Can anyone explain how they ride differently and what the advantages and disadvantages are of each? Thanks
Hi RodH, Matt Calvanti of Bing surfboards has a Bonzer Quad combo using Probox finsystems that I heard looks insane and rides great from the Icons Surf Guys. Matt’s email at Bing is Sales@Classicbingsurfboards.com Hopes this helps!
hi mate !
…IF you make a fish with enough plugs to try both setups ,
then you can find out for yourself
both designs in my opinion and [limited] experience , are fun fun fun
cheers !
ben
I have limited experience of quads and a lot of bonzers. My only quad is a wide fishie one and my bonzers range from eggs to semi-guns. My quad is really loose and flies through the flats (its 21" wide) It lacks a small bit of drive in the second half of a top turn. I ride it head high and under where you can skate all over the wave.
My bonzers only show their true colours in head high plus or a well shaped wave. Once they turn on I feel I can do anything I want on a wave.
With all the rail fin area, they are both really stable in hollow conditions.
For me my 5’10" X 21" quad and my 6’10" X 19" bonzer complement each other perfectly
I have a 5’9" quad fish and a 6’3" performance shaped, diamond tail bonzer. They are very much different boards with very different outlines and rockers and such. Both are very fast - in different conditions. I ride the quad pretty often (I live in South Florida) and almost never get to ride the bonzer. Here’s my take: The quad is really fast in everything mushy, hollow, big, small, whatever - it has speed to spare. It turns really, really well in mushy surf or hollow, sectiony surf, but I find that in long, lined up, hollow surf, it doesn’t want to turn - it’s great for taking high lines and racing the lip and such but doesn’t like a turn in those conditions. I think that the board might actually be too fast in certain conditions.
The bonzer is fast as anything in hollow surf, but as soon as I get it in a flat section or overrun the pocket, it’s magic turns off. I’ve tried the board in chest to head high surf with poor results. The board sucks in mushy waves (slow and won’t turn), but if it’s overhead, fast, and hollow, the board is outstanding - very stable in the pocket or inside a barrel, loves a full rail carve on a meaty section, great good wave board.
I suppose it just depends on what waves you will be riding with the board and what you want to do with the board.
Thanks for all the REPLY’S guys!! Sounds like the Bonzer is really similar to a traditional thruster, with maybe a bit more float and less rocker, while the Quad fish is more like a traditional twin fish with lots of speed and a bit more hold in bigger surf.
I am really wanting to try a quad fish and may get one shaped, I just really want to make sure it is floaty enough for slower breaks (Churches) and really mushy stuff, but also hold enough for some head high Trestles or Salt Creek. Wave count and length of the ride are more important to me that getting verical or getting air on a wave (I am old). Thinking about maybe a big size like 6’4" or 6’6".
Fredman, i’d be really interested in hearing more about and
seeing more of your high-perf. bonzer… maybe you could
post some pics and description on this thread…
thanks in advance
I own a speed dialer and a traditional fish outline that were both shaped by Pavel and are quads. The speed dialer is fast and turns on a dime, the traditional outline likes more arcing lines…there are to many variables.
I own the bonzers posted on Chris P’s link. The small “stubby” one is a similiar template to a traditional fish. That board flies in everything but really comes alive in walled up surf! In comparing them I would say the bonzer has more hold and the quad has more release. Both generate a ton of speed! Get both!
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I own a speed dialer and a traditional fish outline that were both shaped by Pavel and are quads. The speed dialer is fast and turns on a dime, the traditional outline likes more arcing lines…there are to many variables.
I’d love to hear more about the differences between these 2 boards. I am now planning on a quad fish, just need to dial in the specs and decide if I should make it more of a newer style fish, or traditional.
I’ll do my best to try to figure out how to get some pictures on here in the next couple of days (my days off).
The only digital camera I have is on my macbook, and I’ve never really used it; so, we’ll see how it goes.
Cheers
The speed dialer is a performance oriented fish. The board has the speed of a traditional fish and the manueverability of a shortboard. I only ride it when the surf is on! This is my good wave board it’s more pulled in. It works in smaller surf but I own other boards for small conditions. It’s 5’5" x 19 3/4 x 2 1/4. Around 16" in the nose and tail.
The traditional outline flat out flies! The main difference since it’s flatter than the speed dialer is the board likes more drawn out turnd. It generates speed in the smallest conditions. I find since it’s a quad it has better release than my twin keel. For the majority of days I see in South Florida this is the board! it works in mush and skates through the flat spots. It’s 5’7" x 21" x 2 3/4"…about. Around 17" in the nose and tail.
I can post pictures if this will help.
thanks Fredman.
one easy way to put large photos on a post is to set up a free account at photobucket.com.
load your pics on there and then you can copy and paste them into your post and the pics
will show up in your actual post.
good luck. and thanks again.
consider looking into a Twinzer shaped by Larry Mabile, who is currently producing them under the Swift label that I know of.
seems to be an amazing combination of many good things, I can’t get enough of my Larmo Twinzer Fish right now~!
ymmv, KK
rodH,
I have both boards here in San Clemente. If you'd like to check them out give me a call at 492-7171.
Bonzer is Malcomb and Ducan Campbell trademark for a bottom contour and fin package that they can apply to all types of different surfboard shapes from pigs to guns.
A fish quad is a specific category of design that lots of different shapers are exploring.
Bonzers by design carry around alot of fin area and are great when you have plenty of power to burn. But, I usually won’t break mine out until the reefs are going off.
My quad is really fun in small to medium relatively slopey waves. But, when the waves start sucking out it becomes more challenging to ride.
So, in my spectrum of quiver choices, if I feel I need to generate more power the quad is a good pick. When I’m right in my favorite power band I still love my thruster. And, when I’d like to control the extra power and still be ultra manueverable out comes the Bonzer.
What are the dimensions of the QUAD? I might be interested in checking it out. I went out to uppers yesterday, would have been a great day if we had a couple more feet 
I took out my thruster and felt like if I had a fish, it would have been a bit better in the small stuff.
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rodH,
I have both boards here in San Clemente. If you'd like to check them out give me a call at 492-7171.Bonzer is Malcomb and Ducan Campbell trademark for a bottom contour and fin package that they can apply to all types of different surfboard shapes from pigs to guns.
A fish quad is a specific category of design that lots of different shapers are exploring.
Bonzers by design carry around alot of fin area and are great when you have plenty of power to burn. But, I usually won’t break mine out until the reefs are going off.
My quad is really fun in small to medium relatively slopey waves. But, when the waves start sucking out it becomes more challenging to ride.
So, in my spectrum of quiver choices, if I feel I need to generate more power the quad is a good pick. When I’m right in my favorite power band I still love my thruster. And, when I’d like to control the extra power and still be ultra manueverable out comes the Bonzer.
I’m 6’5" and 185 and it’s just a bit floaty for me a 6’2" and 21" probably 2-5/8". But, for small Trestles it’s extremely fun. It’s at home right now. But, if you let me know when you’ll be around I’ll bring it down to work.
INteresting, I was thinking of going bigger, 6’4"-6’6" so I could take it to churches when my longboard buddies want to go out, but at the sametime have if be stable enough to take it out to trestles as well. I weigh 175, but have really short arms and smaller hands, so my paddling power isn’t as good as it should be. You think 6’4"-6’6" is still too long? (btw, I have a 6’10"X 2.7"X19.5" thruster that is still hard for me to paddle sometimes, so a 6’4" board sounds so small to me still).
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I’m 6’5" and 185 and it’s just a bit floaty for me a 6’2" and 21" probably 2-5/8". But, for small Trestles it’s extremely fun. It’s at home right now. But, if you let me know when you’ll be around I’ll bring it down to work.
My everyday thruster is 6’6" 19-5/8" X 2-5/8" and the fish floats me higher definitely more foam. I’ve got long arms and usually no problem catching anything from the outside at Lowers.
oldskool – great to read your take on the differences between the speed dialer and the fuller template quad fish.
what’s your height and weight? are you running regular speed dialer fins in both or have you tried the turbos?
post pics if you can!
RodH,
I recently picked up a 6’6" x 22" x 3" Larry Mabile Twinzer when he shaped under the Kane garden label.
I’m 6’3" 200#, without wetsuit. live in San Clemente and surf the same spots you do…
this board has changed my entire outlook on surfing and what type of board to use, I can’t believe I didn’t get something like this earlier. don’t be afraid to go up to 6’6", all my friends kept telling me to go 6’-6’2" and I kept going back to the shop and picking the board up and saying to myself, this seems to be the perfect size. turns out it is…I’ve surfed The Point and Old Man’s on 1’-2’ days and am catching waves right alongside longboarders, I think I’m more amazed than they are. I’ve surfed @ Middles on a head-high day and it just did all sorts of fun things. I’m still getting the feel of it but this board has put the stoke back in surfing for me and I just want to go surf it all day every day…
I did modify the fin set-up [see the other thread KG Twinzer] and that seemed to make the board work even better!
Larmo now shapes under the Swift label, you can check them at http://theswiftmovement.com/
seems to me that a Quad or Twinzer fin setup on a Fish template is an exceptionally fine combination for smaller waves under 6’
good luck!