OAHU STORE PICKUP

LOCATION ADDRESS

320 Ward Avenue #112
Honolulu, HI 96814

Open 7 days a week!
Monday - Saturday 10:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Sunday 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Phone/Text: (808) 597-9055
Email: sales@hawaiiansouthshore.com

HAWAII SURFBOARD SHIPPING RATES

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS:

➤ FEDEX 

➤ Hawaiian Air Cargo

(All Size Boards)  - ETA Usually in two days (Boards can be picked up from the Hawaiian Air Cargo Airport from 7AM in the morning, a day after the board has been sent out.)

FIREWIRE "SEASIDE"

Getting Groovy With Rob Machado’s Firewire Seaside

Rob Machado has been one of surfing’s most stylish surfers for three decades, so when Cardiff’s favorite son started shaping, it was only a matter of time before we all sat up and took notice. Not surprisingly, Machado’s quiver of shapes is heavy on flow and fun. Rob was one of the first world tour guys to fully embrace the “ride everything” ethos, and his performances on single fins and fish shapes had a lot to do with the fact that they are now universally accepted as a legitimate alternative to the high-performance shred stick. When Rob teamed up with Firewire to create a line of surfboards, the brand jumped at the chance to have both his name and his ideas for fishy shapes in their catalog. 

While all of Machado’s surfboards have gained loyal followings, the Seaside has proven to be the most popular. The Seaside is a slightly refined take on the Go Fish, Rob’s retro fish shape. This updated version has dropped a little bit of area from the tail, narrowing the swallow and creating a rounder template for more maneuverability. Interestingly, the Seaside (which is named after Rob’s home break-in Cardiff, California) is a dedicated quad, rather than having the option to be a quad or a twin fin. This should give riders a further indication that although the Seaside maintains the traditional fish shape, it is intended to be a modern, high-performance version—without sacrificing the classic fish flow and speed, of course. 

The surfboard is built with Firewire’s Helium construction, making it light, flexible, and responsive. While Rob has ridden the shape in draining Tahitian barrels, most people like to use a fish in small beach breaks and points, and the Helium helps the board to feel alive in smaller waves.

Helium Technology Surfboards

A look inside: The Seaside built in Helium Tech – an ultralight EPS foam core with flex controlled in the rail from nose to tail; a blend of paulownia and balsa wood. Aerospace composite deckskins make you feel like you’re creating footwells in the deck, but it often looks new even after a month of surfing.

Ridden by everyone from Kellly Slater and Stuey Kennedy and Pacha Light. It’s our lightest surfboard ever, shaped from a 0.8 pound EPS faom blank with flex controlled at the rails similar to Timbertek. 

When describing Helium compared to LFT in his Gamma shape, Kelly Slater says “On a typical day to day, especially in beach breaks, I would be on this.“

Kelly Slater waxes his Helium Gamma. He prefers it in beach breaks more than the LFT Gamma to the right that he likes in point breaks.

When we released Helium for the first time in 2017 we were most excited by its weight and flex characteristics.

But since then surfers everywhere have come to love Helium for reasons different than what we expected, most notably its durability. 

#RippersWithoutStickers love Helium for it’s weight, flex and durability. Ryan Clancey at Trestles.

We’ve heard many surfers remark that the deck of their Helium shape often looks new even after a month of surfing because of what we’ve come to call ‘memory’ in Helium’s deckskin – it can rebound to form after being compressed beneath your feet. 

A favorite among Rippers Without Stickers – Brent Reilly shot in Oceanside, CA on a Helium shape by Dan Mann.

For example, it’s common for a surfer who rides Helium to feel their foot sink into the deck when loading up turns.

But when wax is removed post-session, the footwells often aren’t there.

This is part of the reason why surfers who frequent online markets like Craigslist and Gumtree find it hard to locate used Helium shapes – their original performance levels last long enough to avoid being resold, and when they do get listed for sale, they move quickly because they don’t look used.

A surfer looks down on the Helium Chumlee by Dan Mann.

Because of this many Firewire grovelers are often built in Helium, like the Chumlee and Baked Potato because it’s groveler shapes that have traditionally endured the most deck beatings accross all of surfing, as surfers jump up and down on them to get past fat sections, generate speed, etc.

However, both Daniel Thomson and Dan Mann are each refining shapes currently for waves in the 4 to 8 foot range that are set to be built in Helium in 2019.

In fact one of our longest team riders, Gavin Gillette on the island of Kauai, often surfs his Helium Gamma in the most perfect, big, and round waves that Hawaii has to offer. 

Helium on Hawaiian sand – flex controlled in the rail through a mix of paulownia and balsa wood.

CHECK OUT SURFBOARDS IN HELIUM CONSTRUCTION