Thanks guys! That was shot at O-Club, just north of Satellite Beach, FL.

I saw J Hybrid's comment about the 5'10'' Hellfire feeling heavier than other boards with similar dimensions. Is that really because it has extra glass on it? I think I've come across the same thing and was wondering if that was widespread? Right now I have a 5'8'' Hellfire but a few weeks ago I also bought a used 5'10'' hellfire fst because the price was too good to pass up and I wanted to see how the two would compare. I still haven't gotten to take it out yet but it's quite noticeably heavier than the 5'8'' hellfire (2.5 lbs heavier) but it's even a little heavier than my 5'8'' Retro Quadfish. Just curious if this is normal with the 5'10'' hellfires in fst? The local shop didn't have one to compare it to except a 5'10'' FST Lost Subscorcher-- which seemed lighter than the 5'10'' hellfire. Any thoughts? (just tell me everything's gonna be ok , haha :) )

Any other thoughts? More specifically how a retro 5'8'' Quadfish (2 3/4ths thickness) would compare to a 5'6'' Firewire Sweet Potato? My understanding is that the sweet potato will make tighter turns. But is the ease of paddling/wave catching ability about the same?

Thanks for the advice. yeah I think I'll keep working on the sweet potato then. I had my buddy's 5'11'' retro fish out yesterday (non firewire) that was a little less buoyant than the sweet potato. After switching back and forth a few times we both were convinced that not only did the sweet potato paddle into waves easer but it was much more maneuverable on the wave. I think I'll stick with it. Those last few sessions had pretty mushy waves and I can't make a judgment call too fast.

any more info on how they might ride differently?

I just mentioned it in a thread a few days ago, but I felt comfortable this past year on a 6'1'' Lost f-1 but sold it a few months ago so I could get the 5'8'' hellfire (which I just got and have enjoyed on waist high waves- still waiting for a decent swell).

But I'm also eyeing a 5'11'' Hellrazor or 6'0'' Michael Bourez (27.7L) to have possibly for hurricane season. How would the thinner version of the 6'0'' Michel Bourez or a 5'11'' hellrazor compare to the 6'1'' Lost-F1? Seems like the 600 Michel Bourez has 1L more volume that the 601 F-1 so I wonder if the Bourez would paddle even better than the 601 f-1. OR maybe the 508 hellfire would cover that ground for me?

Thanks! yeah it does! 5'8'' it is! Looking forward to reporting how it goes..

This past year I've been riding a 5'8'' Spitfire and 6'1'' Lost f-1 here in central Florida. I'm 6'0'' tall and 150-155lbs (68-70kgs). Volume on the Spitfire often felt a bit much (length was great) but volume felt perfect on the 6'1'' F-1. What size hellfire would you recommend? 5'8'' or 5'10''? I'm kinda thinking 5'8'' Hellfire but have read on a few of the forums that guys in the 160-165lb range are riding the 5'10'' (and some riding 5'8''). Also I've read on here that a few guys in the 85-90kg range ride the 5'10'' so I tend to think the 5'10'' hellfire might be a bit much volume for me. I'd love to be able to ride the board in waist to overhead/hurricane swell conditions. Any advice?

Today the surf here in FL was shin-knee high and I took out my 5'6'' Sweet Potato. It caught everything!!! My buddy on a long board couldn't believe it! I was catching knee high waves too before the wave was breaking! Thanks for all the advice on this forum guys. I'm excited to test it out in a little bit bigger surf but I'm definitely glad I got the 5'6''- paddles me like a longboard :) . It's coming in the car with me for every surf check from now on.

sweet! picking up the 5'6'' today. Will let you know how it goes.

I uploaded the pic of the mini simmons.

haha! :) . Thanks for being patient with me Iggy! Would love to try out a 5'4'' or 5'6'' sometime. If a 5'4'' shows up somewhere used them I'm on it! Here's another question though... I used to have a 6'8'' Superfish XL a few years ago (21'' by 2 & 3/4ths). It caught the very little stuff easy and it had a volume of 44 liters. The 5'8'' sweet potato is the closest thing to that in volume-- in your opinion would the two boards float me the same or would the 5'8'' sweet potato have a lot more lift on it to to the compacted length? I have a feeling that the answer is that the 5'6'' sweet potato would float and glide like that big board-- but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask (yet again, haha :) ).

Hey Andy, yeah I decided that the 5'2'' is definitely not for me. Felt too short. The wave was pretty small today, knee to thigh high and VERY mushy (not as good of waves as on the youtube sweet potato videos) and I had to work pretty hard to paddle into the few waves that I did catch... also was hopping up and down a lot to try and stay in the wave. I wasn't on the wave that long where as my 8'4'' mini longboard would still be gliding over the whitewash for me. (Again, these were very weak waves!). So on the one hand I was impressed that I was actually on the wave- something that my Spitfire wouldn't have worked on for me. Not to mention the other short boarders out weren't catching anything. But like Iggy said it comes down to preference, and a lot of guys want to ride the small board on a day like that to whip around-- but I'm kinda thinking that my preference for this kind of board is more like Skindog's preference - something I can catch anything on with lots of foam to glide over the whitewash when the waves starts to mush out but obviously turn better than an 8'4''. No sharp turns, maybe a slow cut back to get back in the wave. I know I could just take out my mini longboard for these conditions but I would love for a sweet potato to do the same! If the wave is at least waist high I'll most likely be on my 5'8'' Hellfire- but on the smaller/ weaker days would love a sweet potato. So if Skindog is riding the 6'2'' and getting that extra-foam benefit I wonder what board would do the same for me at 150lbs- the 5'6'' or 5'8''? Iggy you said 5'4'' so I'm still thinking about that one too. (Again for those reading this I wouldn't consider myself an advanced surfer...just basic turns and hitting the lip, etc .. no airs).

So this morning I took out the 5'2'' Sweet Potato (rapidfire). It floated me great and I could actually duck dive it. Wave conditions were 1-2 foot and very mushy. Common for FL most days. Glad I was able to give it a test drive though before buying because I felt like it was a bit short. I stood up and road a few waves but I'm almost thinking that I would love for the board to get up and glide across sections like a fun board. Maybe that's not what it was designed for but the 5'2'' still needed a bit more push for today. So I'm thinking now maybe the 5'6'' would be it. (?) or maybe even bigger (?). What do you guys think?

I could see how my indecisiveness could be frustrating at this point! :) . I wish a shop had a demo around here but looks like someone is going to let me try out their 5'2'' today and see if it's what I'm looking for. I'll let you know how it goes! Thanks

But would the 5'2'' still let me paddle into the waves as well? Like I told iggy, I'm thinking of something I could bring to the beach instead of a longboard.

ok thanks :) . yeah the shortest board I've ridden is a 5'6'' Spitfire. Popped up on that fine. But I'm thinking the extra float of the 5'4'' (and length) would be a good thing

Thanks for all you help Iggy! So just found out that I might be able to get a used 5'2'' sweet potato. Seems like you said that I should stay with a 5'4'' though if I wanted to keep up with the longboarders- or you think that a 5'2'' would do the trick for my weight at 150lbs? (and 6'0'' tall).

Thanks Iggy! Yeah I'm somewhere in between intermediate-advanced but paddle into waves pretty well. I'm almost leaning toward the 5'6'' sweet potato because I would love the board to paddle into anything (like a longboard). If there is any size or power to a wave (waist high and up) then I'll be on my 5'8'' Hellfire. Another question though- would the 5'8'' Sweet Potato just be overkill for me? I'm not really looking for the board to whip around like my Hellfire- just get up and cruise around. You think the 5'8'' would get me up on more waves than even the 5'6''?

I'm the same size as Olitoun... 6'0'' 150-155lbs. I just got a 5'8'' Hellfire on craigslist and LOVE that board. I still have a 5'8'' Spitfire and am now thinking about selling it or trading it for a Sweet Potato. I would love for it to ride the REALLY weak stuff that my Spitfire couldn't get into that would typically require a longboard. would a 5'6'' or 5'8'' do the trick? I don't care about duck diving it because I would only bring it out on really weak days and would only really use it to cruise on the weak stuff or get up on small whitewash. Would even maybe the 5'10'' take the place of a long board for me? Thanks!