share your hellfire love....here's mine....
This board is alive....
i'm the last guy you’d expect to ride this board...i'm a very stubborn 6'2-ish hi-performance rider..have been since simon whacked three fins in...i DO NOT ride fish or hybrids..!! if a wave allows a turn, I want it to be a “heat winner”, not a compromised arc..
so what made me jump on a 5'10 hellfire??.. well because Nev never stops ranting about it..!!.....”nev, I need another 6'2..nah, ya gotta ride the hellfire.!”....”nev, I need flatter one for full waves..nah, ya gotta ride the hellfire.!”....”nev, I need a rhino for the bay...nah, ya gotta ride the hellfire.!”.....what has kept me on it is the fact that it is an amazing ride with a wide range..(maybe not the bay though..!)
my findings here are from the perspective of someone at the upper limits of the 5'10 hellfire's volume etc...anyone 10kg lighter than me would still enjoy the similar hold and drive but have EVEN MORE grovel ability...this could easily be a one board quiver..it can almost always replace your full performance stick..or at the very least supplement it. It's not really a stepdown..essentially, it knocks inches off your shortboard act, thus freeing you up on the face and allowing so many more options...in fact at first you will do a dozen half completed moves because your mind cant deal with so many options...it cant choose!!
comparison to the 6'2 flexfire (fuller 18 ¾ x 2 1/2) version)
-the hellfire paddles as well and has maybe a bit more glide onto the wave....
-it handles sucky drops just fine....
-it bites and drives off the bottom just as well...can project way down the line in big stuff....
-it can deal confidently with waves of consequence....
-it can not just make, but attack good reef/ledge waves..just like a full hi-perf board....
-off the top is quicker...lightening fast and tight, retaining ample speed out of the turn...
-it carries over the flats with ease as you would expect...
-it deals with foam and floaters with ease and a positive feel....
for me to say this stuff is surprising, again, I hate short flat wide boards, BUT, Nevs magic wand has done it again, the deepish double concaves, stepped rear rail and other elements only he can understand allow the boards dimensions to “disappear” underfoot. Its the closest I'll get to “barefoot” surfing.!
I surf waves on a daily basis that are challenging and I haven’t had to reach for a conventional board since I got this months ago. In-fact I took a 6'4 out the other day and was restricted..!!
i'm not a fourfin kind of guy but used them on my forehand at a hungry rocky racetrack point..normally here you check turn down the line as you cant wash speed off with a wrap around cutty, but, with the four in I hit warp speed and pulled 2 roundhouses and came out of them projecting down the line for the next...normally this would mean drydocking without fail...even my 6'6 pin couldn’t cover this ground as easily out there, and certainly wouldn't be as manoeuvrable...
-testing done with futures simon anderson 3 and 4 fin setups
-my 40kg grommet (after I push him on), bangs backhand reos down the line with ea's and deviant.
-Ride this board with a bit more fin than your regular board....
i'll stop rambling now
dave
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by hanaleisurfer
