So after being torn between the decision of buying a Sweet Potato or a Spitfire this fall I ended up going with my gut feeling and getting a Spit.
I wanted the board for Ankle high to shoulder high waves that were lacking power and were riddled with flat sections. Basically waves that normally would not be very much fun. And even though everyone screamed Sweet Potato I had my doubts, although they have been dispelled after seeing my brother surf his SP and noticing its maneuverability and speed generating capabilities I can see it being a highly attractive board, regardless though I am still pleased with my choice and would not hesitate to make it again.
At 165 pounds with no added rubber weight and surfing in very powerful waves compared to most places I saw myself on the 5'6 Spit which at at 28.3L was 1.2L more than my Hellfire which already provided plenty of float so I knew before I even saw the board that it would float me a ton. I can surf the mushiest smallest day of the year now with ease, and fly through any flat section the Pacific Ocean attempts to throw at me. Love the versatility of the board and how much performance it offers, from tail slides to fin blast to reverses you can do it all on this board. The Spitfire has also radically improved my roundhouses, the straight rail line with the nice wide nose and generous volume really allow you to draw a nice clean line all the way through the turn and not have to break it up into multiple sections. Had a wave the other day where I had a late takeoff right into the barrel at high tide on a overhead double up, got a quick little tube, came out went straight to the bottom, did a long drawn out bottom turn and then proceeded to do the gnarliest roundhouse of my life. Came up to the top of the wave put it on rail and started to drive through the turn and rotate straight back up into the foam, came off the top of the foam so hard I almost got knocked off but I stuck it and gathered myself enough to kick out since the wave was done after that. My friend claimed it to be the wave of the day so I was pretty stoked
Thruster
I ride my Spitfire as thruster only. It has Futures plugs and so far I have tried the Techflex F4s, the Techflex AM2s and the Rob Machado fins in the board. They all have their pro's and con's which I will get to in this section. I ride the board with mainly the F4s since I want my Spitfire to be super loose and be able to blow the fins all over the place and these fins give me that, however they are not to the point where I slide out on a bottom turn, they still hold just fine when pushing hard or getting barreled. These fins offer release when you want it and hold when you need it which in my book is just what you want from a fin. Take in mind though that I ride Beach Breaks 9 times out of 10 but when I do ride points I like to use the Machado's their inside foil at a point break just does magic, generate so much speed so quickly and allow you to draw the best possible lines on waves. The stiff base gives for a good amount of drive when pushing hard off the bottom or carving really hard but with the nice flex in the tip you can feel the fins in addition to the flex characteristics of the board really sling shot you into your turns. For waves that allow you to draw longer lines and flow better than I think fins like these really complement the board beautifully. And last but not least there are the AM2s, these things are tricky, they generate tons, and i mean like impossible amounts of drive, but do not offer a super tight turning radius. They will release and allow you to do a fin blast or an air or a tail slide but for example if you try to do a really fast tight carve I found them to be a bit to stiff, they kept making me try and draw the turns out. For bigger waves though these fins are the money, put them in the Spit for an overhead day and I will admit that with the F4s sometimes I had to nurse it through the bottom turns because at times I felt like I was going to slide out trying to push so hard with such a small fin and fat rail on an overhead wave, but as soon as I put the AM2s in than that went away. I could push as hard as I wanted to and try and imitate pancho as hard as possible.
Quad
Going to keep it simple here since there isn't much to say from me at least. Don't like the way this board works with a 4 fin setup, It is fast as hell I will admit that but I tried it a couple times and was sliding out on my bottom turns, didnt feel like I could get any release and whenever I tried to go vert it felt like the Universe itself was holding me back. I was riding the SF4s in Beach Break, Maybe different Fins in a point break? The board did generate a absurd amount of speed out of nothing though and maybe if you were on a wave where you just wanted to do roundhouses all day and cuttys where there is no real lip to hit or section to race than possibly the quad would work. I will give it more testing at a date which is yet to be determined but at this stage in the game Im keeping my Spitfire as a Thruster and loving it. Dont get me wrong, I love 4 fin setup. The board before my Hellfire I rode exclusively as Quad and My Hellfire works great as a Quad in mushy waves but I think it may be somthing to do with the wider tail and wider overall profile of the Spit that may be affecting the way it feels with a 4 fin setup, I feel like the board needs that pivot fin to really shoot up into the lip and hold its way through strong turns. If more testing provides a different result on this matter I will post my finding but until than Im not convinced.
Overall
I really love this board, It has done great things for my surfing allowing me to ride waves what I would normally just sink in on my Hellfire and really allowing me to perfect my roundhouses and fin free maneuvers since the wide tail offers so much more release than the Hellfire's. The board generates speed alot easier than the Hellfire but that being said I do know for a fact that the Hellfire has a higher top speed than this thing, but the Spit is one hell of a fast board the Hellfire is just...otherworldly. I really like the paddling this board offers and its ability to catch waves. I can slip into swell basically, be up and riding before the thing even breaks and if I see a peak pop up 100 yards away I can just motor boat my way over to it in time for it to break, its actually quite funny. The board flies through flat sections, can go vert, holds well in the barrel unless the wall is at a 90 degree angle than the tail tends to slide out a bit. I have surfed the thing in anything from ankle high wind blown slop to overhead barrels and it performed well in all of it. My only complaint is that at times i feel like the rail is a bit fat and I hold back sometimes when bottom turning to avoid spinning out and blowing the wave, I wish the board held all the volume it does in the center but tapered off a bit towards the rails to give the whole board a bit more bite. But hey thats what my Hellfire is for anyways hahah.
Hope you guys find this review helpful and please dont hesitate to ask any questions, I will try and get back to you with any Info I got.
Pura Vida.
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Originally Posted by core personal training
