Weight of potatonator FST versus rapidfire

Hello all. Long time firewire fan. I picked up a subscorcher FST a couple months ago and think this is the best board I have ever owned next to my dominator. I recently purchased a 5'6'' potatonator home and thought it was a bit heavier than other firewires I have purchased. This is in FST and clocks in around 5.5 lbs when I stand on the scale with it. Is this the typical weight? Does the divit underneathe the board add weight? I know the FSTs tradionally weigh more but I am confused why this board seems heavier than my 5'10'' subscorcher which I have already done 2 repairs too. Anybody?

that's a pretty decent weight. your sub must be really light if it's less than that.

The newer FST's without the vent are a bit heavier..which I think is great. I hate boards that are really really light. You loose momentum quickly and have this weird loss of swing weight on the front half of the board. To be frank thats why I am not as into Rapid Fire as I am FST..I think the new weight is just perfect.

Ya actually my last dominator was in rapidfire and I do appreciate the extra flex you get but I had problems with the deck which kept me away. I think the best thing firewire has done has got rid of the vent. I do think those boards weighed a little bit less but at the cost of being almost completely heat intolerant, it wasn't worth it. Thanks for alleviating my concern and ya that subscorcher is a beast... Can't wait until I get my Rasta quad fins in and some decent surf here in So Cal to test the potatonator out. It's been pretty barren here. Glad I don't have to trip anymore about the weight... I'll report on it when we get something above waist high out here ugh...

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Originally Posted by surfernick

I think the best thing firewire has done has got rid of the vent. I do think those boards weighed a little bit less but at the cost of being almost completely heat intolerant, it wasn't worth it.

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Actually if anything the vent should make the boards more heat tolerant as the expanding air can leave the board through the vent rather than by blowing out the glass job. The ventless boards seem solid, so no problems there, but figured it was worth pointing out incase anyone with a vented board starts worrying.

I prefer the FST as well, I really like how they feel.....little bit more weight is definately a good thing especially in a bit of wind or chop on the face and the durablility of FST is the best

same here!

Yeah I just picked up a used 5'10 RF PN to compare against my 5'8 FST PN and they have been surfed about the same amount of times and the differnece is massive, coming from a heavy handed/heavy footed surfer they are so much different....5'10 weighs more than the 5'8 FST so theirs not much weight difference.

For me personally I think the RF looks better, probally surfes better in the smaller side of things but you cant beat de-waxing a board after 10-15 surfes and hardly any marks to it....got to love that durability!

I find the RF decks wear better than the FST Decks. my FST decks immediately get little knee dents, toe drag marks and bigger foot wells, looks like hail damage. (you can tell how bad my pop is). my RF decks just get slight foot wells.

the rails and bottom are a different story though. for that you can beat FST.

As far as weight goes, I had a 508 sp in FST and RF. The FST was a whole 500gms heavier than the RF. For me this created too much of a performance issue in small surf. I think there may be some variation between individual boards though because my other FST boards are very light.

You know I had problems with the RF dominator because of the heel or knee dents that gradually turned into cracks. I'm sure heat played a role but so far I have had no problems with the subscorcher I got back in December and I ride that 5'10'' in everything up to like 8'. I highly recommend that board for someone that likes high performance but still wants just a little help getting into waves. I like it a lot more over the dominator because while the dominator was a great all around board, I still had to nurse it on my bottom turns and it didn't have the speed when waves got bigger and faster. In terms of board delams, I think what it really boils down to is just being good to your board after your done surfing it: washing it off and always storing it in a bag. You do that and they will last. Either way, going into local surf shops I cannot believe the cost difference between firewires and other boards like Merricks and JS which are PU. They are about a $50 difference and well worth the price in the long run. Still waiting and praying for surf here in So Cal.