Baked Potato Review

Got my baked spud yesterday 5,3 x 21 1/4 x 2 3/8 in rapid fire white.

First impressions: Nice shape looks better IMO than sweet potato more refined, dig the white rapid fire just looks like a standard PU board without a stringer, looks 100% better than the bamboo deck that IMO looks cheap.

First surf: Very Solid lumpy swell running with onshore, so only real option was a smaller reform reef, its a reef but its a mellow wave, starts in a onshore lumpy reform peak mostly around shoulder high goes fat then doubles up and runs off through a cleaner fast inside section about waist to knee high.

Paddling: Felt like i was back on my old 5,8 merrick gravy that i loved but only lasted six month before it was beaten up, id say it paddles about the same maybee has a similar volume, doesn't paddle amazing but good for a short wide board, easy to duck dive, board sits just under water when sitting on it.(its volume is 32.4L slightly more volume than my Hellfire @ 29.4 and Flex fire @ 28.2L)
BTW. i swear my flex fire paddles the best of the 3, perhaps its because of the length

Catching waves: early days but possibly doesn't catch waves as easy as I expected, i dont think i coud have gone shorter, perhaps could have gone the next size up, to improve the wave catching/grovel factor, but i think that would take away the performance aspect, so happy with the 5,3 as a compromise.

Surfing: took a little bit to get use to that kind of board again, real short boards like that are great when you get your feet in correct spot but, you can get a see saw action if you dont find the magic spot, i blew a few waves the take offs and first turns, but the tide was a little low at first and quite sucky, also im running a fin combination that are a bit small (got to get some of those Indo controller style fins) I dont have a huge selection of fins, but i put in the best i had FCS goods-1 at front and MR-TX trailer fins at back (might swap backs for a bit bigger fin) this combo felt super skatey almost to skatey almost sliding side ways trimming at times and really had to nurse bottom turns and turns, I did get one real nice wave got a bit keen and done a solid turn in the pocket was all good until towards the end of the turn i went into a huge tail slide with tail facing beach, wasnt expecting it and was way to hard/fast to control and fins took to long to catch back in so blew it.

After that i took it a bit easier, had to really concentrate on nursing it a bit on everything bottom turns, trimming and turns, ended up getting some nice little turns and the board planned nicely between fat sections, speed was not really a problem but drive perhaps was, maybe that sounds weird but i think there two different things, maybe it was just because i had to nurse it even trimming which sucked a little as i like to be able to really pump to hit the gas, board also felt a bit stop startish on some turns, fine going into turns but bit sluggish on the end of cut backs almost feeling like the board/fins needed to re catch the wave, like when do sliding 360,s, but waves could have also been a factor, going from hollow to very fat and weak swell.


Summary: board felt good considering it was first surf quality of waves and fin choice, think has lots of potential and for a board of that width felt quite high performance, but as expected i think i didnt have enough fin area, thinking of changing the back MR-TX to PC-2, like i said will get more suitable fins, but for now i only have a set of FCS goods-1 rear MR-TX trailers(no fronts) K 2.1, PC-2 and some G-5 all my quad fins are in futures :(

Will give an update as I surf it.

Thanks for the report intodreaming

No worries.

Second surf: same spot similar conditions but waves a little bit better, more tide so not so sucky, but cleaner and running of better through the inside and overall more consistent.

Swapped the rear fins like i said i was going to, to PC-2,s, looking at it i wasn't to sure if it was going to work, i have limited experience with quads but the rear fins looked to big, as visually there not much smaller than the fronts and they have flat foiled inside edge as are from a thruster set.

But what a difference, board went amazing, not sure if it was just me or better conditions or what, but felt the board caught waves better today, i was frothing like a grommet, catching waves all over the place, felt like i was getting heaps more waves than anyone else, got to love those days.

Big plus today was i didn't have to nurse it at all on take offs, no problems at all and most waves on take off were actually bigger, head high but tapering off quick only waist high through inside sections also felt the board had more drive doing bottom turns, it actually performed really really well getting around sections or white water, either off the take off when taking of behind the peak or further down the line.

Turns and trimming, 100% better with the fins change, again didn't have to nurse it at all and no problems trimming could pump it and get heaps of speed and the board was planning over any fat sections or into double ups, could also push it real hard on turns with no problems at all, the odd slide but only split second controlled, not like yesterday.

Board feels real versatile does those nice old school carving round house kind of cuttys that i find shorter wide boards do well, but also performs real good hitting the lip, sometimes wide short boards feel slow coming around on top turns/reos and you can get caught in the lip, but none of that, was real fast through turns also feels real nice rebounding off the white water or doing those roller coaster kind of foam climbs, super fun can just link up section to section.

For now i don't think im going to change the fins as felt perfect hard to imagine it could feel/go better, hopefully it wasn't one of those rare magic surfs that you have for no reason at all but the way the board performed and felt was perfect, felt like i was ridding a real wide skateboard on a wave just doing what you want.

There's one of the reasons I got my new potatonator with fcs plugs.
I've got a stack of fcs fins and can be swapping fins for months to try out a stack of combinations.
While I was reading your first report I was thinking that the small rears weren't going to do it.
My first surf on my baked was in good 3' point waves with futures controllers.
It felt good but did want to surf laterally.
The next surf I put my AMT fronts in with the controller rears.
Perfect combo for that board (at my size and weight - big guy needs a big fin) and I could go vertical easily and it would hold in cutbacks all the way around.
If I wanted to surf it in larger waves I could simply put in rears with a conventional rake to gain more hold.
True ames fins make an fcs version of the Futures AMT fins if you ever want them.
They are only $55 each (twin set) and $20 shipping.
http://trueames.com/shop/channel-isl...inal-twin-fin2
I much prefer these to MR tx's as they release better off the top.
Hard to find a larger fin with a low raked template and a tip like the AMT's. They took the baked from being a retro ride to a more progressive ride.
Dialling in the right fin set up can make or break your impressions of a board thats for sure.
http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/6...0720104750.jpg

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Putting in Indo controllers into my sweet potato was a revelation btw.
You'd think this combo would work well?
Large, drivey fronts with GXQ rears.
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/3...0427104030.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Nah...sucked compared to Indo controllers.
Recently scored a McT scooter quad and was ok in the smaller stuff with Stretch quads but tried riding it in 4' waves and it was not good.
Put in the Indo controllers and perfect fins for that board.
So much difference.
Have fun on your little baked.
Keep the fin reports coming too.

Yeah I like the Futures system but FCS is more versatile, it sucks with futures that you can't use front fins in the rear slots.

3rd surf: Same spot, very solid short period storm surf, but surfed reforms so still shoulder waist high, gale force onshore crazy stuff, think washing machine conditions, wouldn't normal bother surfing on days like that but thought id try it out in worst conditions possible just to see how it goes, real hard to find proper waves so only got a few, but when i got one the board still felt real good.

One thing i have noticed is i automatically tend to put my back foot way back, had a few times where im actually standing on the kick bit of the tail pad, and the tail pads as far back as it can go, guess its because there such short boards.

Had a few more surfs on the BP but hasn't felt as good as that second surf and im not so sure on the fin set up ive been using, felt good in more chunky head high peak take offs running into tapering walls but last few surfs in more down the line waist high beachies hasn't felt so good.

Ordered a set of Indo fin controllers today, so hopefully they will be better.

I had the same issue with my BP coming off my SP which I rode exclusively with Future Controllers, the BP with controllers was not happening and after taking some advice from Cuttlefish I have JC Blacksticks in the front and controller rears and its a perfect set up the board goes good in everything up to 4ft. So whatever a FCS equivalent to the JC's is get some of those and throw the Indo rears in the rear box and I am sure you'll be stoked.

Cheers thanks for the feedback will have to give a similar fcs fin a go

Does anyone know when the BP will show up on the board comparison section? I am considering switching from a SP to a smaller BP and wanted to compare the dimensions. My SP is simply too large for me.

Hey roger we have a lot of boards to add with the 2013 lineup coming into play so stand by. it will be going up sometime soon.

In the mean time, post your questions and we'll be happy to help you.