I don’t post a lot on this forum, although i read it all the time and enjoy learning from the posts. I am considering getting a new board, and am stuck between two choices: a quad fish (like the Speeddialer) or a 2+1 shortboard (6’6" range, sort of like retro single just with 2+1)… I live in New Jersey, and surf your typical new jersey waves. My shortboard is beat up and need a new board that will fill its spot. I’m 6’2" 200#. I don’t really know the differences between how each board performs, although i have heard different reviews from several friends. Any advice on which board would be best suited for me, the conditions, and style of surfing would be great.
hey rightcoaster, a friend of mine had the dialer and loved it, he was gonna let me try it but sold it before i got the chance. He claims there was a preformance barrier on the board and needed a Very High Preformance Thruster to replace it in addition to money to shape. I think that lokbox has shown that the preformance barrier is much higher than most people surf, it would seem he has NOT reached it. The fish was also in NJ and he said it worked in just about all the conditions he rode it in from overhead hollow barrels to knee highslop. If you do decide to get the fish make sure with the shaper that the board is the right volume for your size and skill level. It is very frustrating riding a board that could be ridden much more effectively if it didn’t have all that float.
If i were you i would get the quad fish hands down over the 2+1 because the fin set up will work a lot better for Jersey waves.
pavel’s shapes are the coolest I demo’d them at the fish fry. The way they are shaped is they aren’t as front foot oriented as other fish or quad designs (CI fish was similar to pavels). But they will spin out or you’ll fall off if you try to surf it like a thruster. Or you’ll blow the wave and the quad won’t race down the line . . . the back foot kills the boards speed.
Can’t go wrong with a pavel*. caveat But fishes you need to surf off your front foot, I wasn’t surfer enough to fully realize that. Maybe if I had one, I’d be able to surf more . . .
With the 2+1 . . . its easier to transition, since you have a thruster background and get shaped to handle small waves . . . And a single can be ridden off the back foot.
I think, for the waves around here, the Speed Dialer is the way to go if you’re coming off a thruster and want a higher “performance” board. Lets face it… most of the surf around here is under head high…hell, maybe even under chest high! The single fin with the extra sidebites might beg for better waves, while the fish will keep you stoked even when it’s small.
I’m not much of a surfer, and I’m 6’2", 190 lbs, and my 6’0" fish takes me pretty much everywhere I want to go. I hardly even use my longboard anymore. The only problem I have is that it’s harder to duckdive than a regular shortboard (fatter outline? more foam?), therefore on heavier OH waves it’s a bit of a pain. other than that, it’s super fun.
If you skateboard on ramps and bowls, here’s my way to describe the Fish/Thruster difference:
-Surfing a thruster is more like doing kickturns (back foot), a fish will throw you into high speed, drawn out carve (weight evenly balanced between feet). It’s also more like snowboarding.