Taj 6'4" vs. Flexefire 6'4"?

[norberg]

Hey Chris

not sure which one to pick here?

I 've got a Taj 6'4" which is 3 years old, but getting to heavy for it now. When I bought it the volume said 29.6L. On your web side the volume is now 31L. Has the boards been altered lately?

Also, the Flexfire has a volume of 31L, but when I look at the board in CBD it says 31.6L. Which one is correct?

I really want to get the MB board when it hits the market as it sounds like it is made for bigger dudes. However, in the mean time, I want to get either a new Taj or a Flexfire. Which one do you think floats me best? Or am I better of waiting for the MB model?

Im 90kg without the wintersuit and used to ride the Quadra-5 6'2" which floats me well:-) Intermediate/advanced.

Cheers,

[Chris]

Hey Norberg,
In its lifetime the Taj has received slight volume adjustments. We kept the same rocker profile and dims just extended a little more volume towards the rails and nose/tails.

The volume of the Flexfire is likely the 31.6. CBD is super accurate. But that difference is what 2% or so and shouldn't really have an impact on your decision. I would focus more on the length and overall volume.

Did you like the 604 taj? The Michel you are going to ride shorter. Likely a 602. I think it's a better all around short board for say waist high to over head, but it has a shorter rail, leaving me wanting my 602 Flexfire in bigger, good surf.

What are your thoughts there?

[prjwebb]

Just to add to what Chris said, guys like me and him who are tall and lean would be riding the MB maybe 4" shorter than ours regular shortboard. But, if you're stockier, say 5'8"-5'9" and 85-90kg, you don't necessarily need the length of a 6'4" but you want the volume. That's where something like the MB is going to come in handy where you could be on a 6'0"-6'2" and still have the volume you need but have a shorter, more responsive board that's still ample rail length for you in decent waves.

On the Taj/Flexfire note, there's a thread on the old forum where I told a bunch of photos of the 6'2" Taj and 6'1" Flexfire to compare for corepersonaltraining. I'll try and find a link and you can see some of the similarities and differences there.
Main differences, Taj has a lot more tail kick where the FE rocker is a little smoother, the Taj has a heavily domed deck where the FE is a little flatter with the volume a little more even across the width, the FE also has a little narrower nose.

[Chris]

Yeah good point Prj, the taj volume tapers quickly from the middle of the board towards the nose and tail on the Taj.

[prjwebb]

Here's a bunch of photos from the old forum i took for Dave comparing the Taj and Flexfire,
There's a bunch of photos so bare with me.
From the Nose
TAJ

FE

Rockers
FE

TAJ

[prjwebb]

Tails - TAJ is on bottom

Trying to show the rails - TAJ has the blue pad.

Outlines - TAJ blue pad

Side on - TAJ on the right

[prjwebb]

Hopefully soon there will be some MB numbers or pictures to compare to those! :D

[norberg]

Hey guys

Thanks heaps for the great feedback.

I loved the Taj 6'4" as it was super smooth and really easy to do nice wrapping turns, which I guess is due to the rocker. The Taj dims were great in terms of thickness throughout the tail and nose and it performed great in quality waves. However, it did not go that great in windy conditions and really hard to catch waves, due to my weight. Especially in Indo for example with 50 other dudes in the water:-)

I really do not want to surf any other boards than Firewires so appreciate you guys pointing me in the right direction. I am 90kg and 6'3". I have surfed the 6'2" Quadra-5 up to almost dobbelhead, but it gets a bit loose for those conditions and not enough volume for really steep take ofs.

In essence, I want to get a board which I can use as a high performance "one board quiver" for travelling, which turns on a dime, has a lot of drive and carries my weight. I guess the board should have a volume of around 32-33L

Probably asking for too much right now, but I guess you guys are the right people to chat to.

Cheers,

[prjwebb]

Well at 6'3" you definitely want a bit of rail line! If you liked the Taj rocker, I think the MB is based off that but in a slightly thicker and wider board. Could work well for you, or you could go for a Flexfire, still going to be super high performance but the slightly flatter rocker is going to work really well in a slightly wider range of conditions.
I'd definitely wait and see the Spartan model though, I know Chris said he'd been loving that board in all sorts of conditions!

[norberg]

Yeah, the MB board sound likes something that would fit me well. It would be great to have a board with a tad more volume than the Taj or Flexfire. Will make it way easier to catch waves in a crowded line up for sure:-)

Thanks heaps, Prj