RealSurf Surfers' Forum

I've recently turned my attention to the firewire EVO. By all indications, it seems a 5'6 is the recommended size for someone of my size and experience. I'm 5'10 x 80kg, intermediate. Normal shorty is a 6'0 x 19.6 x 2.52 (31.3L) thruster.

The recommendation is: if you're in between sizes, go the bigger one. The 5'5 x 19 1/2 x 2 1/2is 30.5L. 5'6 x 19 3/4 x 2 9/16 is 32.2L.

I don't like getting hung up on volume as we all know it's not the be all and end all of surfboard design. what concerns me most is the length.
All the reviews obviously have nothing but nice things to say.

Positives:
They seem to cover a wide range of conditions.
The seem suited to the beaches/reefs I surf around sydney.
Durablity
It's always nice to try something new.

Questionables:
6'0 to 5'6 is a big jump in length. (Even my Fish is only a 5'8)
Will the 5'6 EVO paddle like my 6'0 shorty?

I'm telling myself that the board will work well because it's just a shorty with the nose cut off, with more parallel rails to increase the wetted surface area.

Any feedback on your experience would we welcomed.

I've not ridden one, but i'm intrigued by the design and have had a few other tomo's. Have you rang any shops for a demo? At that size - i think you could got hold of one. Natural Necessity in Gerringong (i know it's a good trip from Sydney) has one around that size to demo (from memory).

Ring first and they'll tell you what sizes they've got, and also other shapes. Full credit to them, heaps of try out boards and usually have a few boards for the bigger gent too. Evo looks like a wake skate. Have had mucho fun on my mates wake skate and be cool to try one.

Yeah getting to Gerringong is a bit of a mission. Hard to get a day to yourself with a young family.
Might do a ring around though.

I'm 20mins away and struggle lol.

Aloha Manly???

saltman wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 24, 2017 8:48 am

Feedback from my neighbor with one
Highly recommends as
Really liked the speed and ride.
Paddling in open water was a bit of a chore but not a real problem 95% of his surfs are beaches

Thanks for that. Paddling is one of my biggest concerns with something that short.
Guess I'll have to go down the demo path.

batoes wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 24, 2017 10:03 am

Aloha Manly???

jet lives in the shire. it would be at least the same time if not faster to bolt to geringong!

leave early jet, youll be home before they even miss you!

Excuse my ignorance gents, but what defines a "modern planing hull"?
Dummy's version

It's a surfboard with planers on the bottom. The more you rev them the faster you go!

Quicker if you google than me explain and I'll probably be wrong lol

brendo wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 25, 2017 1:00 pm

batoes wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 24, 2017 10:03 am

Aloha Manly???

jet lives in the shire. it would be at least the same time if not faster to bolt to geringong!

leave early jet, youll be home before they even miss you!

yes - gerringong for sure - and grab a wave on the way back to the nulla.

It's funny. Everytime I think about getting a short (as in sub 6'0) shortboard model, the surf pumps (this arvo at the point was the best I've seen for years. 3-5Ft 16secs south swell barrels), and I realise what a shit paddler I am and how I rely on volume and length to get in. Only made a few drops on the 6'0, was spewing too as I had the 6'2 in the car, but as I was running out of sunlight I didn't go and do the board change.
Maybe I'm better off looking at the SKX rather than the EVO so it's a little more short boardish.

Nah I've gotta give it a crack.

So i have ridden a few tomo boards. A psycho 5'0, 18, 2 1/4 twin fin, a richter, 5'2, 17 3/4, 2 1/4 and a v4 5'4, 19, 2 3/8. The first two were brilliant once on the wave, but good lord, paddling was hard work - not getting onto waves - but just moving about. The MPH design is weird like that. You can be on a toothpick, but you will catch waves. The v4 was a good wave board - but again, paddling a 5'4 into large waves takes more skill than i had. I rode it in tahiti, for example, and once into the wave, it was the fastest board i've probably owned, but you had to push hard. There is a commonality in the MPH his boards and that is get them short and they will be fast. I destroyed the psycho and the richter, which were both poly and really lightly glassed. The v4 was xtr and invincible, but i sold it because you could only really use the board in head high stuff.

For reference, i currently have a sci fi - 5'7, 18 3/4, 2 3/8 - but it really doesn't feel like a MPH. It is more like a traditional HP shortboard. It doesn't have that insane speed or drive or skatey-ness of an MPH. It is a top to bottom pocket dweller, which is perfect for where i surf quite a bit. It has tomo's funky bottom and that creates a really easy-to-turn board and provides some lift, but you have to work the board hard to get it up to speed. It is rockered, both in nose and tail, so it paddles ok, but not that great. The LFT tech feels very good under foot, not stiff like xtr.

Long story short, for punchy little beach breaks that require little paddling - i'd get a evo - Shoes would be a good spot. But if you are riding the point and or have longer paddles - then maybe something else, BUT, you may not get the true tomo feel from the skx.

JET01 wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 25, 2017 8:01 pm

It's funny. Everytime I think about getting a short (as it sub 6'0) shortboard model, the surf pumps (this arvo at the point was the best I've seen for years. 3-5Ft 16secs south swell barrels), and I realise what a shit paddler I am and how I rely on volume and length to get in. Only made a few drops on the 6'0, was spewing too as I had the 6'2 in the car, but as I was running out of sunlight I didn't go and do the board change.
Maybe I'm better off looking at the SKX rather than the EVO so it's a little more short boardish.

You mention paddling into waves at Cronulla Point.
In the 70's some board makers in the Cronulla area were making a surfboard specifically for catching waves at Cronulla Point.
The theory was to have as much weight in the forward half of the board as possible to make those sucky take offs, they did this by going to the extreme by putting the wide point 3/4 of the way up from the tail.
Seem to recall Peter Glasson even calling them Point boards.

marauding mullet wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 25, 2017 1:24 pm

Excuse my ignorance gents, but what defines a "modern planing hull"?
Dummy's version

Design wise, flatter rocker.
Feel wise, the skatey, faster, up on top of the water, feel of the flatter rocker.

Observed one being surfed really well at a mid north coast point break, and the only negative was the lower tail rocker made cut backs more difficult.

Would Kelly's current boards be considered to be MPHs and is this the reason his surfing has lost its edge, that is the flat tail rocker takes away from the smooth transition and flow of maneuvers and promotes a shorter, jerky style (read lack of)?

Design wise, the principal feature is a short, parallel (rectangular) planing hull.

This is based off Lindsey Lords Naval Architecture of Planing Hulls who basically devised that a rectangular planing hull had the best characteristics of lift and low drag.