Which Sweet Potato size to complement my 5'10 Dominator

[ant]

Aloha.
I am the happy owner of a Dominator 5'10.
It's the surfboard that I used the most during the last year.
I am 1.75m and 72kgs dry (5.7 and 158lbs) intermediate surfer but a little bit lazy regarding paddling :-)

I'm gonna to get a SP to use as summer board for those days that waves are 1-3ft weak.

When I order the Dominator I had some doubts if to order the 5'8 or the 5'10. My decision was made having in mind that I'm not a great paddler.
Right now I'm not sure if to order the SP 5'2 or 5'4.
I checked the boards volumes and the Dominator 5'10 has 33.5 ltrs the 5'2SP has 32.2lts and the 5'4 35.7lts.

Which of the 2 SP you think I should order? Will the 5'4 have too much volume? Will it feel like boat and be very difficult to turn?
Reading the forum I realized that some guys that weight around 80-90 kgs are using the 5'2 SP...

I don't have the chance to try any of the SP.

I would appreciate some help since I want to get the board next week :-)
Thanks in advance
Ant

[prjwebb]

At your weight you could easily be on the 502, but you could easily be on the 508 or even 506 Dom too.
If the 510 Dom feels right to you then I'd go with the 504 Potato.
If you feel like you'd be down sizing the Dom in the future maybe consider the 502 Potato.

[ant]

Thanks prjwebb.

Maybe I could use a 5'8 Dom. The 5'6 I think it would be too little...
When I bought the 5'10 I had the same doubt... the 5'10 or the 5'8 but I went bigger. Sounded "safer" to me.

Do you think that the 5'2 SP (32.2 lts) would perform better on weak surf than the 5'10 Dom (33.5 lts)?
I read that some people ordered some SP and then they sold and decided to go a size shorter. That's the think I don't want to happen to me, but on the other hand, I don't want a board that it will be difficult to surf due to too much volume.

Cheers

[prjwebb]

Well I'm on the 502 and I find it catches small waves easily. Not early, but easily and it gets up and goes quicker than the dominator would. I think the 510 Dominator paddles better than the 502 Potato, but the Potato just gets up and goes really easily once the wave gets under you and surfs very fast and free.
It's going to surf differently than that size Dominator, but I think the Dominator would still be working in most of the conditions you'd be using the Potato in. It depends on your local conditions a lot too.

[ant]

Well I'm on the 502 and I find it catches small waves easily. Not early, but easily and it gets up and goes quicker than the dominator would. I think the 510 Dominator paddles better than the 502 Potato, but the Potato just gets up and goes really easily once the wave gets under you and surfs very fast and free.
It's going to surf differently than that size Dominator, but I think the Dominator would still be working in most of the conditions you'd be using the Potato in. It depends on your local conditions a lot too.

prjwebb how much do you weight and height?
So if I want a surfboard that paddles easily and that would "work" on weaker conditions I would have to go on the SP5'4, right?
From what I understand the 5'10 Dom and the 5'2 SP would some somehow "overlap"...

[prjwebb]

I'm about 76kg and 6'0" tall. For some reason my signature with my info in has vanished...

It's not so much that the 510DM and 502PT would overlap, more that the DM of that volume should allow you to catch pretty small waves, but the design of the PT is going to excel in those smaller conditions over the DM of the same volume.
If you want it to paddle better than the DM the 504PT would be a safer bet, but the 502PT should have you covered down to anything that's actually surfable and it'll allow you to surf a little harder than the 504 will when conditions are slightly better.

[ant]

I have a huge dilema in here =)
FW surfboards aren't cheap and I don't want to make a choice and then regret about it.

[prjwebb]

Where are you located? You may be able to find a demo centre.

I think the 504 will feel right compared to your DM, but if you want to get a little more performance out of the PT then you could easily drop to the 502.

[ant]

Based on Portugal.
Went to some surfshops but they don't have any SP for demo.

I am tempted to go for the 5'4 but not 100% sure.

[prjwebb]

I don't think you'd be losing much, if anything by going safe with the 504.

[csarqui]

Just and fyi. I ride a 5'10 Spitfire, bought a 5'4 Sweet Potato, surfed it about 20 times over the course of a month, sold it, and now I'm shopping for a 5'2. I think you'll find the 5'4 SP to be a bit of a boat compared to your 5'10 Dom. Like prj said they don't get into waves sooner, they just take off once they're under your feet. I look forward to being able to swing a 5'2 around.

[ant]

Thanks for you feedback csarqui.
Can you tell me what is your surf level and in what kind of waves do you used the Sweet Potato?

[iggy]

My case excactely. At 84 Kgs and 165cms, I rid a 5'8" spit. Bought a 5'6" potato scared of going too small and then sold it cause I found it too buoyant. Changed it for a 5'2" and loving it!!.
Remember this is a board is designed for small surf and some people might make the mistake of going too small hence defeating the purpose of it. It all depends on the conditions you are planning on surf it into and how small is the smallest biard you've ever surfed. With these boards volume is not the issue but rather the drop in length that causes concerns.
Prj is right here, the 5'2" will float you plenty but the 5'4" will help in those weaker days that is what the board was designed for. You know yourself better and you wanna play safe so I'll go for the 5'4" in your case.

[ant]

Thank you all for your help.
Still undecided. Anyway I'll get it next week.
Just not sure which size yet.
More comments and thought will be appreciate.
It would be easy if there was a SP 5'3 :-)

[Andy]

Mate, I was in exactly the same position as you about 6 months ago - should I get a 5'4 or 5'2. Also, I am pretty much the same size as you, both in height and weight. My other board is a 5'9 El Fuego. Eventually I went for the 5'4 and do not regret my decision. In fact, I love my 5'4, especially on those flatter waves. However, at the end of the day, I really don't think it makes a great deal of difference to the average punter. In the end, I went for the 5'4 to be on the safe side regarding length. I have surfed the board in tiny waves and it is amazing, allowing you to catch waves that you normally wouldn't be able to catch. I've surfed it in waves over head high and again, it was amazing. It has so much speed and drive. Be aware that it does take a little while to adjust to the board and find its sweet spot, but once you do you wont want to get off it. To be honest, I think your biggest decision isn't about size, it's about fin setup. Make sure you get the Future controller set up (or equivalent) as they allow you to get the best out of the board.

[Alberto]

Just so you hear both sides of the argument, i got my 5'4'' SP in May and had about 6 or 7 sessions on it and, even at my weight (170lbs/77kg) and age (44 yrs), i'm thinking i should have gone shorter perhaps even to a 5'0''. The 5'4'' is a huge board with a huge tail and i personally find it really hard to commit on a rail. I'm doing tail slides like a teenager and that is a lot of fun, but i'm also finding it hard to carve a good cutback or do a carving top turn. On the other hand, although the board paddles great it's not a crowd beater like a malibu or longboard so don't go for more length on that basis.

On the positive side i have to say that the board is incredibly fast (i'm also riding it with the controllers from IndoFins) and a lot of fun in crappy surf. But, as soon as the waves allow it, i'm back on my dominator 5'8''. The great thing, though, is that the SP makes the dominator feel like a high performance shortboard and makes me surf it a whole lot better.

[ant]

In the end I got a 5'2 SP
I was able to checked both the 5'4 and the 5'2 and the 5'4 looked too much board.
First impression is that the board is very fast. Only had a couple of session. I'm 70kgs and the 5'2 duck dives easily.

I'm using the k2.1 quad setup but I'll try to get the indofins controllers.

Alberto I see that you live in portugal, did you buy your controllers in Portugal?

Cheers.

[prjwebb]

The Indofins are only available from Indofins.net or their eBay store. I've been using the K2.1 quad in my 502 but have Controllers in the way. Will post feedback when they arrive.

[ant]

The Indofins are only available from Indofins.net or their eBay store. I've been using the K2.1 quad in my 502 but have Controllers in the way. Will post feedback when they arrive.

Let us know your feedback about the controllers! ;-)

[pagey]

Always a good idea to get the SP or BP with Futures if possible. Then you can get REAL Controllers.

[prjwebb]

Hey Ant.
Got my Indofin Controllers the other day, only had one surf on them so far and they felt decent but I wasn't blow away. Didn't feel like there was anything wrong with them either so they'll either come alive in the next couple of surfs when I figure them out a little more, or the magic isn't going to be there for me like it is for others. That said they feel as good as my other favourite sets in that board already so they certainly aren't bad fins.

[cuttlefish]

Just so you hear both sides of the argument, i got my 5'4'' SP in May and had about 6 or 7 sessions on it and, even at my weight (170lbs/77kg) and age (44 yrs), i'm thinking i should have gone shorter perhaps even to a 5'0''. The 5'4'' is a huge board with a huge tail and i personally find it really hard to commit on a rail. I'm doing tail slides like a teenager and that is a lot of fun, but i'm also finding it hard to carve a good cutback or do a carving top turn. On the other hand, although the board paddles great it's not a crowd beater like a malibu or longboard so don't go for more length on that basis.

On the positive side i have to say that the board is incredibly fast (i'm also riding it with the controllers from IndoFins) and a lot of fun in crappy surf. But, as soon as the waves allow it, i'm back on my dominator 5'8''. The great thing, though, is that the SP makes the dominator feel like a high performance shortboard and makes me surf it a whole lot better.
If you want more hold in cutbacks simply put in a "normal" rear fin as the rakier template will give you the hold. Just play around to find out which sized rear you prefer to give the best combo of hold and release.
Simple :-)

[iggy]

Yeah agreed there!. Today I went out knowing the wave was a big caca, but despite that had quite a bit of fun. The beauty is that the 5'2" fits into every single pocket allowing you to go everywhere!!...and the speed... Remember that board likes to be ridden from the back foot, the more you have it against the kick of the tail pad the better.
948

[Chris]

yeah iggy!