The Surfboard Guide

What are your thoughts on fixed fins, specifically wooden keels like these here?
•
I had some a few years back in a very similar board, but really struggled with them - felt like they jumped out of the water when pushed, and the whole time I had the board I’d wished I’d got fox boxes so I could try different fins in them
•
These here feel different and have a much more high performance feel to what they look!
•
Frothing to get this .shapes.aus review out as I’ve been frothing on this board, and keen to chat more about these fins…

I’ve been sitting on this Virtue by for a while now, not sure if it’s first surf is in the ocean, or in the pool
•
I was really keen to check this out as many years ago I had a few Psychedelic Germs by Hayden and absolutely loved them, and being a snowboarder too the winterstick inspired sidecut design made a lot of sense to me
•
Really keen to get this on the water and see how it goes, but is it pool or the ocean for first surf? 🤔

I found this old quiver shot from many many moons ago, long before kids and life got really serious… 😂
•
I think this is an MTF-Altered, Fred Stubble, Flyer-F, and a Bunny Chow, all around 28L, and all by
•
While I still love these shapes (especially the MTF), it’s funny how your interest in boards and shapes changes very naturally as you get older…
•
Loving riding more alternate and longer/bigger boards, but at heart I’ll always be a shortboard guy, and need to make sure I never lose the ability to be able to surf high-performance craft like the 4 here (but don’t think I’ll be getting back down to 28L boards 😂)

We put out our Atelier review a few moons ago, and it’s got me thinking about the comparisons between it and the Modern Quad
•
Both somewhat oversized, but both designed to be easy to surf, but also perform
•
While there are similarities, they both demand their own type of surfing, and I’m keen to break them both down together so someone looking for an easy to surf performer can work out what’s right for them… ✌️
•

Have you surfed the G-Skate? And if you have, what are your impressions?
•
To me it surfs very differently to how I’d expect it to surf from this outline (which is actually a blend of some of my favorite boards), but I’ve definitely found out where it works and doesn’t work
•
Now just waiting for to get back from Bali so we can film some surfing and get this review out 💪🫡

We’ve just released our Initial Thoughts on the Blue Lotus by - the link to the full clip is in our bio
•
After the popularity of the Lotus, I was pretty keen to check out the Blue Lotus, and see where it sits in the quiver, and the versatility it offers with quad and thruster options
•
Alex gave us some fin recommendations, and there’s a few setups I’m keen to check out, but let us know what fins from you’d like to see in the Blue Lotus and we’ll try check them out
•
Full review should be live in a few weeks pending waves and what seems like a never ending flat spell…

A few months ago while in the U.S I was lucky enough to swing down to meet with Adam and grab an which I’d been so keen to check out for a long time
•
If you don’t know Adam, while he’s still a young guy, he’s been shaping a long time, and made boards for some of the best waves and surfers, and currently has testing his boards to their limits 😂
•
Swipe through the photos and see my little 5’11 there waiting for me - I’ve surfed it a few times since getting back, and super keen to get the review out… ✌️

What’s your experience with fixed wooden keel fins - love them, or hate them?
•
I’ve only had them once before and didn’t love them - these feel different though…
•
shapes.aus Bar of Soap -

I’ve been really keen to check out this Blue Lotus by after checking out the original Lotus a few moons ago and absolutely loving it
•
5’11 x 19 1/2 x 2 9/16 - 33L
•
I’ve been wanting to get the full review out, but we’ve gone into a horrible flat spell on the east coast of Australia, and when there has been waves, life has got in the way…
•
I had a few people contact me about this wanting it as a step-up to their Lotus, but while it has an ideal wave range that might be slightly bigger better waves, don’t let the nice round tail fool you that it’s just a step-up…

I’ve always been a fan of and been keen to check out one of his shakes, so I was psyched to finally get my hands on this Sub-Twin
•
5’10 x 20 1/4 x 2 1/2 - 32.5L
•
Feels good on the water and pretty drivey with the channels out the tail - surfed it with the Power Twins by but might need to look at something a little smaller as this feels a little tight with this big twin and the channels
•
Psyched to get more time in the water and get the Initial Thoughts clip out shortly ✌️
•

Have you ridden a mini-simmons, and did you like it?
•
Before this Bar of Soap here from .shapes.aus I’d only had one, but as a shortboarder I couldn’t really gel with it as it didn’t like moving and doing much
•
This seems to have all the characteristics you want from a mini-simmons (flow, trim, ease to surf), but also a little more shortboard friendly maybe due to some bottom curves and concave etc…
•
And the marine ply twin keels, are they a thing of art? 😗
•

We recently released our full review of the Hypto Krypto in their epoxy-soft technology - the link to the full review is in our bio
•
This thing is about as high performance as they come when it comes to softboards - and you can jam your favourite in it to, which is pretty epic
•
Check out the review and let us know your thoughts (especially if you already own one of these bad boys!) ✌️