Loving the volume calculator

[beatlloydy]

Just like to say the "volume calculator" is a great tool...It really allows the less technical amongst us to do a good comparison about what should be the approximate size to choose based on weight. Better still, being able to go through all the boards and work out the ideal size for each and comparing them is an added bonus....I played around with about 4 boards and it was pretty spot on...e.g when looking at the hellfire I worked out the ideal size was around 2" longer than the dominator and then read the blurb on the Hellfire and this is what is also recommended. Also, my Alternator is 4" longer than the Dominator which seems to also concur with the volume calculator.

IMHO this is a real bonus to Firewire and something terribly lacking with all other manufacturers to my knowledge. This is particularly useful for those of us carrying a few extra pounds to understand we can still ride smaller boards and fairly accurately estimate the ideal size for the weight.

Just one more reason to justify purchasing a Firewire over other brands.

[Justin]

thanks for the positive feedback, we appreciate it, glad you find the tool useful

[bageldog]

How do you factor in your height with the calculator? I'm 6'5 190 (very thin), it seems like I'd need a different board than someone of my same ability who was 5'6." i've heard before that you should pick the length of your board based on your height and the waves, and the volume based on your weight? it would be great if there was a way to add height to the board calculator. thanks for any help!

[iggy]

With the new models you could find boards that will suit similar conditions but which have been twicked so you could have same volume but adding or subtracting few inches.
Height is definitely something to consider when choosing a board

[Slowman]

Yes the taller you are the bigger the lever, so you can throw around a board of extra length a bit better than a guy of the same weight who is shorter. So far the volumes and lengths have been pretty good for me.

[core personal training]

yeah height is mostly a separate issue and unless your in the top ten then you need to find what works for you in a standard shortboard then adjust hybrid lengths etc from there...for most guys its minimum same as your height to 2 maybe 3 inches longer...for you guys on stilts it often comes back to around your height...stance and leg length factor here too....

[Chris]

hey bagel dog,
yeah I do think you make subtly different decisions in order to accommodate for stance, but I think lets say in the dominator, if you are a competent surfer, at 195 and 6'5, you would have no problem having a good go on the 510 or the 600.

The idea with volume is that is that it helps people match the AMOUNT of board needed with their weight! If you bought a dominator based on your height, you might be on a 606 and that would be WAY too much volume for your weight potentially...

That being said, you do have to increase length slightly to deal with personal preferences and your stance, but you shouldn't go crazy.

Hope this helps!!

[bageldog]

so its been a year, and I'll comment that I've found for hpsb type boards, hopefully this helps the other giraffes out there. Even though I've gotten a lot better in the last year (I used to think a 6'4 stealth was the right board for me at 38 liters) if I go shorter than 6'4 it just doesn't feel right, my stance is never right. I think core is right...for the tall guys shortboard is around your height or an inch less. use your weight to get the volume right. I know I need around 32-34 liters, and I've found the boards with that volume around my height are the best (6'5 F1, 6'5 hellrazor, 6'6 quadraflex (old thin model...floated me lower than f1). For the hybrids, I find its hard to go less than 6 inches below my height or I run into the same stance issue (you can think of a sort of "virtual nose" extending the length of those boards). I now have a 6'0 spitfire, anytime I try 5'10 boards, no matter how floaty, there is just too small a stance window for me to get it right. Too many long limbs floundering around trying to get in the right spot. For the performance hybrids that have sort of a shortboard shape, i can go about 4 inches shorter than myself, but run into trouble around the 6'0 mark. For example I rented a 6'2 and 6'0 stealth on a trip, and was able to make due with the volume of the 6'0, but my stance was always off again. 6'2 felt good. I'm curious if other people are able to ride boards more than 6 inches less than their height easily?

[buzzy]

It looks pretty good to me. What I've personally found though I'd that as I age I need a bit more foam. I'm not surfing any less well but my takeoff isnt as quick as it used to be, and I need a tad more foam to assist that. The calculator doesn't factor age (say 40 or 45 plus) into the equation.

That said, if I plug in my weight as an intermediate the range looks about right for say an SP through to an Alt.

[CaptainH]

Agree the volume calculator is pretty good. One criticism I have though has to do with ability level. Because surfing is still quite an organic (don't mean that in a hippy way) sport there is no uniform set of criteria that defines where beginner, intermediate and advanced begin and end and for this reason and one person's definition will vary wildly to somebody else's. At what point, for instance, are you advanced? When you can consistently link turns and do proper roundhouse cutbacks? Or is surfing to the point where all of that is now considered basic and do you need to do be able to pull of airs and stuff?



Cheers, CH
49
6'2" Dominator
6'4" Hellfire
6'5" HellRazor