Thanks fazza looking forward to feeling one up, none up here in shop racks, out of the new releases only seen a couple of vanguards and MDs

Wow no wonder its a speed demon, thanks for that, I think this could be my next FW, by the way how far does it continue up the board?

Good review fazza, a pic of the concave also on the UB if possible, cheers

Yeh fan, like the look of the UB very much ,looking forward to a review, hope you sniff out some clean ones to test it out, looks a bit like a Maurice Cole I sussed out recently,but less radical concave maybe.

Try it with the MRTX and two trailers, similar to my futures combo I think, really frees up the EF

Yeah the one with the shark repel eye was getting around as a demo...as far as the fins go I think I just worked out was happening after rereading your post, the shop threw in a set of composite(plastic?) ea450's when I picked up the board and I thought I'd try it out with them, first surf and in good waves the board just would not respond, trying to generate speed going rail to rail board just felt dead in the water, try to drive through a bottom turn and the jackknife /standstill thing you described is happening...just dug the fins back out and compared to the JC blackstix they are heaps flexy, (is this the water pressure bleed off you describe?)...anyway didn't really have a problem with the blackstix in the MB but bought some SA3's and found the small wave(speed generation) act of the board improved with these so they stayed. anyway thanks again for your input,I'm slowly getting an understanding of this, or am I?! cheers

Thanks core great stuff, i'm still trying to digest all this and I think its probably easy (in my mind) to confuse things and over analyse. For me personally i'm trying to visualize what the fin is doing to get better understanding, and with so many variables it's a work in progress. Good explanation of what you're feeling underfoot too, that jackknife/standstill thing I've felt before when I had the wrong fins in the MB. cheers

Hey core, (im still a bit of a grasshopper when it comes to understanding fins, havent thought about them too much before riding firewires ) I think I understand the way fins work in their relation to size and shape on a board, ie pivot v drive etc, but when you refer to a fin as being too stiff or too much flex, I think what I want to know is what are you feeling underfoot, is it a subtle looseness or stiffness or not that at all....or is it totally subjective? I've surfed my razor with both SA3's and blackstix V2FJC1's and board goes great with either but I think I prefer it with the SA3's but ask me why and I couldn't tell you,it just feels better....especially cutting back with plenty of speed to burn... master core,anyone, enlightenment on this matter would be much appreciated

hey jynxz, I have bought futures fins in singles, pairs any combo you want,just ask your surf shop and they should be able to help, in OZ anyway.

for chaffing relief and quick healing "papaw ointment" best stuff ever

I use a "protimeter" moisture detector as part of my job and have found this to be the ducks nuts when assessing whether a board is dry enough to repair, probably a bit expensive to buy as a one off ($500 app) but just checked out ebay and saw some very cheap(other brand) ones, whether they work or not....

Gnubee I think what im finding with riding these boards (MB + HZ) the Elfuego has taken a back seat because of the ability of these boards to grovel ok,
for me I enjoy surfing top to bottom(on a good day) and jamming a good cutback when I surf and the Elfuego can certainly do that but it feels a whole lot better on the hellrazor as it is a much "freer" board. Hey if your intermediate now you may well jump up to the advanced bracket after riding the hellrazor! hope this helps

oops forgot to add, like wandi said paddles and catches waves with ease

Yeh I would have to agree with you on many points you've made

I've only surfed mine twice in below head high conditions, again semi clean beachies
plenty of speed thru flat sections and very easy to throw around, reckon this board will
blow up ( grommet speak) on some nice point waves, good having the 5 fin option though haven't tried as quad yet

Im with the old local boys, why attract attention to your local, more crowds mean less waves surfed

And what does it all mean?

Ya gotta laugh

Yeh good stuff keep experimenting, you'll find what works for you, but dont give up on it as a quad too quick as I find it really frees up this board, have you tried it with the MRTX with a small centre trailer? I found this to go well too with me, still loose but drivey as well(TT1 fronts and single T1 rear)

I'm not familiar with FCS fins, but the TT1 trailer is a very small fin as the T1 is definitely large, but I think thats how the magic is created! (for me anyway)
The nubster probably just settles the board down a bit(in a positive way, drivier), I've mainly put it in when in bigger stuff around head high+ but like I said
just to mix things up a bit, the fuego still shines without it in any size(within reason!)

Yeh hwork I'm with you re the elfuego, I've been riding it with T1's(futures large front fin) with small TT1 trailers,found this to be the best combination after a bit of trial and error, there is no doubt you can go top to bottom on this board, just gotta make sure you dont nose dive on the way back down! (if the waves a bit sucky) have had many great surfs in the couple of years i've had mine. The small nubsters also a great addition just to mix it up a bit.

seabass
have ordered the 6'2 thick bourez, I havent ridden the sub for about a month its in the shop for sale or will trade when bourez arrives.
Ive been riding my 6'1 elfuego before riding the demo bourez and as far as transition goes these two boards are worlds apart, definetely
took a few waves to dial it in but especially the second surf I had on it in much better conditions it almost blew me away as you planted
your back foot through turns and it was just so solid and quick.....one thing I have found since riding firewires is Im not worried about hopping
from one board to another like I used to, you just seem to pick up from where you left last time.

Hey seabass Ive ridden both 6'2 sub and 6'2 thick bourez, I mistakenly bought the sub too big (Im 86kg) 6'0 would have been ample volume,
but what I would say is these two boards are simply in different classes ie the sub can rip and you can certainly bust the fins out and do big moves
but you can also surf it "casually" if that that makes sense. On the other hand the bourez is a "full tilt"(ref:corepersonaltraining) high performance
shortboard that almost demands that you surf it top to bottom on the wave and put it on rail because that is what it is designed for and if that is what
youre after you will love this board. I only got a couple of surfs on a demo bourez and loved it, have ordered one pick up friday and should be waves yeeee
eew!!
Hope this helps

yeah agree it wasnt that long ago I was riding "big boys boards" and "paddles like a mal surfs like a shortboard" boards
then I discovered firewire... sheesh 5'10 is a small board maybe a 6'0 maybe i've had too many reds

Yeh thats the board, shop brought it up from the goldy to coolum thats all I know
Hey I look at those sub 6'2 shortboards and start getting noivous!
Im reasonably fit but not that fit!!

Got hold of the demo MB 6'2 thick today (what the!? I think this is cores old board, has the shark deterrent eye)
anyway went out in head high plus mushburgers with the odd steep clean sections to build speed and
as bad as conditions looked it was a good test for this board with opportunity to hit the lip and plenty of cutback
sections on offer. actually felt super solid laying into cutbacks, very impressed.
I havent ridden a proper HP shortboard for a couple of years so am certainly not an authority on them but at
86kg 6'1 injury niggles nearly 50 faarrk this seems to work for me,im guessing it should go nuts in good waves.

Having said that the shops got a 6'2 hellfire demo before I decide

Also thanks Core and Chris for your feedback

Thanks for the response
can get a hold of a demo MB this weekend and there should be waves
will be using it for better waves so i'll see how she goes

checkout mdsurfstore.com futures nubster $35 delivered to oz took about 3 weeks

Hi Raz, just wondering if you have any recommended repairers on the sunshine coast?

Hey cuttlefish I've been running that T1 + TT1 combination for about a year now on a 6'1 el fuego after trying many different quad combinations found it to be the best for me, am experimenting with a home made knubster (I have futures boxes) with good results after a bit of tweaking, as everyones probably aware subtle fin changes can transform a board, having the 5 fin option is great for a bit of experimentation and keeps that stoke alive!

Good to hear a story like that, not that I'd try it myself I have a boards in the car/sun paranoia

Just wondering were they FST or RF stc?

Am agreeing with rockhopper here about durability as ive had a RF elfuego for over a year now been surfed apprx couple times a week and am seeing only slight indentation in front foot area and minor dimpling on the bottom whereas with pu i wouldve seen substantial caving in of footpad and front foot area and duck diviing finger dents and these are not lightly glassed boards(actually almost miss that bedded in feel of pu! but certainly dont miss the longevitý, I'd be lucky to get a hundred bucks for a one year old pu)
Also have an FST that is a few months old now and is as good as new. Obviously not everyone has the same positive experience with firewire surfboards when you go through the posts but how many other board manufacturers open themselves up to scrutiny with a forum like this?

I'll second rockhoppper on sponsored pro's feedback,too