Hellfire or Hellrazor?

[waldo]

Hi I recently ordered a hellfire through our importer (I live in Cape Town, South Africa) and was dead set on this board until I saw the release of the Hellrazor.

I know both boards are quite versatile in different conditions but does the hellrazor handle the bigger surf better?
I also know the hellrazor is more refined towards a shortboard etc but whats the main difference between these two boards regarding wave type, size and performance (not referring to paddling into waves, more thinking of drive/release/looseness/hold/ tight surfing etc)...

Please help me choose!!

Wal

[Fazza]

Waldo,

The Hellrazor is a more refined Hellfire, it is a high performance hybrid. It will handle waves 3-6ft plus that are either nice and clean/barrelling as well as waves that are a bit choppy on the face. I was thinking of getting a 5'10 Hellfire but saw the Hellrazor and decided to get a 6'1 which is similar volume to the 5'10 Hellfire. Because the Hellrazor has some hybrid DNA it will still be able to grovel or glide over flat spots and perform like a shortboard when you need it. The Hellfire is a good board as well but if you already have a board for small to head high clean/crappy waves then i would go for a Hellrazor.

With the Hellrazor's design and a good set of fins it will tick all of your requirements of "drive/release/looseness/hold/ tight surfing..."

That's just my opinion and i have not surfed one yet but hope to have mine in the next week or so and can give you amore detailed report then.

[surferireland]

Hellrazor should handle the big stuff better as its more performance orientated and less of a hybrid - personally I have heard guys say that the hellfire needs good waves to get going compared to a Spitfire, so the Hellrazor will be even more so. Id say stick with your first choice. The Hellrazor would be more controlled in larger more powerful surf, ie not as loose as the HF. So it depends on what size of waves you want surf etc give us some more background.

[prjwebb]

I think the HellRazor has taken the Hellfire and really tweaked it into a full on high performance board that wouldn't look too out of place in a surf contest.
It's going to be have a longer rail line than the Hellfire so it'll feel a little more solid off the bottom on a bigger wave I reckon.
I'd say if you want to ride a shorter board that'll whip around everywhere on medium sized waves the HF is a good bet. If you want something closer to a trusty shortboard but with a little extra in the mix then the HellRazor is the one.
I don't think too many people have ridden them yet, but the limited feedback sounds extremely positive!

Condition wise, I think both boards will cover a similar range, but on the bigger, steeper days I think the HellRazor would be the one I felt most confident on because of that touch of extra rocker, narrower nose and extra length.

[Chris]

the Hellrazor was definitely inspired by the Hellfire, but the two ride very differently.

prjwebb is right on in that the razor is a bit more refined. It is thinner, narrower in the nose and dial and has a little extra rocker. AS a result, it rides and responds more like a traditional thruster and a lot less like a hybrid than the Hellfire.

You should be grabbing this board if you want to keep up a little bit of width and have slightly improved ease of use in marginal surf (than say the Taj and Flexfire). Other than that added width, you really have the performance and sensitivity to push the limits!!

Cheers

[kdropin]

this one has really gained my interest for a hp board on the east coast

[waldo]

Thanks for the feedback guys, very helpfull! Looks like an interesting topic... guess we'll have to wait for more feedback on how the hellrazor goes seeing it's still a new model. Looks pretty good in the video tho!

[Slowman]

On my radar too. I'm interested to see what extra it can give me over the Hellfire, both in wave size and performance.

[mrees]

So many choices. Am interested to know more about the Hellrazor compared to the Hellfire in the context of a step up board alongside a Dominator. Looks like the HF and HR cover simular wave size range. Which would provide the deeper 2 board quiver to cover UK summer mush to medium sized winter swells?

[Chris]

guys in my honest opinion, i think the Hellfire is a city sneaky in that it can handle bigger surf REALLY well. It has the right template, volume, tail etc to go well in average surf but really all those things come together magically in bigger surf.

I am thinking that because the Hellrazor is refined, it might be a bit more performance driven and capable of laying down aggressive maneuvers at higher speed, BUT i think the reduced volume and the square tail is going to lend itself to playful surf. I took my 511 out in solid NW swell, maybe overhead and a half sets, and it felt a little undersized and it certainly doesn't paddle as well as the Hellfire. Perhaps I should have been on a 601? yeah maybe, but the in between chest to head waves were insane on the 511 and I have since ridden it in punchy beach breaks and there is no way i would prefer the length of the 601. I am really thinking the Hellfire, thought its higher performance, might top out a little under the hellfire in maximum preferred wave height.... just my take though.

So with all that, I think the Hellfire is uniquely positioned to handle bigger surf well, so WALDO, in my opinion the Hellfire is a lock and the smart choice. The Hellfire will be there for you to grab down the road, but don't look back while on the Hellfire.