really small waves....5'8

[qatarjames]

hey all, so i live in the middle east...attached are 2 pics i took today with a little wind swell we had, currently i have a roxy girls board i found in a quik store. its a mini mal at 7'3/4 i think...no sizes on the board. it gets me surfing waves from about 1ft?

so i would love a 5'8 potato but look at the size of my waves!! i do travel to bigger and better waves and have a 6'7 bic,

firewire go on about volume indicator but i cant find any other websites to compare? i dont want to buy a potato if its same or less than my mini mal? anyone help?

cheers, james

[qatarjames]

42 people look at my post and no one can help me??

[prjwebb]

Well it's impossible to gauge the volume of your board without dims and knowing what the board is.
That said, the Potato is aimed at small and junky waves and doesn't need a huge amount of volume to work because the volume is confined to a small, flat area.
Your height and weight would be helpful in advising size. It's not hugely beneficial to grossly oversize the Sweet Potato.

[iggy]

Check the baked potato as well, little more refined than the sweet potato and destines to the same sort of conditions

[aurfalien]

Stick with your Bic.

[DOHO Rider]

Hi James, i've only had my SP 5'8" for a month, so I am probably not the best person to comment, but my experience so far is that the SP can catch 1ft waves fairly easily, as long as it has shape and a little push, ie, at low tide with some curl to the wave. for where I surf, at high tide, the waves are pretty slow and thick without much shape and I find my longboard much better. Personally, I would get a SP but keep your mini mal. they are 2 different animals and each board has it's time and place.

[qatarjames]

sorry guys,...ok here are the details below- im just an average or even less surfer, but have been to bali, sri lanka, oz and other places and love it, with my bic im able to do turns andenjoy steeper waves, but on small waves it doenst float enough,

the roxy board was just a buy as i was passing a shop- no sizes..might even be a display piece but i ride it and its always fun.....but i just wish to turn quicker and improve! the mini mal feels like its more of a "set the rail" and trim the wave and ride like a mal??

length: 7'3
width: 21.5
thickness: 2.5

1046

[prjwebb]

Ok James, how about your height and weight? That's crucial for nailing the size of the board.

[qatarjames]

6ft tall and 84 kilos

[prjwebb]

Yeah I'd look at the 5'6 or 5'8" Sweet Potato or the 5'7" Baked Potato.

[qatarjames]

ok well i will go look at it in a shop and get more of a feel. thanks to all for helping.

[aurfalien]

Ditto.

The BP will be more versatile due to its pulled in tail and nose plus a tad bit more rocker.

[Bigblackdog]

Check out the Potatonator as well

[Chris]

yeah james the Potato is definitely not like anything you have. Its a board geared 100% for small waves. If you are traveling a lot and wind up surfing bigger waves a handful of times each year, you might think about going with a small Addvance 606 or a Dominator as well. I would hate for you to get to a good wave in Europe of Africa or something and have the potato in overhead surf. That can be tricky.

My major point here is to make sure that you are wanting to get a small wave board if you are getting the potato. I would say its less of a travel board than the other 2 i mentioned.

Cheers and hope this helps.

[qatarjames]

hey chris...i am looking for a small wave board- i use my bic 6'6 to travel around the world- its solid and i have grown used to it over the years! i just want a board which can help me progress in small waves with float and be stoked :-) thanks for all the advice-- just looking now on firewire site at the baked potato for the 5'11? loads of volume maybe so i can ride small waves...dont forget i live the the middle east..not famous for surf!!!


cheers J

[iggy]

Potatonator has more performance than the baked potato and still packs quite a bit of volume. What re your stats?

[prjwebb]

Iggy :)


6ft tall and 84 kilos

[aurfalien]

I would go with a smaller BP, like no bigger then 5'7".

i was and am shocked at how much volume it has, OMG.

I should have gotten a 5'5", but I am adapting to the 5'7". It floats so much that my entire thigh is out of the water, WTF!!!

Its interesting on the fact that I have to re adjust my paddling/etc on such a huge board!

Still, it gets up and goes. I may stick a 5th fin in it, like that FW pivoty thing to slow her down a bit.

Oh yea, one more thing is the 5th fin box that the SP does not have.

So you can quad, tri or cinque her :)

[qatarjames]

ok see this link..a little video i made from the weekend surfing... you can see the size of waves

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3c2UYqaCFk&feature=g-upl

i would like the more performance potato, but its just the gamble...i live in a desert country. the idea is i take it in a double board bad with my bic to have best of both worlds!!

also i use the mini mal when glides more than does turns which i want to do more of!!

[iggy]

Wow those look like really small waves. 5'7" baked looks like right up to the task, although the 5'10"pnator could help as well if the waves were a bit better

[qatarjames]

Yeah I like the look and idea of having a baked potato, I haven't found many online for sale in surf shops, can you order direct from FireWire? Is the white fst out yet? Seems like reviews suggest its stronger? And future fins better choice?

[iggy]

FUTURES all the way...at least for me... for sure some FCS advocates will jump jejejeej.
Try to contact Myles. He's the person in charge of Europe
[email protected]

[prjwebb]

Is the UAE Europe though Iggy? Not sure who would deal with that actually...

[iggy]

That's exactely it, I don't know if anybody is assigned to that region so the closest one will be Europe.

[prjwebb]

Yeah potentially, or Asia?

[iggy]

If you go to the DEALERS section on the website:
http://www.firewiresurfboards.com/dealers_international.php

you have the option of Dubai.
Have you tried to fill this one in?

[Bumper]

Id go addvance. One lesson Ive learned is that for a developing surfer volume and width is your friend. Learn how to surf on a bigger board before u go small. I jumped right from a log to a short board within six months of starting to surf. I never learned the nuances of good surfing until I went back to a bigger board. After a few years I downsized to a fish. From their my surfing exploded. Addvance gives u the nest if both worlds. A bigger board that can turn and handle better waves. Just my opinion.

[Bumper]

To go from a roxy fun shape and bic to go to a hybrid like the sp or bp might be a steep learning curve. I love my sp but it's a board like no other. Had a buddy who is an ok surfer try it after riding a strive 6 6 and he could not make it work at all. He's an average surfer who surfs of his front foot. Check out the addvance postings. People really like this board especially in solid waves. Seems like it has a great wave range and it will help u progress into the small board range.

[Bumper]

Saw your video. Don't seem to be below the intermediate level. Bp or sp might work im your dims and had the 5 8 sp enjoyed it but decided to downsize to a 56 thats worked out well. Its not a fish or mal type board. Iggy will agree the back foot makes the board go. I would assume after riding a mal and fun shape it might be a slower transition to a sp type board. If u dont mind a few tough sessions u will eventually dial in I'd still check out the addvance. Chris also mentioned the Dom. Great board there too.

[qatarjames]

hey bumper- thanks for the advice so far, i have looked at the addvance, but it starts in a 6'6... i was looking to try something smaller than my bic but with more volume.. so an idea- 6' 1" 22 3/4" 3" diamond 50.9 baked P?? surely 50ltr is loads? and a smaller board to make turns on? in the winter here in QATAR we get good storms where i can ride my bic, i just want a new board with more float to ride on the smaller days and hopefully improve.
i went to dubai this weekend to look at the dealer of firewire, i got to touch hold and check out both a sweet and baked but not the size i was looking for, it was only the bambo deck one...as i want the FST.
yeah i looked at a dom a few months ago, but at 6'2-4 and 40ltr a potato can beat this and be a little smaller. i have ridden 6ft-6'4 shortboards but just in bigger waves than what i get in qatar.

thnaks for your input,

[qatarjames]

ok guys, so i went to dubai- they had a few boards but all too small for what i want! i been looking at the baked P at 5'11 or the sweet P at 5'10?? or even 6ft?

is sweet p at 46.6ltr volume a whole load of foam :-) should i even look at a 6? remember my little video and photos...waves in the gulf middle east?

oh last thing..eveyone seems to like the future fitting fins? can you get FST with futures??

cheers, james

[Bumper]

I had the 5'8 and it was very floaty for me at 190lbs. 46L is alot for that board. If you read through the SP forum, you will notice most people will recommend going smaller than one might think. Just a thought, gave you thought about a fish. I have the king fish at 6'2 and 44L and it goes well in alot of waves. Ive had it out in thigh high fun waves , fast and hollow waist to chest and shoulder to head high mush and it's ripped. I still surf this board better than any FW I have but I've dedicated myself to becoming more of a backfooted, top to bottom surfer. The King fish Paddles great, super fast down the line and is light enough to smack a lip or close out section and can duckdive fine. Hard to find in stores though but a fish type of board might be alot of fun if you can find it and can't nail down a SP or BP. Good luck

[qatarjames]

its surprising FW have a longboard 9ft at 59ltrs and a 5'10 SP at 46 :-) i think i ill put the effort into a SP! once in a life time :-) thanks for all the help, to be honest i dont have much choice here for boards so will try look into buying one in england

[qatarjames]

ok so now i need help- i want to buy the 5'10 FST white potato, none in dubai..can i order one from firewire which they can make or already have made in thailand? then send it to the dealer in Dubai?

i spoke to the middle east dealer and they have just had their delivery for the year and didnt include a 5'10 :-( if i get one from england now i wont get it till december when the parents come over :-( this means i will miss out on all the swell coming before then!!
hows the packaging? anyone had a board delivered in the post before?

[prjwebb]

you could get in touch with the guys at www.downthelinesurf.co.uk and see how much it'd cost to get a board out to you. I know they send boards out all over the world. They've even had Aussies buying Australian made boards from them and having them sent to Aus because some how it works out cheaper than buying them from Aus in the first place.

Worth a try. If they don't have what you're after www.boardshop.co.uk is another good choice.

[Chris]

yeah i would suggest the same thing as prj here....