Kelly Slater is one of the most influential surfers. This includes not only how we look at competition and high-performance surfing, but also how we look at the modern surfboard.   The Cymatic blends the best elements of the Sci-Fi and the Omni, but also has entirely new elements that thrive on their own merits. One of these is an increase in rocker throughout the board and especially in the tail. This added kick allows for control in larger waves and provides a platform, from which to maneuver. Increased rocker makes a board agile and able to turn on a tight radius. The first edit of Slater shredding his Cymatic demonstrated exactly that. Another thing that is interesting about the Cymatic is that it is definitely not intended as a groveler. It’s a short wide board that excels in real waves, but despite that fact, it does grovel really well! Since the Cymatic holds volume and rail throughout, it’s able to accelerate in small waves. The reduced length also offers the ability to turn your speed into maneuvers. It has been found that going a touch shorter in hollow waves can result in increased speed and control in the barrel. This is likely due to the narrower tail design. Whatever type of...

Slater Designs FRK Shaped by Dan Mann   Kelly Slater has been called a lot of things over the years. Champ. GOAT. The King. And, of course, the Freak. When Kelly Slater approached Dann Mann about designing him a surfboard, Dann knew exactly what he wanted to make Slater—and what it should be called. The FRK is medium-wave performance machine with an aesthetically pleasing outline, medium rails, and a rounded pintail that almost gives the surfboard a quasi twin-tip look. In a word, the board looks fast—and if Slater’s performances on it have been any indication, that’s exactly what it is. The funny thing is, the FRK almost didn’t get ridden. Dann shaped it for Slater in 2015, but Slater gets a lot of boards shaped for him, and the original design ended up sitting in a garage for two years before a friend of Slater’s took it out for a spin. He had a blast on the surfboard, and called Slater up telling him he needed to try the board out. Slater said he knew it was a winner before he even completed his first ride. He started riding the board a ton, putting together mind-blowing performances at Trestles, J-Bay, the...

CJ Nelson has ridden a lot of surfboards throughout his career. He is considered one of the most accomplished traditional longboarders in the business, was dominant in the 1990s and early 200s, and has won the Duct Tape Invitational and MexiLog Fest. His line of boards with Thunderbolt represent some of the most advanced traditional logs on the market, and his Sprout design in particular is considered to be one of the best noseriders ever made. CJ Nelson has recently been turning heads with his Parallax design, which combines a forgiving outline and rails with a fast, trim-happy hull on the bottom. CJ Nelson recalls having numerous “aha” moments in his surfing career—things as simple as borrowing a shortboard from a buddy who was bigger than him and seeing his wave count double; lowering rocker in a log and carrying more speed on waves; bumping up thickness on a longboard and watching both paddle speed and trim speed increase. He notes that many of these benefits come with very little sacrifice—that you don’t actually lose very much by adding these elements. That was the principle that he brought into his design of the Parallax. When designing a board, CJ Nelson always...

...LOST GLYDRA New Surfboard 2022 - A glider-style, mid-length version of the Hydra …Lost’s Hydra is a wildly popular hybrid fish design surfboard, but if the recent trend toward longer surfboards tells us anything, it’s that the average surfer loves a mid-length. Thus, Matt Biolos figured he’d give us the best of both worlds by making a glider-style, mid-length version of the Hydra. More than simply a stretched-out version of the smaller fish design, the Glydra integrates a number of important changes that make it a legitimate design in and of itself. The snowboard-inspired, side-cut “Pelagic” rails are maintained, as is the double concave inside single concave hull, but the overall rocker was increased to accommodate the surfboard’s increased length, which allows the surfboard to fit in the smaller curves of tiny waves. The diamond tail effectively shortens the surfboard’s rail, providing maneuverability despite the length and volume of the mid-length. Volume was added to the center line, but the deck is rolled to maintain sensitivity in the rails, allowing the Glydra to turn as well as it trips. The surfboard also features a five-box fin setup, allowing it to be ridden as a thruster, quad, twin, 2+1, and even quad...

Next-Generation Dominance With Dan Mann’s Dominator 2  Forget all the hippie hoopla about dancing with the waves—when you are out in the water on a shortboard, you want to dominate. You want to paddle with confidence, take waves from behind the peak, and tear the heck out of them all the way to the shoulder. That’s what Dan Mann designed his original Dominator shape for—and the new Dominator 2 is no different. It’s just better The original Dominator was an easy board for Dan to design—it virtually leapt out of his mind and onto the foam. It featured a round tail (his personal preference), a natural design, and a lot of predictability. The tweaks and updates in the Dominator 2 follow this aesthetic. It is still a shortboard with the wide point back, making it super rippable and versatile for different waves and different ability levels. The tail is still rounded, in a bit of a soft squash that has a touch of straightness added to help with release through turns. And the curvy outline between the feet allows the board to roll off the bottom especially with the buttery rails that transition into a steep tail rail that provides...

BEN SKINNER OVA   Ben “Skindog” Skinner has been at the center of the UK’s longboard scene for decades. A proven competitor who put on a dominant performance at the Malibu Pro this past season, he is also a widely respected board builder who has proven the validity of his shapes by surfing them to competitive success. Skindog is an adept noserider and knows his way around a traditional log, but is also a fan of modern, high-performance longboarding, surfing with power and authority, particularly when the waves get juicy. His ability on a longboard is unquestioned, but what many people don’t realize is that he also rips on shorter boards. The Ova is Skindog’s mid-length design for days when the waves are pumping—or when you simply feel like taking a break from your longboard. It is also a great option for those looking to step up from a shortboard and ride something with a bit more flow and glide. Combining a wide-point-forward outline with a unique foil, relaxed rocker, and 50/50 rails up front, The Ova paddles fast and flies down the line faster, finding speed even when the wave fattens up. At the same time, the round tail...

What Is Base Coat Wax and How Is It Used?   Wax has been a ubiquitous part of the surf experience nearly from the beginning. It is practically mandatory for efficient wave riding since the fiberglass that our boards are made from gets incredibly slippery when wet. Here in Hawaii, we are used to using warm and tropical formula wax, but in cooler places, surfers have long been using base coat in addition to their cool or cold formula surface wax. I have recently had some customers here in Hawaii ask me what exactly base coat wax is, since it has only recently begun to pop up in surf shops here. But to understand base coat, you first have to understand how the temperature of the water affects the wax on your board. As anyone who has left their board out in the sun knows, wax melts when it gets hot. But you may not realize that surf wax can even melt—or at least soften—when it gets just a little bit too warm. This is why we have different formulas of wax. Tropical and warm water waxes are extra hard, because the warm water of the tropics can melt softer waxes and cause them to...

The Apex Photo Credit to @cj_nelson There have been whispers about the ultimate log coming out of CJ Nelson’s workshop for a few months now—rumors that have every dedicated logger more excited than Christmas. We’ve finally gotten a look at the Apex, and it’s everything it was billed to be. Loosely based on the 1960s Involvement Log template, with a relatively narrow nose and hips set back of center, the Apex naturally gravitates toward critical noserides deep in the pocket and aggressive “hotdog” surfing. Added concave in the nose helps extend those noserides even longer, and a harder, lower, performance type rail in the tail puts the final polish on the board’s maneuverability. CJ intended this to be the apex of classic longboard design and performance, and that’s exactly what it is. Available in Thunderbolt Silver, in three sizes ranging from 9'1" to 9'11", the Apex is an homage to traditional longboarding, but with a modern twist.   What Customer Say About the APEX? CHECK OUT APEX BOARD HERE 👇

DAN MANN ANSWERS QUESTIONS ABOUT HIS NO BRAINER MODEL Dan Mann is an avant garde surfboard designer and shaper who has recently joined the stable of shapers at Slater Designs. Dan recently took the time to answer some questions about his No Brainer model, covering topics such as fins, sizing, skill level, ideal wave, and more. If you’ve ever considered adding the No Brainer to your quiver, here are some guidelines straight from the man who created the board. Fins: The No Brainer works best with a quad setup, giving you drive and speed through flat sections when you are groveling. Use your favorite template upfront, and then a slightly smaller template for the trailing fins. The reason for this is that the board is pretty narrow up front (compared to Dan’s other boards), so you want slightly less fin in the trailer. If you decide to go with a thruster setup (which is better in the pocket), do the same thing in terms of fin selection—go with your favorite front fins, then use a slightly smaller trailing fin for your middle fin. Here at Hawaiian South Shore, we suggest the Power Twin with Trailer setup for the No Brainer....

The Slater Connection—How Akila Aipa Became a Household Name Akila Aipa was content to quietly create beautiful, custom boards in the Waialua Sugar Mill, without much fanfare or hype. But when you are a master craftsman (and an excellent surfer with an undeniable pedigree, to boot), people will eventually begin to take notice. A few years back, Kelly Slater (which is from the same generation of pro surfers as Akila) asked Akila if he would like to collaborate on a quiver of boards, to see if they couldn’t dial in something special. Akila ended up shaping seven boards for Slater—a handful of thrusters between 5'7" and 5'9", and a 5'5" twin-fin. Slater ended up surfing the boards in a number of events, and putting together amazing performances at Keramas and the Surf Ranch—and just like that, Akila’s name was on the map. From there, things started happening quickly. Demand for Akila’s boards skyrocketed, and suddenly he couldn’t keep up with demand from his small shaping bay in Waialua. He started looking for a larger area to produce boards, and at the same time began dialing in a twin-fin board to add to Slater Design’s quiver of models, produced by Firewire. ...

Who is TOMO? Push the envelope. Watch it bend. Two sentences describing Tomo’s approach to surfboard design, seen clearly in every shape he’s made since the Vanguard in 2012. Backed up by high-level surfing talent and mentoring from some of the surfing’s most legendary surfers and designers, Tomo has developed a ‘sixth sense” for developing some of the most radical and unique performance surfboards ever, for example, the Cymatic for Slater Designs.  In 2018 he released his first dedicated step-up, the Hydronaut, a round nose, ultra-refined approach to getting barrelled in six to sixteen-foot waves. It’s been ridden and tested everywhere from Black’s to Sunset to Fiji and more, and it excels in a variety of sizes for any single surfer.     More To Read... How To Choose The Right Fin Size For Longboards? The Difference Between Firewire’s LFT and Helium With Rob Machado Who and What is Thunderbolt Technologies?

The Black Baron JS's First Twin Fin   When JS works on a board for six years, you know it’s going to eventually become a classic. The Black Baron is JS Surfboards first dedicated twin fin, and delivers exactly what you’d hope from a classic design with a modern twist. Released in conjunction with Joel Parkinson’s retirement from tour, the Black Baron is the perfect board for a high-performance surfer looking to expand their quiver and perspective, and fall in love with surfing all over again. The Black Baron is built for fun—and there’s nothing more fun than going fast. It has foam for days, providing ample volume to float through fat sections and rip lined-up walls. The twin fin configuration turns this board into a rocket ship, providing acceleration no matter the section. And the flat rocker up front to veer through the tail adds to the board’s speed without compromising maneuverability.The Black Baron is my personal favorite board for summertime waves at the moment, and everyone I have let try my board loves it as well. Stock dimensions range from 5'2" x 19 ¼" x 2 1/8" to 6'4" x 22" x 3", so just about anyone can...