Superbrand's Quadrofinia

Quadrofinia

Intro

This board saved my summer of 2012/13 I had just got back from travelling Europe I had a bit of left over cash and I bought a couple of boards for the summer. The two that I bought were no good. They didn't really go. I did a swap for another board that I had my eye on, that one didn't go either. I was a bit disgruntled that I hadn't picked a good board and it was doing my head in. This board from Superbrand had fallen out of the rack a bit there wasn't much interest in it and it was starting to yellow after sitting in the front window. I through it out to my boss 'why don't we just demo it get a few guys on it and hopefully that will get people frothing on Super's'. He loved the idea. I waxed her up threw a sticker on it and took her for a spin. (the demo sticker didn't stay on for long. I loved the thing)

How it goes

Working in a board store you learn about boards every single day. When this board first hit the shelf I hated the look of it. I thought that the rails where too low for it to be a fish. I thought it was too much of a performance board to grovel on, Oh how I was wrong. Zeb Walsh to me has been someone I look up to about board knowledge, when he has something to say about board design I listen. So when he told me that a groveller should be wider instead of thicker just for the fact that the board  flat on the water is your surface area thats where the paddle is going to come from which is key in a small wave board. Its the low rail however that gives you the performance so if you do end up getting a good section you can throw down a nice turn with a sharp rail. This is exactly what the quadrofinia is. It has a lower rail but a really wide fishy out line. So it surfs like a short board but paddles like a fish! Thats why I love it. The fin set up on this board is what makes it. It has a nice wide high set quad set up on a deep swallow tail. You put it on rail and it just grabs and bites the wave and you get so much drive and speed out of your turns because of the two fins in the wave instead of just one like on a normal thruster or fish. Quick lesson for people who don't know to much about fins. If you want something that responds like a thruster that is nice and loose and pivots well you want a rear fin with a 50/50 foil. If you want something fast down the line and that if you set your rail thats the place you will be headed then your after a 80/20 foil. For small waves and turns on a quad I find that 50/50's are a lot easier to turn on because they are lively and turn well whereas for barrels and bigger waves you want 80/20's because they are fast and they track and it takes a lot more force to push them off there line. So in terms of this board with a low rail and a 50/50 foil quad set up it goes like a dream. The low rails give you a knife like edge to jam turns and the 50/50 quad rears give you the pivot that you want in the smaller waves compared to the tracking feeling you get from 80/20's. This is my eyes is a performance fish that is a perfect summer board that will surf in most conditions you throw it in. On a side note I have been riding mine lately as a twinny and it has made this board so loose but so fun. It just gives it a second dimension and its like learning to ride a whole new board. So many options it just one small fun board. You will definitely get your moneys worth.

Whose it for

Intermediate to advanced surfers could jump on this board and have a good time. It is wide enough and has enough volume in it for the intermediate surfer to jump  on it straight off a minimal or fun board and it will go well for them. For the advance surfers it has the performance in the rails. If a advance surfer wants a fish but hates the feel of a fish that glides along and has no performance this is a good board for him/her. The low rail will give you the ability to slice and dice a wave to bits but the  having plenty of volume in the nose gives you the paddle power of your everyday fish. In my eyes everyone needs this type of board in there quiver just to have for summer or if you only ever surf it at Lorne Point thats fine too because thats the kind of wave that you need a groveller!

Ideal fin set up: Rusty Quad Set

Rating: 8.5

Ideal wave size: 1 to 4 foot

Conditions: Onshore slop to offshore conditions 

Quivers under the microscope: Redbull decades EP6

This is the future. Tomo, Maurice and Meyehoffer are always pushing the envelope when it comes to board design and the 6th episode of Redbull decades highlights that perfectly.

Good to see the Jan Juc local shaper Maurice Cole getting a gig. He is always coming up with something different for people to ride!

This clip has got me so pumped to go surf my Tomo again. Hopefully this gives you a urge to surf something different.

Enjoy.

Firewire x Dan Tomson's V4

Intro

As soon as the this board hit the shop floor I had it gripped up and in the car on the way to test it out at Winki. Having had such success with the Vanguard I thought the V4 was a given to be a good board. I surfed it once and then went through a period where I wanted to surf my own boards. So I put it back on the demo rack. Time went by and the V4 started to make some serious in roads for Dan Thomson as a well known shaper.  Filipe did a messed up alley oop in a CT, all the local boys got around it and started surfing them and Firewire are now about to release a new step up version of the V4 by Dan Thomson. Once the hype around the board had died down I decided to dust it off from the back room. You can tell that this board has been popular, it has been to the repairer on many occasions and the wax job is as black as Ive seen on a board. It has taken me a while to write this and I think some people may have a different view but thats what happens with boards I guess. Everyone has a opinion.

How it goes

I have been dwelling on this board for many weeks. This to me feels like a good board, but however it doesn't blow my mind. That's why I haven't been able to write about it. I didn't want to write the board off and upset all the people out there who are sleeping with there V4's. It's a good wave board it needs a bit of push for it to go similar to the Vanguard it has a deep single concave running into the flute channels which give it the ability to break your line. Although you ride this board at your favourite volume I find it to be a board that is a lot more difficult to paddle compared to the Vanguard. It just feels small because it has the same nose on it as your regular short board. The V4 has the nose of a 5'10 but the tail of a 6'10 which creates the very straight outline after the forward centre point making it a very fast down the line board. The tight pulled in swallow tail is also what makes it so responsive. It surfs longer than it looks like all the Tomo boards do which makes me suggest why most people love it so much they get the speed and drive of a longer board but it fits into the waves well. Its like surfing a squashed down gun without even knowing it. Which I think not many people have come to realise. 

Whose it for

Like the Vanguard before it this board is for experienced surfers. You need to be able to figure this board out. My very first wave I went straight over the handle bars thinking it would surf like a normal board however it comes back to surfing it completely on rail and not using the board to create your speed. The single concave mixed with the sharp rails gives you all your speed and drive. If you don't put it on rail the boards not going to go anywhere. This board is for someone that likes the feel of the Vanguard but can't get there head are the chop nose. It may not feel as good as the Vanguard but it still goes really well. Experience is key to surfing this board being able to read waves and being able to know how to work your board. 

Ideal fin set up:  AM2 again the rake in this fins make up for the wide placement of the fins, they give you a great mixture of control and release.

Rating: 6.5

Ideal Wave: 3 to 6 foot

Conditions: Onshore to clean barrels 

Quivers under the microscope: Redbull Decades EP5

Matt Mayhem Biolis for a long time has been at the forefront of board design and this board featured in Redbull decades is no different. This is the kind of board I enjoy riding. I'm sure the boys on the trip would have been relieved when they were told they didn't have to surf the Slater board again. It's amazing how much performance board design has changed in 13 odd years.

 Enjoy.