I’m fighting with whether or not to get a Bonzer 5. Surfing exclusively in Florida I’m not sure we get the power and lines that a Bonzer needs to really show its magic. I emailed the Campbell brothers and got the typical response that their boards work in all conditions (which I find particularly annoying, no single surfboard is perfect in all conditions). Anyone riding a Bonzer in Florida? Would they even work in some of our bigger hurricane and winter surf? I’d hate to get it and not be able to surf it properly. Any help would be appreciated.
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It’s gonna depend on the shape more than the fins I would go with a mini merc or pod/bee shape I have got some pretty heavy barrels in Florida on my Bonzers but I made them for me so I already liked the outlines. I think a fishy shape as a twin or quad and a bonzer for beter days would suite u
I surfed a bonzer in Bill... 5'8
But it is my go-to board anyway because of the width and as Girvin said, fishyish shape (20.5" and wide nose, thumb tail)
Bonzer step-up worked great in New Jersey Beach Break.
It is a proven fact, that the closer you get to the Bermuda triangle a Bonzer just gets better. So it really depends on what part of Florida are we talking about.
Look DD, a bonzer would work great in Lake Michigan. But the waves have to be good.
(Good like in the 7Ghosts river in Indonesia. Well… maybe not THAT good.)
Same goes for Florida.
Compared with California, Mexico, Hawaii, Australia, etcetcetc, those days of the year when it would show its magic will most probably be more scarce.
Nevertheless, if it happens and your bonzer works great for one session, then it was worth it. Kind of like predicting when the next huge earthquake or meteor will hit.
By the way, I’ve never ridden a bonzer. I am in Puerto Rico, and we get surfable waves basically year-round (with a few flat spells that may last up to 3 weeks).
If you come to PR, maybe you’d like to have one shaped here for a winter trip (lots of Florida surfers hybernate in PR for the winter months).
Hope this helps…
Some Ventura, CA Bonzer rider input would probably be helpful. Since that was/is the geographical pocket of Bonzer die hards.
Like what do the guys think of riding a 5-fin on mushy , crappy shoulder+ days in Calif. beachbreak.
Although its likely they have a bonzer made with length for serious days, and a crappy waves shorter board for the rest.
The few friends that I had with Bonzers were chargers and the Bonzer was there go to board for more serious surf.
Since your not a traveling man, I’d say ditch the Bonzer idea and let your mind travel elsewhere.
BUMPO!
I have three bonzers here in Flordia. 5'10" Bee & Octafish, Work in all conditions, Get one,or better yet make one.
I’ve had Larry Mayo shape me 3 different Bonzers and they all worked, I even used them over on the Gulf Coast, 2 of them were Eggs, the other a Dimond Tail.
A bonzer is basically a fin setup. So your question is like asking if a quad, thruster, single fin, etc… would work in FLA. The answer is “depends on the shapeof the board”. I would say any kind of shape and sized board that you would normally ride at home would do quite well as a bonzer. I think that is what the Campbells were trying to tell you. I have ridden all the common fin setups, and my overwhelming favorite overall setup is the bonzer. It has a blend of the singlefin trim and the power off the bottom of a thruster, only the power boost lasts throughout the turn, vs only the initial pump like on a thruster. Bonzers seem to really provide good drive all the way around a turn, ESPECIALLY IN THAT IN BETWEEN SPOT IN A CUTBACK WHERE OTHER SETUPS BOG OUT. If you watch footage of people (who know how to ride them) on bonzers you will see that they tend to do smooth, continuous arcs versus the “double pump” turns that you see all the rippers do on thrusters. That is because there is NO DEAD SPOT on the bonzer during a turn. There is good footage on the internet of Taylor Knox and the Jones brothers ripping on bonzers recently. Check it out.
Contrary to popular belief, they work GREAT in mushy waves, and turning in mush. I surf waves that very from barrel to burger back to barrel, sometimes all on the same wave, and I have the best results on my bonzers overall. And I must say that I can use all the help that I can get!
Hope that helps.
If you WANT a 5 FIN BONZER,GET a 5 FIN BONZER!!! IT’S REALLY THAT SIMPLE!.No regrets.Life is so short.
I had a Bonzer in 1971.I got a 5 fin bonzer in Oct. 2009. And proceeded to have a blast the last two winters,and last summer also,screaming in Ecstasy!YEAH! As big as 15-16 foot faces,or shoulder high,you can spot my grin from far away.GO AHEAD.
Helped me plenty.
Thanks.
I’ve had three bonzers, all homemade. One is magic. The others have issues not related to the bonzer set up. So what has been said about the bonzers, that the shape matters , I’ll second. I was going to write that they prefer a pocket or a little steepness to the wave, but that may be me. What board doesn’t work better in punchier waves?
One thing I definitely feel about the bonzer is that it smooths out your style. I’ve been riding my other shortboard after riding a bonzer for the last few weeks. This board is snappier. The bonzer is smoother. To use an analogy that almost nobody really understands anymore, it’s like the difference between slalom skis and giant slalom skis. One is zip zap zip zap zip zap. The other is swoosh, swoosh, swoosh. Different strokes for different stokes…
Why do want a Bonzer? What do expect from it? What level of surfer are you?
I find it interesting that so many people will get a board because of all the wrong reasons. If you don’t know anyone riding a bonzer, or see anyone riding them where you surf, they may not be the right thing.
Have you ever seen anyone riding a Griffin 5 fin fish where you surf? I have 2 and they will work very well in small mushy waves, and handle when the waves get powerful. One of a few designs that I can honestly say has no dead spot. I have ridden them in knee high mush up to double overhead barrels. You just have to learn how to control the speed as the waves start getting bigger and more powerful.
I have a self made 5 fin Bonzer egg and it’s fun, but I have not ridden one made by the Campbell brothers. I have used that bottom design on several boards with and without the bonzer fin setup, and I like it. It works with thruster setup and I’ve used it with a 2+1 on 8’ eggs. My brother has a 10’ longboard with the bonzer bottom and it was an incredible board when it was in it’s prime. Originally made as a thruster, it now is a single fin.
I think someone else mentioned that it’s overall board’s shape that will be important, the bonzer bottom is icing on the cake.