Replace Spitfire with El Fuego?

[Erling]

First off all, I have to say that the Spitfire is a great board.

The issue I'm having is that I feel that the Alternator and Spitfire overlap a bit in the waves we have here. I used to have a 5'10 Dominator for the small/fat/mushy/crappy waves and there was no problem getting into waves. With the 5'8 Spitfire I feel that the board need cleaner waves with a bit more punch. The Spit goes great in these conditions, but I could also use the Alternator. I feel that there is a gap between the Spit and 5'4 Sweet Potato that I need to fill. So the quiestion is; would a El Fuego get me into weaker waves easier, but still work good in good waves if I for some reason choose the El Fuego over the Alternator that day ? And could the 5'11 El Fuego grovel as well as my old 5'10 Dominator ?

I'm afraid to sell my 5'8 Spitfire and regret it afterwards, but I think the 5'11 El Fuego might fit better in between the Sweet Potato and the Alternator.
Maybe a 5'10 Spitfire could be the right one, but I remember that the 5'10 Dominator I had did feel a bit big at times....

Seems like the El Fuego might be hard to find in the shops now, any other models that might do the job?


PS: Is it possible to get the El Fuego without the vent-valve ?

Help? :)

[aurfalien]

I can vouch for the EF. It runs great in fast or mush.

Great shape for sure. Although if you want something new and perhaps sexier, a Jacknife may be in order?

I have rebuilt my quiv and have BP, EF, HZ, then Futura when mood permits.

I think the EF can be a 1 quiv board though, just my thoughts.

I heard so many great things on the Spit though.

[Wandi]

Why don't you buy another Dominator
If it works for you then there's nothing wrong with getting the same model again

[iggy]

If you'd have a chance I'd go for potato/spit/HF or Hellrazor for better waves
You already have the potato for the small mush and the Spit/Alt for the rest. The EF is one of those "forgotten" boards that will deliver when demanded. Will go hand to hand with the spitfire on the low/med range but prefer the Spit on the med/high range.
The Pnator gets me into waves really easily by the way, that could be another one to consider

[Slowman]

What is the difference between the spitfire and the diamond tail ELF?

[hwork50]

I got the ELF and I love it. Did not go that well in some of the beach breaks I surfed it, but it was a really bad day. Love that board and have had some amazing sessions on it. I like it so much I sold my Dominator. Right now the board I love is the Hellfire, that board can surf almost any wave and carves so good. I was hoping by purchasing a Spitfire that genetically I would have gotten something that was the same carvy feel just for smaller waves in the 2-3 foot range. The ELF also gets into waves so easily as it is just a great board, check it out.

[aurfalien]

One of my favorite posts and what drove me to buy an EF;

http://www.firewiresurfboards.com/forum/discussion/649/nevs-critique-on-the-el-fuego-dominatorspitfire-and-the-futura

The Hellfire aye, hmmmmmm;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mXl6Uh9sn4&feature=plcp

[hwork50]

Yeah, that post is such a good one. I love the line,

"It is a no brainer if you love that inherent “fish” feel, but still want to TURN!" EL FUEGO!

Probably my favorite post, I have read that post at least 10 times.

[Goanna]

To this day I still regret selling the El Fuego. It was and is an amazing shape and so, so versatile.
I'd get one for sure!

[hwork50]

It is funny I never really wanted one, but I happened to be going to my buddies house and there was one for sale so I stopped by and picked up a new perfect one for 300-. Unfortunately someone did a repair with fiberglass and the deck kinda caved. No biggie just a 50- fix.

[Erling]

I won't go back to the 5'10 Dom, as I do feel that the Sweet Potato covers the small stuff better and that the 5'10 dom felt a bit too big for me in better waves. Maybe a 5'10 Spit or a 5'8 Dom would be the right one, but it's hard to say without trying them out.

Thanks for all the reply's, but is there anyone who has tried both the 5'8 Spit and a 5'11 El F ?

And is the new El Fuegos made without the gore-tex vent ?



Hoping for some good surf this week, so I can compare the Spit and Alt. Been too long since I used my Alternator now, looking forward to try it out again :)

[Erling]

Point break, waves around chest-shoulder size. The Alternator goes great as long as the wave has got a nice wall to work with, but stalls if the wave gets soft. I missed the speed of the Spifire and Sweet Potato, had trouble getting enough speed to get around sections. So I guess the Alternator will be for the days when the waves are bigger or steeper. Not sure what I will do with the Spitfire yet, but in waves under head high or waves that have softer/flat sections the spitfire definitely goes better than the Alternator.

[Slowman]

Sell the spit and the SP and get a p-nator!

[tallkook]

Hey Erling,

First let me say that I am not a ripper, but I have the Elf and Hellfire combo and they have me covered for everything from waist high up to solid surf. I surf my Elf in just about everything and roll out the Hellfire when the waves get over 4-5 feet and good. Never surfed a Spitfire, so can't comment on that but from what I've read your current quiver looks a pretty good one. FYI my Elf does not have the vent in it. I got it earlier this year on Gold Coast in Australia. I could probably ride the next size down in both my boards but I like a bit of volume and have not regretted my decision to go a bit bigger.

If you were keen for a change I think you could swap out the Spitfire for an Elf and be very happy. It is a shape that can work in a huge variety of conditions and the flat rocker makes it very easy to paddle and catch waves. It is fast and fun. I reckon that in combo with the Hellfire they are a pretty great 2 board quiver.

Hope this helps.

[Gnubee]

I use my Elf for everything and love it. There are times when I wish it had a bit more flip to the nose, but overall it rips. IT is quite the thing tearing along right in the pocket of a wave that everybody else is calling a closeout. I can totally see a 3 board setup of a Potato, EF, and Alt being able to cover pretty much any condition I would surf in. The Potato for the super mush, the El Fuego or most days (knee to head high), and the Alternator for when it gets solid or steep. The El Fuego, from what I can gather, does grovel a bit better than the Spitfire, but does not really lag behind it in terms of sheer performance.

For a two board quiver, I'm looking at an El Fuego/Hellrazor combo. If I was forced to have only one board (especially given the waves around here) then I'd be pretty happy with just the El Fuego - even if I would have to make some adjustments for the larger or steeper days.

[aurfalien]

Yea Gnubee, I am building the same setup;

BP, EF, HR.

[Goanna]

Yea Gnubee, I am building the same setup;

BP, EF, HR.

That's one great quiver right there.

For my skills I'd have the SP/BP - EF - Futura (past true high performance shapes now!)

[aurfalien]

I will always have my Futura w/o question.

And prolly add the Vangaurd next year as well :)

[hwork50]

Gnubee and Tallkook,

What fin set-ups are you using on the ELF. I surfed mine today with the K 2.1 set-up and it went ok. For longer points I love the MRTX set-up but struggling to find something that works in beach breaks and other conditions. Just curious?

Thanks,

[tallkook]

Hey hwork50,

I almost always surf mine as a quad with Shapers Quad-E's carbon fibre fins (link below). I mucked around a bit with PC7's and SF4's but found the board really came to life with the Shapers fins. I have just put the MR fins in for my next session, but yet to get a surf in on them. Are you riding your MRTFX with a small trailer as a thruster or two small trailers as a quad or just as a twinnie??

http://www.shapersfins.com/archives/portfolio/stealth-quad-e

[Gnubee]

I posted in the other thread on this, but Nexus H3s a a beautiful match for the El Fuego. Really make the board come alive. I have mostly been surfing it as a quad - which is still a novelty for me. Works great as a thruster from what I can tell. I'd still like to try the Indofins Controlers.

[hwork50]

Yeah, I tried it with the SF4 fins and the K2.1 fins and they just did not work like I wanted them to. So I am going to try my H2 fins and possibly look into buying some of those H3 quad set. Right now I ride it with the MRTX fins and the small GX trailer. I tried the K2.1 fins today with SF4 rears. It went ok, just felt like I was getting up at the top of the wave moreso than normal. I like my fins loose and I like them to feel like they are part of the board, almost like they are not even there and that I can just go anywhere I want to.

[silentp]

Try it with the MRTX and two trailers, similar to my futures combo I think, really frees up the EF

[aurfalien]

This board is so versatile its SIK.

Some one had custom ordered a lemon yellow version and didn't like it. So I swooped in, so glad I did. Standard dims, just custom paint.

1276

[hwork50]

I like the yellow, at least your buddies will always know where you are in the water as well as your wife and kids.

[aurfalien]

Thanks man.

I weighed it against my Futura and found the EF 2 pounds heavier. Could be the extra fin boxes plus paint. Negligible impact on my surfing but thought the EF weighed a bit more.

[Slowman]

...
I weighed it against my Futura and found the EF 2 pounds heavier. Could be the extra fin boxes plus paint. Negligible impact on my surfing but thought the EF weighed a bit more.
Could be the older versions weigh a bit more? I see it has a vent.

That looks so much like a spitfire, so I decided to compare a 6'0 spit and 6'1 EF. Both have 8.0 square feet surface area and 35.3L of volume. The EF has a slightly wider nose and narrower tail so area is slightly more forward. Thus the balance point of the spit is 1" further back. Too bad I can't see the rockers compared but I expect they are quite similar. Is the EF a single concave like the spit?

[hwork50]

Great comparison, can't wait to get mine and surf em.

[aurfalien]

I meant my older FW weighed less then my new one.

[Slowman]

I see. 2 lb is quite a bit are they both FST?

[tallkook]

I could be misinformed but I believe the newer FST boards without vents are also a little heavier. I think its a good thing.

[aurfalien]

Yes, both FST and both with vents. But the Futura is a tri fin were as the EF has 5 fin option plus the paint. So perhaps all that equates to 2lbs?

[Chris]

across the years there have been minor adjustments to the amount of glass used on the board, but its fairly minor. It wouldn't cause the valve free boards to be heavier. As with any hand sanded board, there is going to be a slight variation in weight from board to board. Its more likely that weight variations are the result of the hand done parts of the production process...

[buzzy]

The Futura is now a 5 finner too (current version).

[Matt_s]

My vented 5'9 ef and vented 5'6 dm are both ultra light, purchased close to 2 yrs ago, ventless 5'2 sp is def heavier but it's also got 3.5 ltrs more vol

[prjwebb]

yeah my vented FE604 is the lightest of all my FST boards with my MN510 close behind, the CBD TJ600 a little heavier than that and the PT502 the heaviest of the bunch. the PT seems pretty bullet proof though but I'd probably replace it with a white RF if it was stolen.