I think youll find its way too big. Im your height and age and 200lb and I bought a 6'8 which I quite liked for about 3 months. But then I bought a 6'4 Hellfire and OMG I so wish I had done this in the first place. The weird thing is the difference in paddling them into waves is hardly noticable with the 6 ltr drop, but once your up, the difference in performance is night & day. I couldnt go back to the 6'8 now as it just feels like a big slow log.

I could quite comfortably use a 6'2 I reckon, but sticking with my 6'4 for now as I love it. I reckon a 6'6 would be the ticket for you and I dont think you would notice any benefit in paddling compared to the 6'8.

Thanks, man. After reading this and other posts I had kinda settled on a 6'6" ... but then after spending some time in the shop I ended up ditching my original plan altogether and getting a 6'6" Spitfire instead. Idea being it'll be a good transitional board -- toss the big guy tri altogether, make this my one board, get used to having a bit less volume, with the plan of going even lower sometime next year.

Kinda irrational, but it pretty much came down to the fact that out of all the boards they had, it was the one that just felt right in my hands.

I know that feeling. My son had talked about nothing but getting a green bike to me and when I got back from a long assignment in Cali (6 weeks) I took him to the bike shop and sat him on a red bike in his size, he was frothing uncontrollably "this is the right bike Dad!". Ha ha the boy is still inside, excellent!

The spit is a great board, paddles well and handles a range of waves. It will be a good transition board and get you ready for a 6'6 HF.

I agree with the board choice too, GO. I am a few pounds lighter than you and if I was to choose one board for your wave range it would be the Dom or better yet, Spitfire. I ride a 6' 6" DM, a 6'2" PN and have a 6'8" HF for better waves. At no time have I ever wanted a smaller HF, as it is the smallest board in volume in my quiver.

This is a little off topic and maybe I am a bit sensitive to this because I too am 41 BUT...you have to drop the "getting old" label brother. We are all getting older from the minute we are born. I refuse to admit I am getting "old" and sincerely don't think its healthy or positive to refer to yourself that way. Kelly...is 41 in Feb..would you consider him old?? I don't, nor does the rest of the tour as he regularly hands them their asses on a plate. Of course for all of us one day it will be our last paddle out but at 41 you have hopefully another 30 years of surfing...thats more than you have been surfing up to now and if you enjoy it, stay focussed on your health and fitness then there is no reason why you cant continue to improve. I am riding smaller boards, both hybrids and regular shorties, than I did when I was 20. I am also riding them better.

Stay young mentally and you stay young physically. For my 40th birthday I gratefully received a FIIK electric skateboard and regularly get on it and just go for a burn around the neighbourhood towing my 2 sons behind me on their Penny boards..Yeah you get more injuries and illnesses as you get older but you can help heal and recover from these by staying young of mind. Why not change your name to "Getting Better". Just my 2 cents worth.

Hey I'm only middle aged at 51 !!! Refuse to think of myself as aging :) But How it feels under the arm is always a good indicator, but it can also be mindset IMO

I definitely agree that "old" is in the mind, but it is also in the body. I watched Sunny Garcia surf Sunset the other day and he was doing old man takeoffs in his semi just like I do from time to time. He's a pro surfer and ex world champ. Sure he was tired. It happens to me more when I'm tired. You learn to adjust, in my case by adding a touch of volume to ensure I'm getting into the wave a touch earlier.

Slater's a freak. I doubt you'll see his feats repeated in our lifetime.

Slater has also been very very smart to look after his diet and his mindset with equal importance...that is a big part of why he still paddles circles around the others.

I am a subscriber to that way if thinking! I just turned 54, the secret is doing the hard yards. ATM I have been a bit slack but I like to get competitive in endurance sports and I reckon doing some good hard long stuff keeps you younger and fitter. I have not plans of dying before I reach 120!!!! I ride with dudes that are almost 70 and climb like Pantani (OK that's exaggerating) but there are guys in this age bracket that can still hurt blokes in their 30s. Surfing as a sport isn't hard enough, unless you are out there every day having 2 surfs. I plan to retire in 18 months or so and part of that plan includes another Ironman as a last hurrah to see if I can qualify for the world championships in Kona on the big island. To be honest I'll be happy if I can go round one more time and pull up fine after for a beer and pizza with friends.


Yep you can adjust and hobble along, did it for a decade until I had a new hip surface! The mongrel inside has to rage on. I think you always need to have more goals to keep you striving. It's nice to think one day, if you've been world champion, club champ, or whatever that you can sit back and look back, but I reckon the day you do it's finished. Yes we age but if you give up it catches up and overtakes you. Maybe that's my fear!

But on the score of Slater, yes he's a freak but I reckon Medina is the next one that might give his record a run for the money. Hard to say of course 5 years from now who knows will suddenly show up.

Heh. Yeah I just typed that in as a little joke to myself because in the moment I was thinking that this sudden and intense desire to get on a short board is sorta like my version of a mid life crisis. Didn't mean for it to sound offensive in any way...

My goal is to follow in my mom's footsteps. She's 74 and trekking in Nepal even as I type this....

Hey man, not offensive at all...like I said maybe i am getting sensitive about it but I just dont accept 41 is old...however I reserve the right to change that opinion, lol.

I was typing on an iphone before so my thoughts were a little constrained by a two thumb type!

I guess what I was trying to say is yes, your mind is super important but the reality is we do age. That doesn't mean we should get "old" between the ears but you also need to set realistic expectations. So even though Slater isn't that much younger than me I look instead at guys like Occy or Sunny or MR or Rabbit or BL or Tom Curren or the other TC for my inspiration of a realistic performance standard. Even then I'm setting the bar way out of reach but when I look for inspiration about what to do on a wave at my age those are my role models, not medina or Wilson or JJF. I don;t want to risk my knees on a big air into the flats for a start.

I'll be happy with just a little air anywhere...one good thing about age, I can afford and appreciate a fine red far better than I used to when I was young drinking straight from the foil sack!! You know, I reckon it was the quality not the quantity that made me spew!

I'm 41 and feel as good as I did in my 30's but as I surf more and more I do notice stiffness in new areas creeping in. I surfed and swam a ton this summer and early fall and struggled with a hip flexer pull. Such a pain in the A#$ when you try to pop up in small, crappy waves. I think my wider, good volumed boards from FW have certainly helped me surf better I felt like I had to find some kind of work out to help me loosen up. I did yoga all summer and early fall and it was good but the boredom factor kicked in and my schedule picked up this fall. By mid Oct my body felt as stiff and old as I've ever felt. Cardio wise I was still biking and swimming well but I just wasn't moving very well. My solution has been to pick up Aikido. Did taekwondo for 20 years and developed some great flexibility and quickness but in the last two years I have totally slacked off. This may be one reason why that looseness has fallen off. I'm not into a fighting/grappling style anymore so I went with a "softer" style. (think Steven Seagal movies). I love it and wish I had done this 20 years ago instead. In just one month my body feels so much looser and quicker. I can get up off the floor so much easier (should help my pop-ups I would hope). Even bending to tie my shoes or move side to side chasing my step son is easier. I highly recommend it for anyone over 40. Some of the higher ranks are in the 60's and blow me up every day. Their fluid movement up and down the floor is really amazing to watch. They don't look 60, that's for sure.