I think you on the money

I have a 5'7" activator and it paddles very well
I am 39 and fit
and weigh 85kgs
it paddles as well as any of my other boards, if not maybe a bit better

Matt_s - I ride a 5'9" El Fuego and 5'7" activator = similar volumes/paddleability
finding the activator less lateral

Matt_s - I'm finding it more versatile than the El Fuego

can't stop surfing this board
its so much fun
and really loves to come straight off the bottom and up on the lip
great in the barrel
have been surfing it as a twinny with stabilizer as well as a quad and goes well as both
sits so nicely under your feet

thanks meekthefreak
suncoast - yes nice and quick of the mark, its quite thick and wide up front, but also handles being surfed in the pocket well
good little allround small wave board, but not for complete gutless waves like the sweet potato

kdropin - 85kgs
suncoastslop - alternator or activator?

I'll try and film a gopro session on it some time to give you a better idea
but waves have really been very marginal recently

tried the potatonator
managed to get a demo and took it for a few spins
not for me
had a similar prob with the hellfire
I realised that I like fairly neutral bottom contours on my boards, and with the V/double concave thingy I just wasn't coming right
lots of people will like this board tho
paddles like a dream and was very forgiving
good little small wave board
got the Activator instead - enjoying it heaps
will write a review on that

haha - thanks Piha - yup I got the butt thing going
thanks Prjwebb - good input
FWFan - waves I surf are generally fairly clean with a bit of push, so I can get away with a little less buoyancy than people in most spots - at 30l the potatonator 5'6" has got more volume than any of my other FW boards
I also think that as soon as you go overly thick on FW's you lose a lot of the flex components that make the FW's so special, so its a fine balance between being under-buoyant and and getting the zing from the boards
but at the same time - I do think this board should be surfed a little thicker cause it really is for waves when you'd prob be longboarding...
I'll let you know how it goes

thanks
got a 5'6" ready and all waxed up
just waiting for a little wave now
am worried I've gone too big tho...
maybe a 5'4" ?
I see Timmy Reyes rides a 5'2" in the vid and he weighs 70kgs
a 5'4" closer to the volumes I usually ride, but then again I think the potatonator should be ridden high volume?
I weigh about 85kgs

Hey guys
I'm looking for a small small wave board
something that'll be for smaller waves than my ElFuego and be more versatile than my (non FW obviously) mini simmons
waves generally clean and hollowish here, so not really interested in the sweet potato
am thinking the potatonator will do the trick
5'6" ?
Chris - your input would be appreciated - we seem to have similar sized boards/ quivers

savage
the AM's are some of my favourite fins
I use the bigger(blue) ones on my 6'2" flexfire and the smaller (orange) ones on my 5'10" Stealth
also go the future AM (think its the bigger one) on my 6'0" Alternator
will try the AM's on my Hellrazor soon

Wandi - thought it went very well on my backhand, surfed it with fcs bamboo (pc5 template) and had no release issues, also surfed it with k2.1 quad setup on a barrely day and had plenty hold in that situation
aurfalien - thanks - I tend to stick my butt out a lot, but I got a big butt so what can I do...I just like the feeling of getting low to a board so I tend to crouch and that makes my butt stick out a bit....

SW coast is where we were..Flame Balls, Tulear region is where you wanna be
only saw sharks when we were fishing out to sea...but I believe up the east coast the bull sharks are pretty thick

I just pretend I'm doing forehand cutbacks for my backhand bottom turns and forehand bottom turns for my off the tops

and a few more
lots of take offs and bottom turns
kinda racing down the line a lot I suppose

some more pics

Gnubee
bit of adjustment
HR is now more all rounder and the El Fuego my Hybrid when I wanna be a bit more cruizy and lateral in smaller stuff
El Fuego is much flatter, so I use it in conditions where thats gonna be an advantage

haha Chris - that hand of mines always there guiding the way, old habit
Piha - yes, know them well - Steven (Des's son) is one the best young surfers around - really good style, fast and critical

prob closer to head high+
the last barrel in the dark was a full on stand up

haha
I need to have that keyhole sussed
I'm normally the last guy out trying to squeeze in 3 waves in 20minutes after work
its a good board, hard to fault it

okay
little vid from the other evening
5'11" K2.1 thruster setup
feels good

https://vimeo.com/44228794

thanks core - I always like your input
anyway - bought the 5'11" hellrazor
lovin this board
Am still recovering from an ankle injury so haven't been surfing 100%, but this board feels like the business!
1st wave: straight into a double standup barrel, no hassles
Right size for me at 84kgs and I've surfed it into overhead waves no probs.
Fast and controlled and you can push it pretty hard.
It also recovers really well in a tight situation- I think the rocker is perfect - plus has enough flatness in the tail + width to carry you thru the flats
Did record my 2nd session on my gopro, so will try put an edit together soon

thanks Chris
so for pointbreaks? hellrazor?

Chris....any thoughts?

sounds sweet
I've always battled with Taj tail rocker
I'm lazy...I like a bit of projection

MB has a lovely outline
finally a high performance with a bit of nose width
think its gonna be a great beach break board

I've seen the thinner version of the 5'10" and was surprised by how chunky it is - will have a look at the 6'0" thinner version, but it may be a bit boxy for JBay...will try and get a demo for a spin

Wandi 6'2" fst roundtail flexfire, I weigh around 84kgs
I just got a new one
Attachment
haha core .. yup, try keep it on the lowdown a bit - the music is generally guys I play with sometimes, but clearly I'm too crap to do any recordings with

I'm not familiar with the spitfire, but I am with the stealth
One noticabl efeature of the stealth is that it has really hard rails right through up to the nose, unlike the the alternator which has fairly neautral/soft rails
that hard rail is a little less forgiving than the soft rails and I think this is what may be affecting your take offs (would account for the rigid feeling you're getting)
I personally don't think the stealth is an out and out groveler in that with its hard rails you want it on fairly clean waves where it can cut into the wave face without bouncing around everywhere
The el fuego for example has a lot softer rails and is more forgiving

The other thing to consider is that these boards have their wide points shifted forward, which can result in the nose catching rail if your weight is too far forward plus they're flatter boards than the alternator which can also result in rails catching on take off if you're not on the sweet spot

thanks
but kinda hard to make out too much from the rocker shots
all look pretty similar

yup
def keen on a MB (In my mind I surf closer to MB than Taj...but still far off!)
just wanted to hear chris's/anyone elses feedback on it
think it could be a good Jbay allrounder
have also just got a 6'2" fst roundtail flexfire (replacing my old one) - its kinda my standard issue winter board and it
has a design on it and feels quite heavy - have you ever had experince with that? ie the boards with designs are a touch heavier?

its close to supers, but its one of the other breaks
I shoot a lot of my footage there

hehe prj
its quite cause
a) its not Supertubes
b) Frank and I do apply a bit of crowd control....
c) plus its fairly early

core- friends of mine playing the music
chris - will try...he's super amped Mark, surfs anything resembling a wave
kdropin - love this board..its really my goto board in sorta underhead conditions

Chris
I see you got the MB in your quiver
I'm eyeing out the 6'0" MB myself
personal thoughts on it?
I could never get it together on the Taj..is it a bit more forgiving than the Taj? less tail rocker?

hanaleisurfer
its the strapped miners torch type mount