the tail to hold consistently through a turn, especially when it's not perfect glassy Cardiff reef waves with long curly locks for style points! The massive surface area and width translates to a lot of push back on the surfer which if you aren't in perfect glassy waves makes precise control of them hard. That's why fishes always surf better shorter - less area and easier to control. I've seen the LFT ones in the shop and they have ridiculously thinned out tails compared to this one so maybe they surf a bit easier. Most surfers would be better off with a rounded pin like the Channel Islands or Pyzel, less surface area and more predictable. Funny how Machado's boards are all weird shapes that are hard to surf properly but intermediates love them. Maybe it distracts from the challenge of learning technique?! Anyway rant over.
Yeah mate I think your fairly well on point with most of those comments I went on my round tail piggy yesterday in better waves and could do everything I wanted. That's a bit more like the ci but wider and bigger nose so kinda like a slight step down version and that's a favourite. I did wonder about the LFT in a 7 too. Like you said quite possibly a big fish thing though too if you want that nice glide and speed off that tail being a little tighter to turn maybe a sacrifice you have to make. Could just be me or the need to get it in some better quality waves too though. It's super responsive to pump and short turn and on the forehand it's really just backhand cutties thay I sometimes get a little bogged or hung up on. I'm still thinking rear quad fin position isn't helping but it definitely goes better with less grovelly fins. As you say fish are in their ideal element short. Its still an extremely good all round board and one of the best examples of an easy to ride big fish with a wide wave ranges too. I think Machado had done a lot of extremely good board models. Thanks for the feedback and information 👍
You've nailed this. I'm an intermediate and got this board as I was transitioning. Now I mainly only bring this board on points when it's clean and glassy. It's my alternative to taking my longboard out/longboarding.
Side note for others, duck diving the S&B is challenging. You really have to nail sinking the front and that's tough with all the foam up there.
I love my timbertek 6'10, I'm 79kg, but as I'm improving I wonder if it holds back my turns as I've bogged a few times on backside cutbacks. I've stuck a tail pad on it which looks awful but hopefully will cue me to have the foot further back.
What about durability? I heard they are very fragile?
Much more responsive as a keel fish (front boxes). The quad increases speed but you do sacrifice turning ability a bit. Just my opinion.
Yeah that would make sense. I really felt like the rear boxes were too far back in that board myself. Cheers for the comment. 👍
I had this board for about 6 months. Wanted it to work. Took it out in all sorts of waves. I kept digging the rail maybe trying to surf it too hard. This board carries great over flat sections, but like you said, hard to turn. Perhaps the LFT's are easier to turn with less volume? Anyway if I'd rather be out on the twice baked in similar conditions...
You just have to get used to it. I had the same issues the first 2 or 3 surfs until I adjusted to it. To make it way easy to turn and much more fun imo, put in the machado keels. It surfs unreal as a twin.
I went as twin, and really had to mellow out my riding, its more of a flow experience. Watch Rob ride it, he dosen't push it that hard.
was just watching the first part of your review and perfect timing with this next one! thanks again for what you're doing - not much of these out there.
was previously commenting to ask your opinion on size for this timbertek version. i'm nowhere near becoming a good surfer, but was hoping to transition to a shorter board and hopefully play around a bit. have been eyeing the seaside and beyond (in timbertek) as my first mid-length but debating what size to get. i'm mid 40s, 5'7" and weigh about 62kg and have been having fun with my 9'1" gem for the better part of the past year. will be surfing this in knee to head-high waves, and maybe occasionally overheads when it's firing. was originally thinking of getting the 7'2" as anything sub-7' might be too difficult for me, but after seeing your review, i'm now considering the 6'10". would that be too difficult for a beginner to intermediate surfer of my age/size/weight, coming down from a longboard or you reckon the 4" difference won't matter as much (and might be more useful in my quest to eventually try to learn to ride shortboards)
appreciate any feedback!
Hey Nic. Sorry buddy I thought I had gotten to that one so apalogies for the late reply. Yeah absolutely you could go for a 6'10" You could go less still at your weight if you wanted it to be a bit easier to duck dive but at 62KG you should be fine to still catch waves and be fairly stable, you will be able to do shallow duck dives with a bit of practice too so yeah would be a great transitional board if as you improve and go shorter. one tip as you transition from a longboard to a shortboard is spend more time paddling yourself to the pocket of the wave rather than trying to get a run up into the wave like you might on a longboard longboards have the glide to chase waves in a bit more where as you get shorter its more and more important to be taking off closer to the breaking part of the wave. You could get a 7'2" but I think that's probably a little more than you need at 62 KG if your up for it I would get the 6'10" as you still have a chance of being able to learn to duck dive a bit and it will turn better but go with your gut feel I think people usually know themselves better than someone else making a guess for them knowing only a few factors about how your surf etc.
@@lawson45uk no worries at all - these videos are a great service and like the other commenter, I purchased my Gem partly because of your review. Definitely an advantage if I could learn to duck dive and that's part of the reason for seeing if I could handle a slightly shorter board. Not in a rush and won't be getting one for a few months, but will report back here later on to see how I went. Thanks again!
@@lawson45uk hi mate, just circling back to report that i did end up getting the 6'10" timbertek version (47L) with the machado quads and while i've only had a go at it a few times, i'd have to say i'm having a lot of fun with this board. obviously a very different board coming from a 9'1" gem that i normally use and still so much to learn, but i did take your advice trying to take off from the pocket and was able to catch the usual 2-4ft ones we have here with ease. super stable on the drop, and i think i'm going to have a lot of fun trying to learn how to do sharper turns and cutbacks. already dreaming of the next step lower (maybe a sub-6' seaside or greedy beaver? haha), but for now, will try to take this out every chance i get and just have the gem as backup when it's really tiny and the longboard's the only way to salvage some fun out of a session. thanks again for the tips - now to watch your greedy beaver review :D
Hi, Nice review once again! What are your thoughts on the 6'10 Seaside and Beyond vs the 6'10 Greedy Beaver?
Hi Richard.
Yeah different boards and a fair bit of volume difference. I actually really enjoyed the beaver but it was quite a lot of volume. So long ago would be hard to give a really objective comparison but I did have a lot of fun gliding around on the beaver on smaller days. Guess one is a like a giant hypto ish design and the other is a long fish design. Beavers turn nice off the tail but you need a bit of a wave to get over the tail. Would have a lot to do with your weight too I guess as to how over volumed it is to your weight.
Thank the gods!... I was afraid your love of it would cost me another board!:) try it with the am keel twinnys!? I was tempted to go with the 40l 6'8... btw the 7' pyzel mid length is a ripper so is the 6'10 lost c.k
Lol yeah too many good boards around aye :-P Actually just sold this to a mate. Went out on my piggy again the other day and think the round tail more eggy design works better for me. I just ride that as a single fin. Nice all round board but struggling to beat the piggy for our fat waves. I have and like the Party crasher but gonna look at selling that too. Cool the Pyze looks nice considering something like that or the mid strength or even the HI Mid 6 for more of a step up mid/gun again for our fat waves but well overhead so still dont want over rockered.
How you compare it with the Greedy Beaver? Is the GB a more stable board?
Hi Sorry for the late reply. Yeah the beaver is a cool board think it's a bit more volume at this length like an extra 3 litres. In the larger size it's a really fun board but a big rail to get into the water and in the smaller sizes it's a little polarizing as it turns really well if you ride it off the tail but then there is nose in the way that you probably wouldn't have on a more balanced board and also there isn't actually much in the tail to give you lift too. I think the beaver is a fantastic one and done board for an average guy though and definitely deserves a lot of praise. I would probably go a 6'6" as a small to medium wave fun option as I have a longboard and a hybrid shortboard. Porbably make a magic all rounder for a bigger surfer, it's definitely got range and versatility too. Yeah it's wider and fuller rail so likely a bit more stable than the SSB but it's been a while between so can't be sure. Cheers.
Really torn between a 6'10" SAB, 6'8" Greedy Beaver or 7'0" Mid-6.
I could probably write pages on the minor differences but it really depends on you, your ability what waves you ride and what you want out of the borads.7'0" mid 6 I wanted but it was too much of a step up kinda board for me. Narrow, low volume quite a bit of rocker. Greedy is a lot of fun and generous on volume per length. Sometimes found the nose a little big for how pulled in the tail is but they surf very well off the tail and have good carry that's more of a do it all board but the nose size and volume can be hard to duck dive in bigger surf. The Beyond a lot of people really love, I found that also behaved better when the waves are better so worth keeping in mind but both very fun boards and the Mid 6 I would only go that way if you have decent waves personally dont expect it to love under head high slow peelers from looking at it but I haven't ridden it so that's just my opinion. I would probably pick it for an indo trip personally if I were to choose the kind of wave it's better suited to. Cheers.
Great review - trying to decide between the 7'4 LFT and the 7'2 Timbertech - concerned about responsiveness of TT construction - should i be? I have LFT and Helium boards and like them.
thanks
Yeah the TT is a little stiffer and a touch heavier for sure so up side to that is it will have a touch more momentum and deal with chop better but will be a little less lively and poppy compared to LFT. Depends what your priority is. Shame they don't make them in Helium I reckon but they don't.
Great effort Dave, been waiting for your feedback on this one. I’m riding the gem (selected cause of your great feedback and review ). Love that board, but are looking to downsize for better response turns etc. At a weight of 70kg do you think the 6 8, 40 litres would work at the local beach for a very average surfer, it just seems 47 litres (this is what fw website state) is heaps, and I might struggle to duck dive but do want a board that I can actually catch the waves on (without going to Taylor’s).
Hi Nic. Think we have chatted in the water aye my memory for names not as good as for faces sorry :-) Yeah if you want something you can still duck dive and ride a good variety of waves on there are a lot of people at a similar size saying the 6'8" is the one. Skipper surf and one of another aussie guy all chose the 6'8". I don't think that would need taylors kind of power but would beed a couple of foot at Scarborough but also handle taylors and NZ roady waves too I suspect. Obviously you will have to adjust to needing to be more in the pocket with your take off and riding but that's all part of the progression your probably looking for anyways. I think backdoor actually have a few SSB in stock here in CHCH. If your keeping your Gem or a longboard for the smaller waves a 6'8" SSB could be nice for everything else. Hope that helps see you in the water :-)
@@lawson45uk thanks Dave, yes we have chattered in the waves, I think I asked you how the s & b was going. Thanks for the advice, I’m a bit of a regular browser at back door. I will be keeping the gem as I love that board. C u in the waves.
I'm 72kg, intermediate skill, i confirm you the 6,10 (47L) is not that easy to duck dive, at least not deep enough most of the time. It takes quite a while to go down, so timing is a little trickier i think
Hi, I have the exact same board as you and I've had 5 surfs in pretty average surf, plenty of speed and glide, good paddling but I am not sure I've got the right fins (MB split keel). I keep bogging the rail when turning so I think you need to be more active moving your weight around and get more on the tail than I'm used to. I wonder what keel fins would be like?
Yeah sounds like a few people having the same problems then. Split keels are my go to fins for all other grovel bosrds anything with a wide tail that I want speed on. Finding this one goes better with more standard fins. I'm considering trying a twin and two trailers too and yeah maybe keels might be ok. I'm still not convinced they meant to put the rear quad boxes where they did. Like you say it's a shame as sooooo many other things about the board work so well. cheers.
Hey Kyle, for what it's worth, I've had this board for a year now and what I found is that it works best in pushy shoulder high + waves, semi powerful point breaks or high tides. I see it as almost like a step up board to the Seaside for shoulder high+ waves when you don't want a missile under your feet. It does tends to bog when there isn't enough size or power in the wave and IMO it really isn't a good groveler at all. Also, to your point, for the board to really work, you have to make sure your back foot is all the way back on the traction block and set a narrow stance. Once I started focusing on shifting my weight all the way back onto the tail, it started to light up for me. Fins I like - Machado quads, Machado keels are fun but not my favorite, and regular Large controllers work well - but haven't taken those out on a good day yet (hopefully soon). For reference I'm 210-215lbs and ride the 7'4" LFT version. Cheers!
@@Ironlung330 excellent feedback thanks Ian. Always good to get others point of view that have different conditions and experiences. Appreciate your input 👍
@@Ironlung330 Thanks for your comments, i got some modern keel fins and it feels completely different, loose and fun. The split keels are better in head high surf. I realise now I'm a front footed surfer from surfing longboards forever. That means that on hollow waves I'm burying the nose a lot on steep drops but that is my problem not the board!
Hi there, Cheers for the Vid, have you tried it as a twin fin? apparently they work really well as a twin..
Cheers Ollie. Nah I didn't get to try it as a twin though I can imagine it would work well. Board has plenty of speed and glide and if anything a little sticky on the back hand like fish shapes can be so I would expect a twin or keel could compliment it well. Cheers.
@@lawson45uk Hi Again, I have experimented a fair bit now with running the machado keels in the seaside & beyond, It's a real nice setup & I think I'll leave it as the default fin set in this board. Super Fun! A quick question I have for you being that you really seem to know a lot about fin placement. Are the front boxes in a seaside and beyond (also 6'10) relatively optimal for twin fin placement? could it be even better perhaps to place the keels in the rear boxes as they are further back and further from the rail?
@@cosmoganic Hi Ollie. Cool mate glad it's working for you. To be honest the front boxes aren't going to be miles out especially on Futures and with Keels as most of the extra fin above and beyond a normal one goes backwards on the box anyway so wouldn't get too wrapped up in it. The back boxes won't actually fit front fins if your in futures and would be in a really wring position anyway. Lets hope I get these numbers right but just take it as a rough example...Lets say you had a 6'0" fish... Front fins on a thruster and quad might be around 282mm up from the tail, around 32mm in from the rail and running a toe of around 6mm... Keel fins would be more like 235mm up from the tail 36-40mm from the rail and running about half the toe maybe 3-4mm and the distance from the tail moves forward as the board gets longer so basically in the ideal world if your beyond was made as a dedicated twin the fins might be say 20-40mm further back and say 5mm ish further in so it's not the end of the world it's just not optimal to place twins where quads are meant to be.. Most people might not notice or might actually even like them further up depending on where their feet land but on your board if it's working your all good. It's not like your gonna change the box position on a built board for the bit of difference it makes I just try to be open and honest with helping people understand that sometimes what they are trying isn't quite where the shaper might put it if they designed it like that to start. Next time your in shop have a look at the fin position on a sunday vs a Beyond, you should see the twins a little futher back on the Sunday but it's not miles different.. Hope that helps mate, as I say most people might not even notice but if the beyond was designed as a twin you would probbaly get a little more hold and drive out of a more optimal position is all. Also cant is a factor. Cant is built into the fins on Futures and the box on FCS so if you put a keel fin in standard quad/thruster position Futures boxes it's closer to a sensible cant for that set up because it's built into the fin if you do that on FCS you might find your keel fins splayed out at 9 Degrees cant which is a lot more than would be normal on a twinny. It's way more technical than most people need to get to be fair so dont worry.. If it feels good it's right... If you really wanted say a custom twinny built and designed as a twinny it might be worth while having a shaper do exactly that but for production boards and getting a feel you like and having fun dont worry about it too much :-) Cheers.
@@lawson45uk Thanks for the detailed response, yeah I wondered about the cant angle also as I am using FCS, Either way though I'm really enjoying the setup and having a ton of fun. It's interesting that the box position on a seaside & beyond isn't a mile off of an optimal twin position as I have heard of a few folks really enjoying the board as a twin with a nice big keel template. I'm finding it's a great board for many days & conditions and definitely ups your wave count and stoke factor. Greetings too from the Sunshine Coast, Australia