Aloha Friday: Built for Small Days Firewire's Boss Up and Seaside
Built for Small Days: Firewire's Boss Up and Seaside
Two Firewire boards made for the weak, soft summer surf most people write off — plus the fins, wetsuits, sun care, and island-made apparel to go with them.
A regular walked in last week holding up his phone, showing me a video of a wave that barely broke — knee-high, soft, the kind most people scroll right past. He asked what board would let him actually surf it instead of just paddling around out there. That question comes up more than any other once summer settles in and the swell goes flat for weeks at a time. This week's boards are the answer.
When the surf drops, the right board is the whole difference between a fun hour in the water and a frustrating float. So we brought in two Firewire shapes built for exactly these conditions, and then the fins, wetsuits, and sun protection that round out the setup.
Two boards built for weak surf
Both of these do the same job — catch more waves and stay fun when the surf is small — but they go about it differently. One is a mid-length you can grow into. One is a small, fast board for someone who already knows how to drive.
Firewire Boss Up — the mid-length
The Boss Up is Kelly Slater's first real performance mid-length, shaped for Slater Designs by Dan Mann. Dan took the S-Boss outline and stretched it out — a blunt nose and a long, parallel rail hold speed through the flat parts of a wave, while a tail borrowed from the FRK and a single-to-double concave keep it loose once the wave stands up. It floats about 13 liters more than your everyday board, so you catch more and paddle less. Dan rides it as a quad, and that's how we'd set one up.
Best for: small, soft, or crowded days when you still want to actually surfSee the Boss Up →
Firewire Seaside — the grown-up fish
The Seaside is Rob Machado's grown-up version of his Go Fish. He kept what made the Go Fish easy — the wide middle, the low nose rocker, the float — and tightened everything else: less area in the tail, narrower swallow tips, a little more curve, a narrower nose. The bottom was redrawn from scratch for a quad, so instead of just gliding, it slingshots down the line and holds through a hard turn. It's a small-wave board that surfs better than it looks. One honest note: this isn't a beginner board. It rewards someone who already knows how to drive a quad and wants to push it.
Best for: weak, inconsistent surf where a normal shortboard just stalls outSee the Seaside →
The fins, and how they turn
Every set this week is a signature fin — three from Kelly Slater, one from Rob Machado. Which one you want comes down to how you like to turn.
Endorfins KSR — built to hold
This is Slater's raked template. Rake just means the fin leans back, and the further back it goes, the more drive you get and the longer and more drawn-out your turns become. The KSR is built for hold — long, smooth arcs on the open face and a fin that stays locked in down the line. Slater rides the Large in small surf and drops to the Medium when it gets bigger.
See the KSR →Endorfins KS1 — the all-rounder
If the KSR is about long arcs, the KS1 is the one that does a bit of everything. It blends two of Slater's templates — one built for quick, snappy turns off the top, and one with more rake for bigger, drawn-out ones. A carbon layer over a foam core keeps them light enough to actually float, with flex in the tip for extra snap. This is the set to grab if you want one all-round fin instead of choosing a lane.
See the KS1 →Machado Seaside Quad — keel drive, quad control
Rob Machado's quad set, made to pair with boards like the Seaside. It started from keel fins — the big, wide fins you see on old-school fish — and got refined into a quad that keeps all that keel drive but adds real carving and pivot from more upright back fins. It's about 15% lighter than the old set, with a fuller foil and a bigger sweet spot, so it's easier to find that fast, drivey feeling and stay in it.
See the Machado quad →Endorfins Twin+2 — three fins in one box
Slater's twin-fin set for small, weak surf, with a twist: it comes with two extra center fins, so one box gives you three setups. Ride it as a true twin for pure speed and that loose, free feeling. Add the smaller center fin, called the nubster, for just a hint of control. Or drop in the larger one, the sharktooth, for more hold or if you're a bigger surfer. Carbon from base to tip, with flex where you want it.
See the Twin+2 →Wetsuits we built for Hawaii water
Both of these are our own — the JPN-model wetsuits we designed for Hawaii, not a mainland winter. The 2mm vest gives your core a little warmth on an early paddle-out without cooking you once the sun climbs. The long-sleeve version covers your arms for the same reasons people wear a rash guard — sun and a bit of warmth — with none of the bulk of a full suit. The vest is in stock from small through extra-large; the long sleeve from medium through extra-large.
Scott slippers, made here since 1932
Scott Hawaii has been making slippers on Oahu since 1932. The family came over on vacation, decided to stay, and started building shoes — craftsmanship and machinery and all. When the years after the war made heavy shoes hard to produce, they went all-in on slippers, and eight decades later you see them everywhere on the islands. Every pair has a 100% rubber outsole with a slight arch, a nylon strap lined with anti-chafe neoprene, and a moisture-wicking insole with real arch support and a heel cup. This week we have the Manaula in blue and the Manoa in brown.
Sunscreen that doesn't quit on you
We had a long talk with Eric, the chemist behind Real Sun Cover, and it changed how we think about sunscreen. His formulas use one active ingredient: zinc oxide — 25% of it, the non-nano kind. Zinc blocks the widest range of sun of any ingredient the FDA allows, and unlike the chemical stuff, it doesn't break down while you're out there. As long as you can still see it on your skin, it's still working. The stick is tinted with organic cocoa powder, which is where the color and the light chocolate smell come from — and it grips your face instead of running into your eyes. Kids actually ask for it, which is not something we can say about most sunscreen. It comes in Vanilla and Cocoa.
Made-in-Hawaii apparel
Aloha Days is made here, start to finish. The hoodie is a limited hibiscus print in grey — the kind of printed piece that looks like the islands instead of a gift-shop souvenir. The t-shirt is the one we keep reaching for: a heavy 6.1-ounce cotton with the details that make a shirt last — a double-needle collar that holds its shape, reinforced shoulders, and a quarter-turned cut so it won't crease down the middle. It's tie-dye, put together the way shirts were made back in the '70s.
None of this is about chasing the newest gear. It's about being ready for the days most people write off — the small, soft, in-between days that make up most of a Hawaii summer. Get the board that fits those days, and you stop waiting around for the surf to get good. You just go.