Surf69 said..Surf69 said..Bit the bullet and now have a 6'4" 21 3/8" x 3" Hypto Krypto Used it once so far and seems pretty good, fast drivey, powers out of turns. A little tighter than i was expecting but still adjusting to find good foot positioning. Off to Bali in a couple of weeks to give it a good go so will provide a ride report then.
Its taken a while to get some great conditions to really give this a fair go,,,,, well I have now, and this I've found :
Summary for those that don't want to get the detail = Took a little to get familiar with but when we jelled it's turned out to be a mighty fine thing and a quality build. Loose as a thruster and Fast, drivey but with good release as a quad in better waves, either way a great paddler.
Now in More detail for those of you even remotely interested.
ME - 6'4" 100kg, above average fitness for age (but then again anything upright and breathing is!) surfer of nearly 40 years.
BOARD - Hayden Hypto Krypto, future flex 6' 4" x 21 3/8 x 3 " 5 fin Set up, running on Haydens own fin templates.
I'd suspect that the board would weigh the equivalent of a PU 4 x 6 x 4 Oz, yet appears to be significantly stronger. All in all much better than expected. Have heard some horror stories about build quality but that's usually directed at offshore produced product. This one was a customer order made in Oz, I've never surfed a shortboard that's been anything but PU Constructions, so its an Epoxy first for me. So far very happy
FIRST : Build Quality - Ordered stringer-less expoxy, glassed strong 12 0z deck 6 ounce bottom. I'm used to heavy glass jobs and want my boards to be durable so was expecting a strong yet heavier board even though expoxy. I was pleasantly surprised to find the board significantly light...(at the cost of multiple pressuries on the deck I was expecting) Yet after about 15 hours of activity over a few weeks there's still no indents on the deck other than a barely noticeable impression that was acquired with thanks to an airline going to Indo, None from feet, none from knees.
- Can see looking down the decks clear of indents. (My usual short board PU's would normally be fairly hammered by now)
- Beautifully shaped rail
THE PERFORMANCE:
AS A QUAD - Fast and drivey, a lot tighter than I expected (in comparison to my Mayhem quad, but that definitely has more area in the tail and the fins closer to the rail) but having said that still has a comfortable if not flirtatious release with lip manoeuvres, with a noticeable acceleration out of rail turns, that took some getting used to. All in all I found that if I'm in super hollow glassy tunnels the quad works very, very well... once you've mastered the slightly more forward foot positioning switching back to the tail block to maximise the boards potential. This thing is a barrel magnet, I think thanks to the widest part of the board forward of centre, tucked in ,sharp edged tails working in sync with the side fins and perfectly matched low'ish rail. (I was expecting a slightly lower rail yet this works well :)
AS A THRUSTER:
Basically I got this with the primary expectation that it would be used as a quad the majority of ownership. My other quad, tried once as a thruster, never went back but this one rides so bloody good as a thruster as well...just different. Definitely two different persona's from the one board. As a thruster I found it to ride marginally slower but probably 30% looser than the quad, a hell of a lot more release allowing for the back foot to push the tail away far easier than the quad, yet with a good deal of control allowed. I found this little quality extremely good fun noting myself that I'm extending my turns and snaps a hell of a lot more and with a lot more confidence as the board seems to allow an easier recovery and therefore control of extreme turns. My son noting " Dad your're killing it on that thing!". Nothing like some positive feedback from the grom's
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I had an epic day on my back hand recently, this board really shined for me in the thruster set up. It was one of those memorable sessions with just over head, near windless conditions running for 100m's down a shallow reefed point. As a contributing factor to that epic session I'm pointing the finger at the fact that the pulled in pin, combined with sharp rails a third of the way up and awesome bottom contours allowed for some critical turns in and around the lip, combined with the volume and width forward seeming to have a symbiotic relationship with the body mechanics of back hand surfing, always allowing for a stable and forgiving descent to a point where you can drive, vertically to the lip again with the confidence of a pro. Damn it felt good.
Initially I wasn't sure I was happy. It was not a board that felt immediately awesome and for the first couple of surfs I was enthusiastic about it, thinking this was going to be good... but not yet declaring it so. That changed greatly when I got this into good waves and basically , got used to riding it. It goes well in mediocre waves but it really shines in quality waves small or large, I wouldn't have it or use it as a groveler by any stretch.
I ride big boards and Longboards a lot and this is allowing for an easy transition between those and this, even going from the 9'5" down to this at 6'4" feels OK and still manage a speedy comfortable paddle as opposed to feeling like your laying on a tea bag. The quality has proven to be more durable than expected and is pretty damn light considering the heavier glass option.
All in all I wouldn't hesitate recommending one, I didn't find it a magic board initially, but after the surfs I've had on it lately...I DO NOW!!
Yeah I love my 6'0 mate, great boards. Didn't get board of the year 2 or 3 times for nothing...havta show you my fin setup, I go Shapers S9's in head & 1/2 & Shapers S9 sides with solus funky cutaway type fin in the back in small to medium waves.
Finbox on that board is 2+1 so he has an adapter to go the regset.
