board to compliment a 5ft 9 fuego.....

jamese

elfuego 5ft 9. got it for the uk surf for most conditions

5ft 8, 161llbs. intermediate surfer

cant wait to get on it this upcoming weekend. stoked

Just a question.....i have basically cleared out my board collection and and am very tempted to get another board!!

i have sold an old 6ft 4 Almerick Mongrel (bought when learing as a step down from first mal).

I am wanting a board that will be good to take on trips where surf may get more powerful - i.e morocco points etc.

can anyone recommend a firewire model for that? It would be ideal if it was a one board for all, so that could still be used if conditions less than ideal and didnt have the feugo?

hellfire? or straight to flexfire?

any thoughts be greatly received - or other?!

prjwebb

Alternator would be my call, 6'0", or 5'10" If you wanted to push it lower volume, but I think 6'0" would make it work in a wider range of conditions.

jamese

thanks prjwebb

which board from your quiver do you use most?

and what kind of size waves could the 5.9 fuego handle - i am not a charger, so kinda hoping it will work in fair bit - i.e up to solid 5ft?

maybe i could just stick with fuego?

prjwebb

The Elf should work well up to headhigh and slightly overhead conditions. I know guys have been riding them in bigger waves than that but that's not exactly what they were designed for, and although they'll work, they perhaps won't perform as well in those conditions as a board more suited for those conditions.

I went to Morocco in January and took my 6'2" Taj and my 5'8" Spitfire. I had a lot of fun on the Spitfire at Killers and Mysteries but didn't fancy the steep drops behind the rocks at Anchors on it when the swell was up. I used my Taj there and found that it had a little too much rocker for those flatter point waves and wished I was on something like the Alternator.

That said, if you can handle the steep drop on the Elf, it'd probably work really well on the points.

Lately all I'm surfing is my Sub Scorcher. Too much fun, but you can't beat a proper shortboard when the waves call for it. I think that added rail length really helps.

jamese

Morocco - I went a couple times year before last. scored good waves.

going back this march hopefully. was going to take fuego but thought i could do with something else to handle a good sesh if it pumps at boilers etc. overhead anchors is a little out of my league! paddled out there last time and let my self drift down the point to pick of the smaller ones. good fun

will get used to the fuego and test it out in a variety of conditions i reckon

been stressing i should have got the 5f11, but at 5ft 8 and 161llbs reckon 5.9 should be fine- was just worried with a thick winter suit i might be made to work a bit to hard?

prjwebb

Nah 5'9" is a good pick for sure! Boilers is fun but a nightmare getting out the water if it's consistent. Morocco is such a bitch for eating boards haha, definitely a good idea to have a back up there I reckon.

jamese

I mentioned before..i have the opportunity to get hold of a futura at a bargain price - 6ft.

what do you reckon? read some good feedback on here about it.

6ft be a little big or would that be a contender to use in bigger surf/more hollow etc?

wondering seriously whether to get it whilst its a bargain?

what would your thoughts be?

boilers- yes i had to paddle back around the boiler in a rising swell that scared the living...out of me!!

great wave

prjwebb

6'0" Futura might be a bit big. The 5'10" would probably be more like it but if it's a bargain it's probably worth trying and then you can probably sell it back on and make your money back if you don't like it.

It's the one on ebay I presume?

prjwebb

Actually scrap that, the 6'0 looks like a good volume for ya.

jamese

yeh. not yours is it!!? ha

prjwebb

ha! nah i just check ebay quite often incase a bargain presents it's self!

jamese

do you rate the futura as a board? do you reckon it would be an unecessary duplication of the fuego, or will it offer something different? should i just save for an alternator?

im not a charger, so i thought futura may be good

prjwebb

It'll be a good step up from the El Fuego for bigger stuff, but at the same time probably feel quite familiar.

I'm not sure how much of a benefit over the El Fuego it'll have though in the every day waves you'll probably be surfing.

How much have you ridden the El F? I'd spend a bit of time on it and try and nail down where you see it's short comings. If you find it suits you fine right up to the biggest days you go out in but struggle a little on the smallest days then it could be a better option to look at boards for surfing small junk. On the other hand it might fly for you in the small stuff and big stuff but you want something for when it's sucky low tide barrels and then something with more rocker would be worth looking into. On the other hand it might suit you for everything and you might not want anything!

goanna

Hi guys, I was in exactly the same situation as you. I had and thoroughly enjoyed my ElFuego but found out that I could ride it in bigger waves but had to nurse it a lot - still went well though. I also got a Futura and it answered all my prayers for these type waves. I find that I can push it as hard as my ability can dish out (which may not be that much now that I think about it!) and it answers the call every single time. Still amazed at the stability through every part of a turn every surf.
For me it seemed a natural progression from the ELf to the Futura because of slight shape similarities but I found they rode very different (Sorry prjwebb) The El Fuego being a whippy wave catching pocket smashing speed machine and the Futura drawing my turns out allowing me to surf more top to bottom with speed and amazing stability.
I ended up selling the El Fuego to someone that didn't believe the FW hype until he rode it and made me an offer on the spot - I miss her though but the Futura compliments my Sweet Potato beautifully in everything from 1ft mush upwards.
My tip is to get the Futura as it is flat under the chest for paddling but has that nice kick in the refined tail to perform.
The Futura is an amazing board.

Gnubee

It has pretty much been said, but If I was going for a board to compliment my El Fuego, I'd look to an Alternator. I have taken the El Fuego out in waves well overhead and it was a blast. A bit sketch on the bigger drops, but wickedly fun. I think that on all but the steepest, hollowest waves, the Elf should be good to go up to just over head high.

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