Mini Simmons
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- Cpt.Caveman
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Mini Simmons
I have been seeing more and more of these on the internet, but have never seen one in the surf, nor have I heard much about them. Has anyone here ridden one? Whats the ride and the feel like? Any opinions?
http://mini-simmons.blogspot.com/
http://mini-simmons.blogspot.com/
Davros wrote:Ego saved - surfing experience rubbish.
Re: Mini Simmons
Theres probably a reason you've never seen one in the surf..Cpt.Caveman wrote:I have been seeing more and more of these on the internet, but have never seen one in the surf, nor have I heard much about them. Has anyone here ridden one? Whats the ride and the feel like? Any opinions?
http://mini-simmons.blogspot.com/
- Cpt.Caveman
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Re: Mini Simmons
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKgK_Gd-81w
I tend to like my boards to have more modern pulled in tails and conventional fin placement, even if its a twinny. It looks like it does a pretty good job of holding speed though!
I tend to like my boards to have more modern pulled in tails and conventional fin placement, even if its a twinny. It looks like it does a pretty good job of holding speed though!
Davros wrote:Ego saved - surfing experience rubbish.
Re: Mini Simmons
Stuart Paterson at PCC surfboards has shaped a few recently, has one you can demo, it's about 5'10 x 22 x 2 5/8 from memory. Diverse is doing them too.
My mate took one for a test ride a while back... Great paddler, fast and loose as a goose....
My mate took one for a test ride a while back... Great paddler, fast and loose as a goose....
Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.
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Re: Mini Simmons
I think it looks like fun actually. Considering how gutless the waves are he looks like hes going super fast and using that speed well, particularly with the shorter one (5'2"?) in the second part of the video. I would much prefer to own one of these instead of a mal for uninteresting gutless days.
Davros wrote:Ego saved - surfing experience rubbish.
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Re: Mini Simmons
As far as I understand they are usually over 20" wide and over 2 1/2" thick, and it would paddle better and carry more speed than a more standard short board template because there is more volume and planing area directly underneath your feet, especially the back foot.
You could make it standard by drawing the volume out more like a typical HPS, but then it would be a very different ride and wash a lot more speed off through turns. Modern rails, tail planshapes and rocker are designed to cause drag when you use back foot pressure to dig into the wave and turn. Drag is not the intended principle in these boards, glide is what I'm guessing they're trying to get at, and then to regain the ability to turn they use twin feels set very far back..
Once again, for gutless waves I would have far more fun on a Mini Simmons shaped for my height and weight compared with a typical HPS bloated out to provide the float required, or a mal.
Always playing the fun police dino, you seem to have it set out in your head that there are only very few types of boards that people "should" ride, and what constitutes a "good" board. Very unagreeable you are sir.
You could make it standard by drawing the volume out more like a typical HPS, but then it would be a very different ride and wash a lot more speed off through turns. Modern rails, tail planshapes and rocker are designed to cause drag when you use back foot pressure to dig into the wave and turn. Drag is not the intended principle in these boards, glide is what I'm guessing they're trying to get at, and then to regain the ability to turn they use twin feels set very far back..
Once again, for gutless waves I would have far more fun on a Mini Simmons shaped for my height and weight compared with a typical HPS bloated out to provide the float required, or a mal.
Always playing the fun police dino, you seem to have it set out in your head that there are only very few types of boards that people "should" ride, and what constitutes a "good" board. Very unagreeable you are sir.
Davros wrote:Ego saved - surfing experience rubbish.
Re: Mini Simmons
I 've been surfing since 1958 (positively ancient) gone from Balsa pig boards, through the stock standard 9'6" mal through Vee and saw off as much as you can ,foley boards, Simmons hulls, McTavish San Juaners, Jack Knight Dimple channels, Chinese chop shop shit so many are now retro to me.
I accept that some at the time were state of the art, some were worth revisiting with modern tweaks,.
Mostly I wonder why people go back to designs that were superceded as not doing their job.
We all forget that the genius of the great riders is used to sell boards to those who wish they could.
Few succeed.
I'm all for the cashed up older novice buying and then failing on their own merits as quickly as possible.
I love the line I hear from my land bound contemporaries " Yeah I tried it when I was young just couldn't get into it " or "OH I stopped got too old for it'. WTF sad but true and crowd lessening!
I enjoy surfing with my contemporaries who can surf:lol:
I accept that some at the time were state of the art, some were worth revisiting with modern tweaks,.
Mostly I wonder why people go back to designs that were superceded as not doing their job.
We all forget that the genius of the great riders is used to sell boards to those who wish they could.
Few succeed.
I'm all for the cashed up older novice buying and then failing on their own merits as quickly as possible.
I love the line I hear from my land bound contemporaries " Yeah I tried it when I was young just couldn't get into it " or "OH I stopped got too old for it'. WTF sad but true and crowd lessening!
I enjoy surfing with my contemporaries who can surf:lol:
Jaffa, I'm opinionated, and I'm sometimes right. So?
Re: Mini Simmons
I'd rather be a cashed up older novice than a broke cranky old fart.
Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.
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Re: Mini Simmons
Can't quite see the difference between those and a retro fish myself except its a squaretail. The guys got a nice smooth style. Makes it look good. A typical bandy legged little shortarse wave jockey.
Reminds me of a Balinese guy I saw riding the full fish model at Medewi a couple of tears ago. Driving from way behind the white water on his turns and effortlessly cruising out on the face to do it again.
Reminds me of a Balinese guy I saw riding the full fish model at Medewi a couple of tears ago. Driving from way behind the white water on his turns and effortlessly cruising out on the face to do it again.
Put your big boy pants on
I mean, tastebuds? WGAF?
I mean, tastebuds? WGAF?
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Re: Mini Simmons
Looks like in the right hands it can be pretty capable - http://thetylerwarrenexperiments.blogsp ... oting.html
Davros wrote:Ego saved - surfing experience rubbish.
Re: Mini Simmons
yeah, the yanks are all over this one. I often read the surfer mag design forums, and there's stuff there about the "mini-sim". Doesn't appeal to me, but it takes all types.
the tools of the trade are the head and the heart - mission of burma
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Re: Mini Simmons
Dino is right about the conditions required but has his sub-species conflated : this isn't a craft for the cashed up novice. This is the craft du jour for the hipster longboarder, with style and body english to burn who wants to take wave-riding hipsterism to a whole new level. And I say that with absolutely no malice or cynicism whatsoever.
yes the Yanks are all over this : they're perfect for SoCal points and Baja missions.
But the avant-garde of this design and perhaps a new tangent for HPS is Dan Thomson from sleepy ol Lennox Head.
Dan or Tomo as he prefers to be known in professional circles, has taken modern shortboard principles and Simmon's planing hull planshapes and shrunk them down into tiny micro planing hulls that he is absolutely ripping the bag on.
Kidman is another one experimenting down this road, in his case blending Australian shortboard circa '72 principles (particularly MP's boards) with channel bottoms and wide tail single fins. ( i expect a full exposition in his latest film which he is editing).
I've ridden his boards and they are fast as fcuk and require a very precise approach as far as edge control goes.
It's a very different ride, I could see how it could become addictive.
These things are a world away from chinese made boats for Mac Bank execs......and it needs to be said here that both Luke Short and Simon Anderson have jumped on that bandwagon.
Good luck to them, I hope they make some coin out of it.
It's a free country.
yes the Yanks are all over this : they're perfect for SoCal points and Baja missions.
But the avant-garde of this design and perhaps a new tangent for HPS is Dan Thomson from sleepy ol Lennox Head.
Dan or Tomo as he prefers to be known in professional circles, has taken modern shortboard principles and Simmon's planing hull planshapes and shrunk them down into tiny micro planing hulls that he is absolutely ripping the bag on.
Kidman is another one experimenting down this road, in his case blending Australian shortboard circa '72 principles (particularly MP's boards) with channel bottoms and wide tail single fins. ( i expect a full exposition in his latest film which he is editing).
I've ridden his boards and they are fast as fcuk and require a very precise approach as far as edge control goes.
It's a very different ride, I could see how it could become addictive.
These things are a world away from chinese made boats for Mac Bank execs......and it needs to be said here that both Luke Short and Simon Anderson have jumped on that bandwagon.
Good luck to them, I hope they make some coin out of it.
It's a free country.
I want Nightclub Dwight dead in his grave I want the nice-nice up in blazes
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Re: Mini Simmons
Some reviews from the Surfermag forum. It sounds like people are starting to blend the Mini Simmons with modern design principles, and with quite a few happy customers. The question is, are they stoked to be "alternative" and "different" (as seems to be popular in the US), or is it actually the functional board that they claim?
http://forum.surfermag.com/forum/showfl ... n=0&page=8
Some pretty wild and out-there looking things at Dan Thomo's website, sounds like hes going a pretty unique direction - http://www.dantomo.com/
http://forum.surfermag.com/forum/showfl ... n=0&page=8
Some pretty wild and out-there looking things at Dan Thomo's website, sounds like hes going a pretty unique direction - http://www.dantomo.com/
Last edited by Cpt.Caveman on Wed Jul 07, 2010 1:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Davros wrote:Ego saved - surfing experience rubbish.
Re: Mini Simmons
http://surf-knot.blogspot.com/
I had no real care or desire to ride these boards until recently. I was in Japan and we all had no logs with us- only option were Tyler's Mini Simmonds quiver. Keep in mind these were highly tuned planks of foam- refined in the right places.
They went well, given we did have 2 feet slopey yet fast waves..not hollow- just rolling.
Dino, i know where ya coming from totally- they miss alot of good sections that you can harness on a more pulled in tail fish- then again you can GET to alot more sections by sheer speed of the board...its got a purpose as do Discplacement Hulls. I think these are more versatile for Sydney though.
I had no real care or desire to ride these boards until recently. I was in Japan and we all had no logs with us- only option were Tyler's Mini Simmonds quiver. Keep in mind these were highly tuned planks of foam- refined in the right places.
They went well, given we did have 2 feet slopey yet fast waves..not hollow- just rolling.
Dino, i know where ya coming from totally- they miss alot of good sections that you can harness on a more pulled in tail fish- then again you can GET to alot more sections by sheer speed of the board...its got a purpose as do Discplacement Hulls. I think these are more versatile for Sydney though.
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Re: Mini Simmons
what: the mini-sims or the hulls?
I want Nightclub Dwight dead in his grave I want the nice-nice up in blazes
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Re: Mini Simmons
No offense to Dan in particular but I really feel my age when I read how a lot of people describe themselves and what they do these days. I would probably have done the same thing myself at 20 but someone would have told me to pull my head in. I'm not saying its good or bad just totally different. Obviously you also couldn't publicise what you thought quite so easily.
Put your big boy pants on
I mean, tastebuds? WGAF?
I mean, tastebuds? WGAF?
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- barnacle
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Re: Mini Simmons
Dan Thomo has some pretty wild theories that he explains here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_27ldD8zd8E
Isn't he just taking a horribly long winded way to explain the fact that when you increase the surface area of the tail in a surfboard (e.g. by going wider), the board floats better under your feet (i.e. generates lift?).
Anyone here versed in hydrodynamics enough to comment on his theories?
Isn't he just taking a horribly long winded way to explain the fact that when you increase the surface area of the tail in a surfboard (e.g. by going wider), the board floats better under your feet (i.e. generates lift?).
Anyone here versed in hydrodynamics enough to comment on his theories?
Davros wrote:Ego saved - surfing experience rubbish.
Re: Mini Simmons
I was staying with his father, Mark while overseas. I think that is where Daniel would get his theories from, clearly they are onto something. Whether or not people accept them, they are hell bent on their ideas which i dont think is a bad thing.
His fathers surf mat is pretty insane. Super fast, super technical...all the theory into it makes me sick to think about.
http://www.kryptsurf.com/SURFMAT.htm
His fathers surf mat is pretty insane. Super fast, super technical...all the theory into it makes me sick to think about.
http://www.kryptsurf.com/SURFMAT.htm
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