Will I like it?

[Goanna]

That's what I wanna hear - Keep the stoke coming! The vast majority of posts I've read on the FW forums are all filled with existential angst about which board, which size and which fins. Let's hear some more Dom love!

Unfortunately, no real surf predicted this weekend, but like the rest of you would probably do when getting a new board, I imagine I will bring it out in the 1-2' dribblers instead of my proper Mal. Water temp is about 70* F (21 C). We don't get too much of that here in SoCal. No wettie!

Oh, and I traded down to the 6'4" - sorry, I mean the 604 - from the 606. All this talk about board size got to me.

Great! I noticed you had mostly 6'4" and the firewires have extra float - sometimes too much float is prohibitive - I think you've done the right thing there!

[Herzalot]

OK, kids, 1st session on 604 is in the bag. 1-2' dribbling, piss-poor, closeout, breezy, lumpy waves at Middle Trestles. BUT the water was warm. The board catches waves quite easily, despite the sickly conditions. I probably stood up 30 times. DEFINITELY better for me than the 606. Unfortunately, I never really got the open face of a wave - 4, 5 seconds max, thanks to the close-out, weaksauce conditions. On a few rides, the board felt solid and lively, on a few others it felt just plain wobbly. Not "loose," not "skatey," just wobbly. I'm not too worried about it yet. I'll probably try again tomorrow, under similar conditions - hopefully, it will be less breezy so the little waves can hold some shape. Cheers.

Oh, Stretch large fins set as a quad.

[Wandi]

That's what I wanna hear - Keep the stoke coming! The vast majority of posts I've read on the FW forums are all filled with existential angst about which board, which size and which fins. Let's hear some more Dom love!

Unfortunately, no real surf predicted this weekend, but like the rest of you would probably do when getting a new board, I imagine I will bring it out in the 1-2' dribblers instead of my proper Mal. Water temp is about 70* F (21 C). We don't get too much of that here in SoCal. No wettie

Oh, and I traded down to the 6'4" - sorry, I mean the 604 - from the 606. All this talk about board size got to me.

For some more stoke check out the Noah Snyder Dominator vid on YouTube
I wouldn't stress about going smaller
From most people I see surfing the Dominator I personally think they go too much volume to compensate for their lack of fitness
Personally it gets too hard for my little legs to ride boards to there potential with too much beef
I could have gone a 5'6

[buzzy]

I love my wife, I love my daughter and I love my Dom. The Dom is the best small wave board I've ever had. Lots of stoke here.

[Slowman]

...On a few rides, the board felt solid and lively, on a few others it felt just plain wobbly. Not "loose," not "skatey," just wobbly. ...

That happens if you lean or move too far forward as I recall.

[buzzy]

Yeah, I recall on first surfing the board it didn't seem to have any drive. I found it after a bit of fin experimentation and probably slight adjustments to how I surf the board.

[Herzalot]

Session two today Middle Trestles. Perfect conditions - slight offshore breeze, warm water, sunny skies, not many people out - perfect, except there were no waves. Tried getting the Dominator to dominate the few longboarders in the lineup, but hoisting my 6'4" 210 lb self onto my "little" board in ankle-to-thigh-high waves was nothing short of comical. My 9'2" Robert August Saber was very mad at me for leaving it home on such a perfect day. The waves were good at Lowers, as usual, but competing with 35 uber-surfers scratching for the same takeoff spot is not my scene. Maybe next life.

The Dom will stay in the bag now until the right conditions come around. Cheers!

[prjwebb]

Yeah no point trying to force it. Waist plus with some shape and it'll come alive.

[buzzy]

Yeah, while the Dom can catch smaller waves you really need waist high and above to enjoy it. Today surf reports said 1-2 foot in Oz measurement, around knee high to waist high with an occasional shoulder high set. I found (as usual) that if the Dom has a pocket to turn in, it rocks. It drives and rebounds from turn to turn. If its a complete mush burger the Dom will still surf it, but you can't load up your turns. You need to surf more passively to avoid overloading the board, but it end up just feeling a bit blergh. Rolly polly loose but not for me.

[Herzalot]

We've got swell! Looking forward to a morning of 5-7' to actually test this bad boy. Knubster or thruster - stay tuned for details. I am prepping for tomorrow by pounding down some quality Pinot Noir.

By the way, if you live in SoCal and want to buy my brand new 606 Dom, give me a shout. No, I'm not shipping it to England or Oz, and I don't do pay pal.