Matt_s is on the money, my biggest problem is transitioning from my 5'3" BP and 5'8" when the surf goes up and down. Hoping to fix this problem soon. 5'1" BP would be the go.

Baked all the way, I've had both but where the Baked excels over the Sweet is the ability to push the limits of wave size, it has a bit more hold and if you pop in a little knub fin it's much harder to lose the tail like you normally would pushing the Sweet to the limits.

Hi Nelson

Your story sounds similar to mine, keep in mind that I am 5kg heavier and a couple of years older. I surf the Sunshine Coast, so no heavy wetties like some of the other guy's here : ) I'm also only a two board man.

I went with a 5'8" Spitfire first and found it was a 'jack of all trades king of none' as you say for my size, way too corky. So I sold it for a 5'6" Spitfire, which was a much better volume but still felt it lacked something. More my fault as I was trying to ride it in solid beachies, going over the falls and my cutbacks were skipping out when I had too much speed (lack of rail length or fin selection I suspect). Really I should have been on something more like a HellFire tackling solid beachies and that's what I went next, a 5'8" HellFire.

Extremely happy now surfing beachies, enough rocker for the late drops and turns beautifully, duck dives well too. I reckon 5'8" would be ideal for your size although 5'10" would be ok if you are beginner/intermediate. The 5'8" does feel a bit sketchy when I get tired and lazy during a big surf (paddling suffers too) because I think I'm pushing the volume for my weight, maybe a 5'10 would have been better.

The HellFire would be perfect for the Spit and DBah or when the points get some size.

I'm also on a 5'3" Baked Potato to grovel, which is awesome! I had a 5'2" Sweet Potato but the Baked Potato works much better, especially if you want to throw it around and get it into bigger surf (there is a limit though). I would have loved to try a 5'1" for more performance but it defeats the purpose for having a grovel board I suppose. In saying that I think you could get away with a 5'1", especially at your age, weight and height.

Hope that helps, give me a yell if you have any questions.

Also very keen to hear the HellFire vs UniBrow comparison. Looking to replace my 5'8" HellFire as I think I've gone too small (or just put on weight, lol!) and would like to change to a 5'10" HellFire or 5'9" UniBrow for punchy 3-6 foot beachies.
Also considering replacing my 5'3" Baked Potato for a 5'6" Potatonator for more versatility, so would also be interested to hear what would compliment a Potatonator better, UniBrow or HellFire?
It all depends on the HellFire vs UniBrow comparison, so bring on the reviews!

Hi smitch
I'm a little bigger than you (74-76KG) and I'm on a 5'8" and I think it is spot on for me for quality surf, not much of a groveller at that size though.
I primarily use it as my 'shortboard' and is best for punchy beachies big and small.
Had it out last week on a solid point break, maybe 4 foot+ and was fine until it get a bit of chop on the face. That's where maybe the longer HellRazor may be better but I tried demo of the HellRazor and I think it was a bit more geared to bigger, quality surf, which we don't get enough of where I surf and couldn't justify having a board I'd only ride 10-20% of the time.
For an 80% board, I think you are right looking at the HellFire, 5'8" would be my pick for you and will probably grovel better for you than me.

Yeah cuttlefish, being a bit heavier than me the Controllers might work better for you. For me they feel way too stiff and kick me out of my turns if I have too much speed. The Elevons are a little more forgiving and I find I can create a lot more drive and speed with them and push my turns longer and harder on the Sweet Potato, which I definitely want to replicate on the Baked Potato.

I was referring to the Dicky Beach store, I think Coolum have a few BP now too.

Cool, glad to hear the board is working well for you JaM71.

Were the waves you were surfing at D'Bah pretty wally and punchy? I'm hoping the Baked Potato handles a shapely beach break better than the Sweet Potato does, hence the upgrade.

If you get a chance, try a set of Elevon quads, they work wonders in my Sweet Potato and will be using them in a Baked Potato once I get my hands on one, a lot better than the Controllers IMO.

Sorry, prjwebb, the HZ handles the chop well, we had some strong wind roughing up the wave face and it didn't seem to phase the board, maybe the weight of the FST helps for that.

From what you are looking for I'd say the Hellfire might be what you are after to fill your quiver gap. I think I will sell my Spitfire and just go the Potato and Hellfire as my quiver, too many boards seem to mess with my head and feet : )

We got a dodgy surf report so the predicted 3-4 foot ended up more like 1.5 to 2.5 foot so my demo day/s didn’t work out to plan. In saying that though I can say the HZ still goes pretty well in the smaller stuff, keep in mind this was a clean, little hollow beach break with medium punch.

The board felt great, loved the width for stability and speed, loved the sensitivity of the tail, take off’s were super smooth with heaps of rocker, which is what I am chasing from riding a 5’6” Spitfire BUT (sorry for the but) I think for me the board is probably a bit too refined for the regular conditions we get here on the Sunshine Coast, Qld). Plus when it is good, it can deteriorate half way through the session more often than not pretty quick. I don’t think it would be a daily driver for me but that’s what I am chasing at the moment. If I lived on the Gold Coast, Qld and surfed Duranbah or TOS often, this would be the board for me.

So for me I’m going to invest some more time in a 5’8” Hellfire, I just think I will get more bang for my buck. I like my Spitfire and works well in most conditions here but I just want that little bit more when the surf pumps and is 4-6 foot and hollow but still be able to fill the shoes of the Spitfire when it’s not so pumping (especially if it is half way through a session).

Also, size wise I felt like the 5’11” was a bit big for me (I'm 5'9", 165, warm water, 2mm wettie), not sure if it was the dims or the FST, which I haven’t used before, it is definitely heavier than the RapidFire construction. If I get a chance I think I will try a 5’9” HZ just to make sure, will make an update if I do.

Hey Chito, thanks for your great reviews so far, do you think I can grab your email to get your feedback on your 5’6” Spitfire vs 5’8” Hellfire? Or have you posted something like that somewhere else?

I've got a 5'11" HR demo and 3-4 foot of clean swell for the weekend, will report back after my test drive, super excited!

Awesome! Thanks Chito, that helps a lot, definitely looking forward to your full HR review.

I have a Potato in the quiver already, Spit for the middle and just need a HR or HF for the top end of the quiver, looks like the Razor might be the winner.

Cheers!

Hey Chito!
You sound about the same size as me and surfing in a similar climate (warm water and boardies) so hopefully you can help me out.
I'm riding a 5'6" Spitfire also and would like to know your feedback comparing your previous 5'8" Hellfire and your current 5'11" Hellrazor to the Spit.
I'm still trying to decide if to go a 5'8" Hellfire or 5'11" Hellrazor as my go to board.
Which do you think better compliments the Spit and progresses your surfing? What's your pro's and con's eg. paddle, performance, grovel factor, carve factor etc.
Cheers!

Thanks for the tip Chris!

Hey barney
I have my 5'6" spit as a quad with a von sol knub as a 5th find.
It gives it a bit more hold in turns and on steep take offs keeps the tail from sliding down the face since it is fairly wide.
Give them a try as they aren't too costly, really made my spit more enjoyable, especially when it gets a bit bigger and punchy.

Cheers prjwebb and iggy, I'm in boardies 70% of the year but we lack consistent, powerful surf where I am so I'll stick with my initial 27 litre min eg 5'11" HellRazor or 5'8" Hellfire.

Would love to try a 5'9" in good surf though one day, I reckon it would fly!

Anyone out there around 75kg/165lb, intermediate/advanced who has ridden or is riding a 5'9" HellRazor? Would really like to try a low volume board for performance but maybe going too low might be a bad idea. Maybe a 5'11" is a safer bet.

Thanks Chris! A Potatonator would solve my issue but I have a HellRazor on my list first ; )

The main reason why I thought of the idea is because I really enjoy going warp-speed on my SP and thought a Knubster may help with holding and tightening my turns.

I find you can go too fast to turn on the SP, especially with the Controller fins in where the board will skip out when pushed too hard. The Elevons seem to be a little more forgiving.

I'll sit on the idea for now but will report back if I give it a try. Don't think I would go with the glassed fin idea but thanks guy's : )

For sure, if I do it I would definitely be getting a pro to do it, would hate to ruin the V in the tail and more.

I'll wait and see if we get a reply from Chris or anyone else from FW before going ahead, in the mean time I might order a couple of Knub's.

Rapid Fire

Bummer, didn't know about the variety of foam density, thanks saxman1.

Thanks for the tip prjwebb, that is a good idea to go with FCS.

Unless I get any positive feedback I'd say I might have to trash the idea, worth a crack!

Yes! Thanks for the video Chris and Nev. I think I will be ordering a 5'11" very soon.

Just my two-bob in regards to fins...

I'm on a 5'6" Spitfire, I currently have a set of new quad Elevons in, which seem pretty good. Had this setup out in 6ft+ solid beach breaks and they held very well. They also kind of smoothed the ride out, wasn't doing much turning though on the 5'6". I think they work better at speed as I get a bit of tail slide when in small punchy surf, nothing major, pretty fun if anything. Don't drive as well as the Rusty's below but that could just be me.

Also use the Rusty 5 fins as a quad, which I think I will swap back to next surf. Good hold and fun to drive (drive better as a quad). Might have to get a Deviant fin and try with this setup. Have used them as a thruster setup but don't seem to be as fun, not as fast.

Also tried the Controllers once, which I leave on the Potato usually, as previously mentioned they are quite restricting so I wouldn't suggest going there.

Hope that helps : )

No worries Chris.

Have you or any of the other Firewire Team been riding the HellRazor? How does it compare to the HellFire?

I need a new 'traditional' shortboard to complement my hybrid (Spitfire) and grovel (Sweet Potato) boards.
5'11" HellRazor or 5'8" HellFire or 5'10" MB
Really having a tough time choosing, hopefully some Nev videos come out soon regarding the new boards.

Found it!
Log in, go to 'Settings' at the top right and 'Edit Signature' is in the left menu under 'My Settings'.

Sorry, dims are:
5'9" - 75kgs/165lbs - Intermediate+ - 5'6" Spitfire - 5'2" Sweet Potato - Sunshine Coast, Qld, Australia
Still trying to figure out how to update my signature block.

Can I please open up a can of worms here and ask what everyone thinks of the new HellRazor in comparison to the HellFire? Do you think it is more of a niche board as opposed to the HellFire being able to handle a variety of conditions but still revel in prime conditions?

I ask because I'm after a step-up from my 5'6" Spitfire when the surf gets 4-6+ feet and was considering the HellFire but was waiting to see what the HellRazor looked like. The Sunshine Coast, Qld, Aus, got some pretty solid surf around Xmas and although the 5'6" Spitfire was fun in clean 4-6+ foot Wurtulla beach breaks, I did feel under gunned and probably would have felt more comfortable on something like the HellFire or HellRazor.

So here's my dilemma, go a 5'11" HellRazor and have a really good hybrid performance board for the good days or go a 5'8" HellFire that should handle the above conditions ok (don't usually surf much over 6+ feet, Sunshine Coast doesn't get it that often) plus a variety of other conditions?

I like the idea of having a HellRazor with a bit more length and rocker for the good stuff but worried I wouldn't surf it as much as it wouldn't handle a variety of conditions as well as the HellFire.

Hopefully some Nev/Chuey/Chris feedback comes out soon regarding the new HellRazor because I want a new board for the New Year! : )

HellFire, HellRazor, decisions, decisions...