hmmmmm....its the other way around mate....thats advice sounds odd...the MB is a full HP board...its outline and thickness/foil make it more stable than the taj but its still a full tilt board...the hellfire has a low rocker and width which both help low end work....it still goes nuts in HP waves though....i would not look at both in 602...ride the MB at or preferably a notch below your standard shooter...ride the HF as small as you can...i ride 602 to 604 HP's...i should ride a 600 MB and i ride a 510 HF...

i'm still in testing with the MB...been out of the water with one thing after another...only had a few surfs on each thickness...had crap to ok waves 2 to 6ft+, but nothing with really good shape or a long enough wall to find my feet...i got it to blow up on one wave which was a gift of a wave, but i'm still trying to work it out in lesser surf...

in a nutshell....and against that shops advice..(everyone's entitled to an opinion though)...hellfire in almost anything...MB in better waves.....

Thanks for the response
can get a hold of a demo MB this weekend and there should be waves
will be using it for better waves so i'll see how she goes

yeah silentp and core, god stuff.

I actually know what the sales guy was trying to say to some degree. I personally struggle to surf the Hellfire because it does feel a little tippy at times. I think this is a result of the rocker and the bottom contours. this makes it a dream of a hybrid, but for some people and their styles, it can be hard to surf like a shortboard. I know while I was on it I kept trying to surf it like a shortboard and found i had to keep shifting my weight back to get the board to work right.

I know the board goes insane but it does feel different than a shortboard, and at times, it can even feel a little bit more difficult to surf.

Since yiou can try the Michel, GREAT!!! that will make it easy. I will also say, however, that you should take the salesman's with a bit of a grain of salt because while the Hellfire may not work for him, it might work great for you.

Cheers

Got hold of the demo MB 6'2 thick today (what the!? I think this is cores old board, has the shark deterrent eye)
anyway went out in head high plus mushburgers with the odd steep clean sections to build speed and
as bad as conditions looked it was a good test for this board with opportunity to hit the lip and plenty of cutback
sections on offer. actually felt super solid laying into cutbacks, very impressed.
I havent ridden a proper HP shortboard for a couple of years so am certainly not an authority on them but at
86kg 6'1 injury niggles nearly 50 faarrk this seems to work for me,im guessing it should go nuts in good waves.

Having said that the shops got a 6'2 hellfire demo before I decide

Also thanks Core and Chris for your feedback

wow...eye on bottom and "NOW" on deck???..where was it at???...yeah check the hellfire too....although that's a bit big for a hellfire for you if you "fit" a 6'2 HP board...

Yeh thats the board, shop brought it up from the goldy to coolum thats all I know
Hey I look at those sub 6'2 shortboards and start getting noivous!
Im reasonably fit but not that fit!!

ha...my board gets around..!!.. yeah i was freaking when Nev talked me into a 510 as my shortboard replacement ....until i rode it...!!...if i remember, Nev was freaking when he paddled his out first go too....until he rode it...........we have to shut out our "old" ideas on boards, because design has moved ahead....plus as we approach old age we have to experience these loose free boards before we sign up for lawn bowls....!!!

yeah agree it wasnt that long ago I was riding "big boys boards" and "paddles like a mal surfs like a shortboard" boards
then I discovered firewire... sheesh 5'10 is a small board maybe a 6'0 maybe i've had too many reds

yeah i was thinking the 6'0 for you as a "milder" step down in length...during the 90's i stepped up off the early thick wide flatish 6'0 thrusters we all rode...i rode only 6'6 bananas/kick tails (Nev's of course..!)...rode then in everything from 1ft slop to scary....only adjustments were outline and rail edge...then during the 00's as rockers came back to sensible, Nev got me back down to 6'2-6'3 standard shortboards..rode nothing else...now when we thought we would be aging onto mini-mals we have all these exciting new ways to feel totally free and unrestricted on a wave...we cant sit on the sidelines crying injury and decrepitude and watch it go by...we have to have a go....i have some struggle sessions when my backs playing up..(more and more often), but the good sessions and even individual waves and turns that you previously only did when mind surfing make it so worth it.....

ok i'll shut up now...it seems Nev's unending froth is rubbing off on me...

Chris just read this and thought you have just described, what to date, i have been unable to put into words. I find the exact same deal with the Hellfire. When the surf is on and has a bit of push it absolutley rips and i love it, but i have had to adjust and think about using my back foot differently. Not massively so but like you say i need to shift my weight back in order for it to click. I love the Hellfire and use it for the better bigger waves where i surf but it seems a little inconsistent for my liking especially when there is not much power in the wave and i am left thinking would i benefit or get more from a different high performance board? Just wondering if you could help me understand what this might mean about my style of surfing or if a different type of board would suit me better. I really get on with the Dom in smaller waves and it has worked for me well in the juice too but i seem to have trouble nailing something at the high perormance end. I did have a 600 Alternator but found it to have little less volume than i like but maybe that was because i was so used to riding the Dom at the time? I find myself considering swapping the 510 Hellfire for the 600 MB thick or the 601 Hellrazor but will consider any if they fit the bill. Anyone got any suggestions?

Just saw your post. I was the same with my 6'0" HF and have sold it for a 6'0" MB thick and am finding my transition between my Dom and the MB to be pretty good. I am finding the MB ( for me) has a better low quality wave ability than the HF. And I am pretty used to surfing off my back foot from the Dom.

yeah that is a fair analysis i would say Sarge. The Hellfire is tricky due to its rocker and deep contours on the bottom of the board. For people who have spent a lot of time on conventional shortboards, i think the Michel translates well!!

Cheers

I should give a shot to the MB in low quality waves .I always felt the hellfire to be a not so good in small or soft wave.I'm looking for a 5'6 dom for summer small soft waves but i also just checked the mini driver that board look pretty sick.Did anybody tried it yet? Is the board is as versatile as they say?Could it be the one board replacing a dom and hellfire???

Hi. I´m currently riding a custom 6'1''x20x2.5 Lost Minidriver as my goodwave allrounder.
I´m 1,85mts 82kgs. 29years. Average weekend surfer.
I would like to add a board for good waves, chest hight plus surf, with good paddle and userfrendliness but with more vertical response at hight speeds.
Would be the MB 6'2'' thick or 6'4'' thin, a good choice?

What would be the wave range and what should I except when compared to my Minidriver?
Thanks