Hellfire reviews

[core personal training]

yeeeeew jase....throw that spray...!!!

[Bumper]

Finally was able to spend an all day session on my 6'4 hellfire. Most of my sessions prior were in good Chest to overhead but they were short sessions before dark or work. Was struggling a bit to feel comfortable prior to yesterday. Still had some great rides during those sessions but the board just didnt feel dialed in. It felt so fast and loose compared to other boards that I have riden in bigger waves. Yesterday was chest to head but onshore winds and poor swell direction made for poor conditions. Normally I would take out my 6'2 Dom but I promised myself I would commit to my hf this summer in any waves over chest high. Had some really fun rides. The board really really paddles well. Made some nice Steep drops as well. Board felt big up untill yesterday but by the end of my all day session the board finally felt small and under control. Last wave of the day was a nice right with two cutbacks and a nice lip hit before the beach. Have never been able to surf a wave like that. Really started to surf aggressively going front side in close out conditions. Still blew a few waves and didnt feel as though i surfed as consistently as i do on my pnator or dom but overall had some great rides in conditions that were difficult. Backside turns really improved too since I first picked up my board. The hf is definitely a board that needs to be ridden. I think the Dom is so unique in that it really is user friendly right from the get go. However I can already tell the HF is going to take my surfing to another level and my last ride was testament to that. No way could I ride like that on my fish or standard thruster which was just too narrow and light for my size, ability and age. Def the right board for my ability and break here on the east coast USA.

[core personal training]

good stuff bumper...yeeeeeeew....your right in staying on it..it will meld into part of your body....for those still waiting, i need to do this with the MB...been out of the water with a string of calamities..been getting single junk surfs with a week or so between...so i'm not exactly in form..(was i ever.??.)..!!..got two surfs in a row last week and at the end of the second surf i had a few long sizable bowly screamers on my backhand and the board lit up..!!..each wave from take off to the closeout hit was deep square solid bottom turns and tight vertical lip hits with speed and power, each connecting seamlessly into the next..textbook backhand from the MB...wonder what it'll do when i get my mojo back..!!..and where was a judging tower when i snagged those..!!...at least i had a few locals down the line hooting......handing it out for demos has seen good feedback with shortboard riders with weight/power dialing straight in...hybrid guys taking a few rides to feel what it can do...(i'm in this boat at the moment with the lack of surfing and soooooo long on the 510 HF)...stay tuned...

[Bumper]

Thanks Core. I actually think the HF is a good everyday board especially for those who get more quality waves than we do here on the East Coast. I'm fine with just the potatonator and Hellfire. We get so much gutless knee to thigh high surf that a sweet potato is still a necessity I think but for those who just can't manage both the sp and pnator an old log will do the trick in the small dribblers. I have to surf every day in every condition in order to get better so I've taken advantage of the firewire options. For surfers who don't feel the need to surf knee to thigh high junk the pnator and HF quiver will cover anyone from thigh to overhead plus. I think the boards surf somewhat similarly so my transition from one board to the other is fairly easy. That's what I was going for in buying both boards. HAted going from my fish to my 6'6 19.5 thruster. Now I go from a 6'0 21 pnator to a 6'4 20 HF with both super loose and requiring alot of drive off the back foot. Very happy with my purchases. The dom will come back out once I'm happy with my surfing on the HF but for now its all about the pnator and HF (SP for the high tide small messy stuff Love the 5'6 after riding the 5'8.) I definitely see myself going from the 6'4 HF to the 6'2 HF eventually but for now I like the length in bigger, better waves plus the volume helps me out in the smaller junkier stuff. More interested in driving down the line and getting some good smooth turns in so the length and volume are helpful. I think I'll stay at the 6'0 pnator just so that I have a bit more volume for the smaller stuff. Enjoy the Bourez. Sounds like a terrific board but I think i'm a HF rider for life.

[Bumper]

Thanks Core. I actually think the HF is a good everyday board especially for those who get more quality waves than we do here on the East Coast. I'm fine with just the potatonator and Hellfire. We get so much gutless knee to thigh high surf that a sweet potato is still a necessity I think but for those who just can't manage both the sp and pnator an old log will do the trick in the small dribblers. I have to surf every day in every condition in order to get better so I've taken advantage of the firewire options. For surfers who don't feel the need to surf knee to thigh high junk the pnator and HF quiver will cover anyone from thigh to overhead plus. I think the boards surf somewhat similarly so my transition from one board to the other is fairly easy. That's what I was going for in buying both boards. HAted going from my fish to my 6'6 19.5 thruster. Now I go from a 6'0 21 pnator to a 6'4 20 HF with both super loose and requiring alot of drive off the back foot. Very happy with my purchases. The dom will come back out once I'm happy with my surfing on the HF but for now its all about the pnator and HF (SP for the high tide small messy stuff Love the 5'6 after riding the 5'8.) I definitely see myself going from the 6'4 HF to the 6'2 HF eventually but for now I like the length in bigger, better waves plus the volume helps me out in the smaller junkier stuff. More interested in driving down the line and getting some good smooth turns in so the length and volume are helpful. I think I'll stay at the 6'0 pnator just so that I have a bit more volume for the smaller stuff. Enjoy the Bourez. Sounds like a terrific board but I think i'm a HF rider for life.

[core personal training]

you have hit on the big issue in the era of multi board quivers....transition....back in the dark ages, we had ONE board for EVERYTHING, except guns for the real stuff...it is sorting out the talent from the hacks...talent can jump from board to board and shred...then there's me....i'm finding with a body that's slowing down and getting stiffer and weaker that vastly different boards will have me kooking out for whole sessions or more...consistency is the key here....sounds like your on a winning combo there mate....

[Bumper]

That's interesting. I only started surfing in 2002 so the fish revolution was kicking in and I jumped on board after a few years of long boarding and struggling on a poorly purchased step up. Sometimes I wish I had just one board but our waves our so weak and varied that I would have never progressed without the fire wire grovelers and performance hybrids. I figured out the more time spent in the water equals better surfing. The wider more paddle friendly Dom and hf have helped in the bigger wave dept. just have to stick with my quiver and dial in. Going to have to stop buying the new best thing I think. It's hard, I love new toys. Lol.

[Slowman]

I tend to think, you can adapt to become more adaptable! I once read a recommendation to help your surfing you should jump on different boards occasionally so you don't get stale. My 2nd hellfire did not arrive as planned so I had to surf my old 6'6" Webber Afterburner (6'6 x 19.25 x 2.375) and for the first week of 1' slop I was quite surprised at how well the thing rode; take off and sink! LOL never the less I was surprised I could even get to my feet on these really weak waves, though I did sink immediately on some I still managed to get going on others.

The Afterburner used to be my everyday board so I know it pretty well and still kind of love it! I have trouble letting go! What surprised me was how well it paddled it has lots more rocker than the HF though it might just be a big kick in the nose section, a lot pointier too. Greg called it a semi-fish (ie. one of those hybrid things) but it's way more HPSB than the HF. Once my HF finally arrived I remember looking at it wondering if it was really a Spitfire, the nose looked wider and the rocker flatter. I double checked the dimensions on the rail, to be sure! I got it late in Friday evening, the day it cleared customs, so only had one morning surf on it. Anyway, the surf on Saturday morning was around the 5' mark but very onshore affected. Still good to get a couple. If only I'd got it for Friday's surf which was 5' and offshore and quite nice. Thems the breaks! Anyway, spending some time on the afterburner made the hellfire feel a little fresher if you know what I mean.

So Core, I reckon once you get the MB sorted out an occasional, galavant with the HF, should help keep things fresh, so long as the MB is not the jealous type!

[buzzy]

Greg Webber did a great shape with the After burner.

I find the transition between the Dom and Alt virtually seamless. The Futura demands a slight tweak to style but nothing huge. If I jump on my old McCoy single fin or my longboard I have to adapt my approach a lot. The longboard one is pretty obvious, but Geoff McCoy's boards absolutely demand back foot, in the pocket surfing. I think of myself as a back foot surfer and people who see me surf say I'm a back foot surfer but even I need to actively weight my back foot on the McCoy.

Apropos of not much!

[hugster]

hi everyone,
after reading lots of reviews and info over here, I thought I'd chime in and report so maybe some others can gain as much as I did. I'm 80kg, and got a 602 HF a bit over 3 months ago coming from a Dom. The Dom (in FST) was a great workhorse that suited me well: it took beatings without a scratch, and it's a board with plenty of tolerance that allowed me to really explore what there is to do on a wave. But the volume and the fat tail often made me want something different, and I did not reall like the quad setup which was making me feel like I was missing out on something.

Instead of settling for the Spitfire, I went for the HF (in RF), expecting a bit more steeper learning curve but I like a challenge. I expected for it to be a bit of a step-up for me to handle 10% of waves here as well as the odd nicer, bigger day, and thought I'd get a small wave thingy like a Potatonator along the way but I was not set then. But after doing my homework to improve to the level of the board, it is just unreal. It is now my main board, I surf it in anything, literally crap to bigger swells, and it is not nearly as chop sensitive as I thought. The HF is so light and playful, I even worked my way to deal with crappy beachbreak conditions, which I thought were out of range for my abilities. But perhaps the biggest surprise came from the ease to paddle this thing, I have not struggled at all and if anything, sitting a bit lower on the water feels actually easier on my shoulders. Preferred setup at the moment is thruster on smaller days or want it skatey, and quad for bigger, cleaner surf where it goes unbelievably fast and carvy. But there is so much fin as a quad that I still have to learn to attack harder off the tail on bigger days and at speed.

It'd be nice, but I seriously can't justify a Pnator at the moment. The only other boards I sort of look at now are the SP for the fat punchless days (will probably go for 504 or 506 in the next days), and if money was not a problem, a flexfire step-up.

And thanks to all contributors for their reviews and info, that's very valuable. Peace out.