What's your favorite board for small days ?

What works and what doesn't. Share design ideas, references and contacts for paipo board builders.
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zensuni
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What's your favorite board for small days ?

#1

Unread post by zensuni »

..and why ?
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Re: What's your favorite board for small days ?

#2

Unread post by GeoffreyLevens »

Surf mat--super comfortable for long go outs, up out of water so warm but most of all easy to catch waves and super fast and maneuverable even in tiny gutless mushburgers. Really no down side at all
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Re: What's your favorite board for small days ?

#3

Unread post by mrmike »

love my mat on small days
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Re: What's your favorite board for small days ?

#4

Unread post by krusher74 »

I have a Bz retro bodyboard.

Super wide at 23" straight template with wide nose, allows me to catch and surf in conductions my other boards cant get going in.
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Re: What's your favorite board for small days ?

#5

Unread post by Uncle Grumpy »

Agreed: Mats work well in just about anything.

My go to board for the small stuff is this 5'5" X 15.5" paulownia alaia style..

Super fast, easy to duck-dive, the extra length makes it easy to disengage fins, fits in small barrels, looks cool, conversation starter = good vibes.

Image

It works amazingly well for me in waves up to chest high, bigger than that I'm on something under 5'. It's what I'm on in the Avatar.

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Paipo surfer in repose,
Nose on the nose,
No grunting he-man pose.
See how fast he goes!
What is it he knows?
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Re: What's your favorite board for small days ?

#6

Unread post by nomastomas »

Here's what I ride on small, mushy days. Today it was Ventura Harbor to Emma Wood State Beach, 12mi roundtrip. Spotted a couple of promising peaks just past Pill Box, which may be a good choice for next week's SW swell.
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"This is a paipo site...isn't it?"
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Re: What's your favorite board for small days ?

#7

Unread post by SJB »

Ha....that spot is I what I call Hobos. Place of last resort when nothingelse is worthy. There is a reason it is never crowded. Quality challenged.
Hope to see you C St. next week.
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Re: What's your favorite board for small days ?

#8

Unread post by bgreen »

Depends what you call small waves. What I've seen referred to as flat in Hawaii, many would be happy to surf. Small with a peak gives something to launch from, small and gutless offers few options. A wooden alaia is a good choice to plane through weak lines, a pocket board is a good choice for a peak. Small, shallow bank I'd go finless.

I was talking with a mate the other day and the subject of injuries came up. Often you can get worse injuries in real small conditions.

Bob
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zensuni
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Re: What's your favorite board for small days ?

#9

Unread post by zensuni »

Thanks for your replies. Eventually I impulsively bought online a krypt surf mat. My plywood paipo is fine most of the time but it has its limits when there is no peack and small waves. I am looking forward the next small day so I can give the mat a try.
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Re: What's your favorite board for small days ?

#10

Unread post by GeoffreyLevens »

Careful, Zensuni. You may soon be so addicted that your hard boards gather dust! :lol: :twisted: :lol:

If you haven't seen it, this guide will be very helpful indeed

http://surfmats.com/riders-guide.html
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Re: What's your favorite board for small days ?

#11

Unread post by bgreen »

The learning curve is a steep-one. My mat hides under the house. I haven't taken it out for a few years..
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zensuni
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Re: What's your favorite board for small days ?

#12

Unread post by zensuni »

In the Winter I find the waves too big and gnarly, then in the Summer it is much better but they may be too small sometimes, plus I have to deal with the crowd (might be dangerous to surf a wooden board in the middle of surf beginners, they are everywhere). Might be frustrating sometimes. For too big conditions I stopped trying :D . For small days when it is so small that the paipo just doesn't work, I hope the surf mat will bring me some fun. I have read a lot about these, it definitely sounds like a challenge to master.
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Re: What's your favorite board for small days ?

#13

Unread post by Nels »

Forget trying to "master" a mat, just enjoy the ride and learn as you go how to get more out of it.

Mats aren't like bodyboards, for instance, where you can master the basics pretty quick...but it takes a lot of time and good waves to really excel. With mats there seems to be a fairly endless amount of learning...which is a good thing because you constantly have the joy of discovery. I think that's what keeps the really long-term "masters" of the practice at it decade after decade. The mind stays engaged.

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zensuni
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Re: What's your favorite board for small days ?

#14

Unread post by zensuni »

Nels wrote:Forget trying to "master" a mat, just enjoy the ride and learn as you go how to get more out of it.

Mats aren't like bodyboards, for instance, where you can master the basics pretty quick...but it takes a lot of time and good waves to really excel. With mats there seems to be a fairly endless amount of learning...which is a good thing because you constantly have the joy of discovery. I think that's what keeps the really long-term "masters" of the practice at it decade after decade. The mind stays engaged.

Nels
"to masterise" might not be the right word, I think "to control" is better. In French, to masterize something (maîtriser) just means you have the control on it, but not necessarily like an expert. :)
I agree about the joy of discovery session after session. That's what I appreciate with paipo boarding. Even though I always ride the same board, and quite the same kind of waves, every ride is still different.
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Re: What's your favorite board for small days ?

#15

Unread post by GeoffreyLevens »

Yes and do read that riding guide I posted link to as it can be very helpful. When actually in the water on your mat, your mantra should likely be "Less is More" as a reminder to make all control actions gentle, fairly small, and smoooooooooth.

Soon enough you will likely be saying :o :o :o
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zensuni
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Re: What's your favorite board for small days ?

#16

Unread post by zensuni »

I spent the weekend at Biarritz, this is where they surf in France in "the endless summer 2" movie. Small conditions, 2-3 feets, but well shaped. I confirm that the surf mat is damn hard to control, I spent an hour just being able to take off. Surf mat is so unknown here that the lifeguards didn't allow me to use it in the surf zone, so I had to use it in the swimming zone. Couldn't really argue given my mat riding skills :) . Felt like surfing a jellyfish in a crowded wave pool. But I'll keep trying, really want to feel this "boost acceleration" I have read about. The next day (early morning, to bypass the lifeguards validation), I used my plywood paipo, worked great, even though the waves were still quite small. I just had new swim fins, a little stiffer, felt like it made a big difference.
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Re: What's your favorite board for small days ?

#17

Unread post by flojo »

The mat takes a very long time. George Greenough says he is still learning how to ride it.
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zensuni
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Re: What's your favorite board for small days ?

#18

Unread post by zensuni »

Plenty of small days recently, good time to experiment. I took the surf mat most of the time (mainly because I find it less dangerous in summer crowded peaks), it is definitely not easy at all. My son switched his bodyboard to a plywood paipo, so occasionally we switch boards in the middle of the session. Comparing to the mat, holding a line with the paipo is a lot easier. I really like riding the paipo in small, slow but well shaped waves, the ride is slow but it gives time to feel the rail biting the face of the wave. Catching small waves is not really a problem anymore with the paipo to me, I started doing it like I do on the mat, being in the water, paddling like hell with my fins and holding the board forward, flat hands, works great.
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Re: What's your favorite board for small days ?

#19

Unread post by Hugo »

10' noserider
Looking at 54" Beater. Any opinions on those? I believe they're shaped by Tom Morey not sure.
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