Quivers under the microscope

The profile vid on Craig Anderson 'Slow Dance' show cases the conditions in which the Hypto Krypto can be put in. It not only shows the versatility of the Hypto it also shows off the whole Hayden range. It is a must watch. In this clip Craig runs through his quiver that is featured in the movie. Enjoy.

DHD's Puzzle Piece

Puzzle Piece (Swallow Tail)

Intro to board

Over the years I haven't had the best luck with boards from Darren Handley I would try the top fanning models over and over. To me and many others they went backwards, for some reason they didn't work on the flatter waves of Victoria. This bought me too the Puzzle Piece a bit of a flatter rocker and a little bit less going on than the usual DHD's I dwelled on this board for a long time. The hip to a wide square tail really bothered me and for a while I turned it away and thought it wasn't a good board. I had done a bit of research into the boards Jordy Smith was riding and he was riding a lot of swallow tails on boards like the New Flyer and the Rookie which to me have similar traits to the Puzzle Piece in rockers and bottoms curves. I decided to go out on a limb and grab a puzzle piece with a swallow tail and to my surprise it has come out perfect and it goes really well! 

How it goes

I have surfed this board in small Jan Juc to larger waves down the coast and beyond. This board has gone to Hawaii with me and just recently indo. The swallow tail in my mind gives you the best of both worlds as in it can give you the hold of a round tail but the release if you push it enough of a rounded square. This is because the swallow tail gives you a little bit of a extra rail length and the two points of the swallow are a lot easier to dig into the wave compared to a big chunky rounded square. However you still have the release of the rounded square because the width between the fins is the same as what it would be if you were to get the same size board in a rounded square tail.

Whose it for

This board is a bit of a smoky in the DHD range that not many people realise is a really good board. I compare this board to a JS Monsta or a CI Fred Rubble. It's a good all rounder that will go in most conditions perfect for your go to board. I like to think of a all rounder as a board you can just keep in the car and you always know you are going to get waves on it. This board fits the bill just perfectly. 

Ideal fin set up: The AM template or the MF template anything with a good combination of all the different aspects of a fin. A nice base a enough rake to draw out your turns but still up right enough to pivot in the beach breaks

Rating: 7.5 

Ideal wave size: 2 to 5 foot

Conditions: Offshore barrels to onshore slop

Dan Tomson's x Firewire Collab Vanguard

Vanguard

Intro 

To me if you are riding the same board everyday things start to get boring. I can't go a whole week surfing the same board let a lone a whole day sometimes. Thats why the vanguard jumped out at me as soon as it hit the market. I had seen Adam Robertson riding a few over the 6 months leading up to the time they were released. In my eyes the board under his feet looked insane. There was something about it that made it so stylish. Not to mention it actually went really well and as good as any other performance board. Initially I thought because of the size you had to go a few litres more than you normally would because the lack of paddle power in such a small board. I rode the 5'8 at first and it was way  to big for me. It felt like I was surfing a 6'4 and I wasn't convinced on the shape or design, honestly I was disappointed. The 5'6 really changed my mind on things

How it goes
The 5'6 paddled a lot better than first expected so I would recommend to anyone to get around the same volume in the vanguard as there normal short board and do not be scared of what the size is! I rode the board for a while as my standard short board and surfed it in close to every condition you can think of. Surprisingly it responded to everything I put it in from bells bowl to hollow bird rock. It did go its best in 2 to 3 foot waves with a nice shape. Waves like winki and rincon I found it performed best. One thing to be very wary of with this board is that it is surfed off the back foot. Its almost like surfing a snowboard in the way. I found that you have to be on rail at all times. This lets the board do the work with the flute channels between the fins giving you all the speed and drive because that is where all the water is directed through the single concave. However do not be worried that you won't be able to break your line. Because of the very curvy out line and the lack of size of the board it isn't hard to throw the board around like it is on other deep single con caved boards. The planing hull in the nose of the board helps with the paddle power. A very high performance board with a small sweet spot. You need to be able to shuffle and move your feet to find the perfect position on the board making it quite difficult to get used to.

Whose it for

I class this board as a high performance board and it isn't for everyone, you need to be able to have the ability to move around on the board and find the sweet spot. Its really a board that needs to be shuffled on. Perfect for someone who is sick of there standard short board and wants to ride something very different. I also see this board as a great travel board as it will almost go in everything you throw it in. A very high performance board though and I would only recommend it to good surfers.

Ideal fin set up: As big as you can push, because the area between each fin is so large you need a large rake on your fin to cover the area so there is no room for the board to skip out or be too loose. AM1 in the medium or AM2 or Jody in the Large are great fins.

Rating: 7

Ideal wave size: 2 to 3 foot

Conditions: Well shaped offshore waves

Hayden's Hypto Krypto

Intro

In terms of the retailer and selling many boards to one person the Hypto is horse s#@t. It is the quiver killer and the board that could eventually be the demise of the surfboard shop as we know it. For everyone else though its amazing! Like the Dumpster Diver before it it has changed the way people have looked at modern board design. Its the closest thing you can get to a one board quiver and Ando riding his a 8 foot Gland doesn't help the argument against that theory either. When I first started in the shop I think the Hypto Krypto was the first board that I demoed. It was something that caught my eye as I love the idea of a retro board with a performance side to it. If you look at it with no fins in it it is a 70's single fin shape a wide forward outline pulled into a tight pin tail, I have a few single fins lying around the house and the general outline is very similar!

How it goes

With that forward outline and plenty of foam under the chest there is no question that this board goes well in small waves. It glides across fat sections and with a very low entry rocker it paddles well and will get you into anything. Its the tail that gives this board its third dimension its a pulled in tight pin tail meaning it holds in all conditions especially the bigger waves where a board like this would normally skip out or become under gunned this board still finds a way to be drivey and hold in nicely. Thats why you see Ando surfing his as a barrel board because he gets in early and the tail holds. This is also why a lot of barrel boards have become smaller and wider but with a nice tight pin tail on them they fit into the barrel well and there is less board to fit into the pocket when doing turns also on a sucky wave. I surfed this board two days in a row firstly at Juc on a mushy 2 foot easterly day and it did everything i through at it. To my surprise the day after it also went really well in good 3 to 4 foot beacon held well in the barrel and turn well out on the face. I the one thing I found this board is limited in is going above the lip. Although i don't do it all that often the tail doesn't give you the lift to get the projection out of the lip like a wider tailed board does. 

Whose it for

Everyone! I haven't had one person to not like the Hytpo at some stage. Yes you can go through fazes on it where you want to be able to go more vertical or have more pivot off the bottom. However if you want a good cruisey board that goes along hits the lip holds well in a sucky wave and draws nice carves then the Hypto is something to have in the quiver. Anyone from a intermediate to a advanced surfer can jump on this board and have a lot of fun. Its one of those boards that I seem to talk a lot about that you can just throw in the car and know you will be able to get a wave on it. 

Ideal Fin setup : For optimal performance with this board it must be ridden with the WCT fins or the K2.1's I will explain more in fin section coming soon

Rating: 9

Ideal wave size: 2 to 5 foot

Conditions: Anything you put it in it will go in