Hey Chris,
Are you ever going to make a higher volume Futura? 35 litres is never going to be enough for an older fatty like me !! obviously image is not something that bothers me !! The again, maybe don't. I have had my quota of FW's for this year and this would just be another board I would have to get.
Buzzy, have you ever surfed a Hellfire? How did they compare? The Furura looks like it might be a thinned out version of the HF
Current Quiver - 610 Addvance
95 kgs and 46 yrs - before you can go surfing, you must first catch the wave !!
No, I was pretty much choosing between the Hellfire and Futura and went by a gut feel - I hadn't surfed either of them prior to purchase.
I'm really happy with my choice.
I'm 90kg or so and the Futura has enough float. I could carry a few more kg as well - whether it would go to another 5 I'm not sure. Im not suggesting it couldnt - its just hard to be specific on things like that. Because it's quite wide the Futura planes well so you probably don't need quite as much volume as in some other boards.
Today's surf was pretty much the first where I didn't go primarily tube hunting on this thing. I got a few waves where I could fit in some turns, finally! I remember Goanna mentioning the board was subtle off the top. I found that today. One wave in particular I was just a tad behind. Now this was low tide, 3-6 foot waves. This particular wave was 3 foot (head high). So I'm a bit behind but close enough to be tempted to throw the board into the lip, but you expect to be thrown off. Not on this one. Three times I threw it up from behind. And three times it went into/through the lip and came out. Stoked. This really is a great all rounder. I think it has a slight preference for down the line over vertical surfing, but it does both. This is now my daily driver, with the Dom displaced to small wave specialist. Which was always its role, but it's probably now a chest high and below board.
Last edited by buzzy; 07-22-2012 at 12:01 AM.
i'm over-simplifying, but, hellfire = back foot... futura = front foot ...these two would be the best one board quivers in the range...although the range is expanding , so now the choice is not as clear...spoilt for choice..!!
INSTAGRAM .... corepersonaltraining
6ft..90ish kg..35+ years surfing
WHERE'S MY VANGUARD, WHERE'S MY VANGUARD, WHERE'S MY VANGUARD, WHERE'S MY VANGUARD,*WHERE'S MY VANGUARD.... ETC
IT'S GETTING SPRAYED, IT'S GETTING SPRAYED, IT'S GETTING SPRAYED, IT'S GETTING SPRAYED, IT'S GETTING SPRAYED, IT'S GETTING SPRAYED,
IT'S BEEN SPRAYED, IT'S BEEN SPRAYED, IT'S BEEN SPRAYED, IT'S BEEN SPRAYED, IT'S BEEN SPRAYED, IT'S BEEN SPRAYED, IT'S BEEN SPRAYED,
IT'S IN TRANSIT, IT'S IN TRANSIT, IT'S IN TRANSIT, IT'S IN TRANSIT, IT'S IN TRANSIT, IT'S IN TRANSIT, IT'S IN TRANSIT, IT'S IN TRANSIT,
IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE,
IT'S HAD A BAPTISM OF FIRE, IT'S HAD A BAPTISM OF FIRE, IT'S HAD A BAPTISM OF FIRE, IT'S HAD A BAPTISM OF FIRE, IT'S HAD A BAPTISM OF FIRE
SWEET POTATO--- R/F -- 5'4 -------------------------- fins controllers
VANGUARD -------- WRF -- 5'6 ------------------------- fins futures ea blackstix..may test something a little bigger and stiffer
HELLFIRE ----------- R/F -- 5'10 ------------------------ fins futures SA3,SA4 honeycomb
FLEXFIRE ----------- R/F -- 6'2 x 18 3/4 x 2 1/2 ------ fins futures JC honeycomb
MICHEL BOUREZ------------6'2 --thick then thin ------- fins futures JC honeycomb, AM2 techflex heavy chop, ea b/stix at 84kg, now testing AM2 hex
ALTERNATOR ------ R/F -- 6'4--for bad back days---- fins futures JC honeycomb
and countless others (mostly nev's)
youngest grommet 45kgs throws my hellfire around with SA3's or in mush uses EA (techflex "cuz they look da bomb") and deviant
I just thought I'd post a personal observation I have with this board. I like it, although I have to confess it's a secondary love behind the Dom and Alt. Those two boards just suit my natural style a tad better, in that they are back foot boards. But I do enjoy the Futura in the right waves, and intend to keep it.
What I tend to find is on takeoff I have my front foot much further forward than I do on my Alt or Dom. I don't know why that is - perhaps I paddle further forward on the board because it has lesser volume? Or perhaps I simply can surf it from further forward? I don't tend to notice my foot is particularly forward until I aim it for a vertical turn. Just pumping for speed it feels entirely fine. So, for instance, yesterday in 3-4 foot waves (Bondi was quite protected from the mega-swell) I took off on a short walled up right hander, did one pump for speed and then planned to hit/carve off an approaching foamball, which I then did but on hitting the flats it felt like my foot was so close to the nose I was attempting an old school cheater five! This sensation of having my foor further forward than I like is quite common on this board.
Does anyone else have this sensation, or is it just me?
47yoa, 177cm, 90kg, Intermediate+
Dom 6'4" with K3 fins
Unibrow 6'4" with KR JP5 fins
Quadrafive 6'6" with KR JP5 Carbon Tune
Not here Buzzy - I always liked how forgiving my 6'4" was on foot placement.
I do think you may have something though regarding the forward paddling.
44yrs / 86kg / 6'2" Mini Driver / 5'8" Potatonator / 6'4" Futura (sold) / 5'8" Sweet Potato (sold) / 6'1" El Fuego (sold) / 6'2" Dominator (sold)
Yeah, it's definitely forgiving on the foot placement. If I felt the same on the Dom and the Alt it wouldn't just feel awkward, but the turn would be dogged. On the Futura the turn is nearly as good as it would be with the feet in the right position.
47yoa, 177cm, 90kg, Intermediate+
Dom 6'4" with K3 fins
Unibrow 6'4" with KR JP5 fins
Quadrafive 6'6" with KR JP5 Carbon Tune
I find this on later drops sometimes on my JK, I am doing it to weight the board forward to get it dropping down the face faster. Sounds counter intuitive but it works, then a little step back once I set the rail. Maybe that is what you are doing?
I also notice I paddle the HF further back than the JK but for me it's just about paddling on the flatter part to avoid ploughing the water.
Last edited by Slowman; 01-28-2013 at 08:28 PM.
Jesus is coming, look busy!
Moving forward or just spinning faster?
5'8 RF Vanguard 32.2L FCS H3 quad
6'0 FST Dominator 34.8L FCS PC SF4 quad + stabiliser
6'0 FST Spitfire 34.9L FCS PC R2 quad + stabiliser
6'2 FST Jacknife 33.3L FCS PC quad front/rear TC Redlines/TC Aqualines
6'2 FST Hellfire 33.7L FCS PC R2 quad + stabiliser (x 2, yes 1 here, 1 there!)
6'4 FST Alternator 34.?L FCS PG7
6'7 FST Hellrazor 36.5L FCS R2 thruster
------------------------------------------
6'5 FST Hellrazor 33.5L FCS coming
That sounds about right SLowman.
Surfed the Futura again this morning in waist high waves. It's true to say I'm still finding my feet (!!) - I still struggle to get my feet in the right spot quickly on this one - but as I surf it more I become more familiar with it and enjoy it more.
47yoa, 177cm, 90kg, Intermediate+
Dom 6'4" with K3 fins
Unibrow 6'4" with KR JP5 fins
Quadrafive 6'6" with KR JP5 Carbon Tune
I'm putting the Futura on notice. If I don't feel the love very soon - an intense strong commitment - its going to be replaced with a Unibrow.
There was a fair bit of strong emotion toward Futura today. A few good turns and one decent little barrel can make a lot of difference.
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