Havoc
Tom Curren status
Reged: 09/10/07
Posts: 10001
Loc: The OC Life
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Quote:
Got to love the irony of FW haters posting in this topic, id put money on it, that this thread has got more guys (lurkers)curious about FW sweet potatoes than has turned them off them.
let me see, guy who has zero experience with any other tech than pu/pe gets on 1 firewire for a couple of months and then raves about it being better than anything else out there while having zero clue or experience riding any other tech. funny. 
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"motions of rippage is initated by the hind leg"-Northern_Shores
"Lemme know. I got endson gas"-20W
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indodreams
Legend (inyourownmind)
Reged: 03/25/11
Posts: 302
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Quote:
Quote:
Got to love the irony of FW haters posting in this topic, id put money on it, that this thread has got more guys (lurkers)curious about FW sweet potatoes than has turned them off them.
let me see, guy who has zero experience with any other tech than pu/pe gets on 1 firewire for a couple of months and then raves about it being better than anything else out there while having zero clue or experience riding any other tech. funny.
Hmmm someone woke up on wrong side of bed, we are here to discuss FW, if you dont like it Havoc, dont read this thread.
Mate i rave about FW's cause im stoked on them, and I find it frustrating when guys like you write them off in a FW thread where guys just want to talk about FW's just plain rude.
Consider yourself lucky if you have access to better technology, but where i am, i haven't seen it yet.
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blackirish
Grom
Reged: 05/18/11
Posts: 50
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Quote:
Quote:
Any shaper that supports asian imports deserves to be banned
Period.
Hear ye! Hear ye! The following shapers and brands are henceforth banned from discussion. Should you bring their name up we will bury you with bull$#!T of an unfathomable depth:
Rusty
Merrick
Dan Mann
Nev
Bert Burger
Matt Biolos
Robert August
Joel Tudor
Takayama
Xanadu
Simon Anderson
Mark Richards
Geoff McCoy
McTavish
Velzy
Doc Lausch
Pearson
Webber
Patterson
Stretch
HIC
Byrne
JC
Lynch
T&C
Bear
Yater
Kechele
These guys all got tired of their customers stopping in to shoot the shiitake.It took time away from innovation, oh wait, they lacked that!
Obviously these shapers weren't afraid of losing customers.They know that generally its a different type of consumer.If anything it may rouse their curiosity to order a custom board.
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Farmer_Ted
Legend (inyourownmind)
Reged: 07/01/09
Posts: 175
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yes havoc loves to bash fw which is his absolute right here in good old usa but makes me laugh hard when in same thread plays ubb by sayin if it works for you great
then right away follows it with rant about moving jobs outside of us to thailand and fw busines model being only abuot profits. then follows that with racial comment like boards made by me so horny sex worker after he has said if it works for you ride it
icing on cake is he posts how hes prolly buying toyota prius
awesome
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indodreams
Legend (inyourownmind)
Reged: 03/25/11
Posts: 302
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Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Any shaper that supports asian imports deserves to be banned
Period.
Hear ye! Hear ye! The following shapers and brands are henceforth banned from discussion. Should you bring their name up we will bury you with bull$#!T of an unfathomable depth:
Rusty
Merrick
Dan Mann
Nev
Bert Burger
Matt Biolos
Robert August
Joel Tudor
Takayama
Xanadu
Simon Anderson
Mark Richards
Geoff McCoy
McTavish
Velzy
Doc Lausch
Pearson
Webber
Patterson
Stretch
HIC
Byrne
JC
Lynch
T&C
Bear
Yater
Kechele
These guys all got tired of their customers stopping in to shoot the shiitake.It took time away from innovation, oh wait, they lacked that!
Obviously these shapers weren't afraid of losing customers.They know that generally its a different type of consumer.If anything it may rouse their curiosity to order a custom board.
Thats almost a best of list of shapers from early days to now from the shortboard revolution, lynch, Mc Tavish through the twin fin era with MR the 80's Simon Anderson, McCoy 90's & 00's, Merrick, rusty, Nev, Webber to current times with Matt Biolos, Dann Mann.
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indodreams
Legend (inyourownmind)
Reged: 03/25/11
Posts: 302
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Quote:
yes havoc loves to bash fw which is his absolute right here in good old usa but makes me laugh hard when in same thread plays ubb by sayin if it works for you great
then right away follows it with rant about moving jobs outside of us to thailand and fw busines model being only abuot profits. then follows that with racial comment like boards made by me so horny sex worker after he has said if it works for you ride it
icing on cake is he posts how hes prolly buying toyota prius
awesome
Yeah I don't want to Havoc bash, but its fine if you stir a bit of sh*t up, but if you give it, you got to be able to take it too..he doesn't seem to take it to well.
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teeroi
Gerry Lopez status
Reged: 10/21/07
Posts: 983
Loc: eastside oahu
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I rode a 5'4 and a 5'6 at Ala Moana Bowls on a waist to head high day. There are about 4 guys that have them and ride them when it's about that size. They love them and I wanted to see what the hype was all about.
First wave I paddled for I missed. The board doesn't paddle as good as I thought it would. It's so flat when I take off I had to arch my back like you would on a longboard. I sat way inside and got a couple of small ones to get used to it. It gets going pretty fast but there is so much volume it rides high on the water and doesn't turn as crisp as I am used to. And gets a little caught up in the lip on reos.
I sat outside and waited for a set. I got a head high lined up nugg. Took off and pulled in a nice barrel. I almost made it out but the board spun out. To make matters worse the strong offshore wind blew the board and it hit me on the head. The board had controller fins on it and the owner said they were the best match he had so far for that board.
To be fair waist to head high Bowls is not grovel city it's rippable small waves.
The guys who ride them have fun on them. One of the FW guys hated his SP but loves his Potatonator. And one of the SP fans surfs much better on his Cole Trunk Board.
Personally I like the Arakawa Wombat or the Tokoro Moonfish way better. They both grovel well and can handle a head high barrel no problem.
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winwin
Michael Peterson status
Reged: 07/11/07
Posts: 1757
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I like your no nonsense review. 
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Retropete
Michael Peterson status
Reged: 01/20/06
Posts: 1809
Loc: Sunny Coast Qld Australia
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I hated the sweet potato I recently bought.
I thought it's an ordinary paddler and was difficult to catch waves on to boot.
First surfs were in 1-2' pass at Byron and 1-2' Clarks.
Tried it with a number of different fins including MR tfx and gxq combos and crv (curved) with gxqs.
I got home and put sf4's in it and took it out at my local soft arse point in 2-4' clean waves.
It paddled into the waves easily there and that's when it all clicked.
It obviously hadn't worked at Byron due to it's non poly and resin construction and I forgot to bedeck myself in hipster threads.
Anyway the board was really easy to generate speed and glide across flat sections and into big cutbacks.
I've had no trouble with re-entries but I know where to pull them on a board like this with such flat rocker.
I'd hazard to guess that if you (Teeroi) had moved forward on the board when pulling into the tube it could be the reason for it spinning out.
After all how often do you ride a sub 6' board with a tail this wide and the fin cluster set so far back?
If you're used to mini-simmons then it's normal not to step forward but for the rest of us it's xecond nature to adjust trim by moving forward when in the barrel.
Like I've said before they are definitely a niche board and can take some getting used to.
There's definitely some Geof McCoy nugget dna in the sweet potato and even Geoff McCoy says you should ride one of his boards for months in order to figure it out.
A couple of surfs may not be quite enough because it is so different or it's just not suited to your style.
You can find boards from all the best shapers (ridden once or twice) on Ebay too.
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Caution: Excessive Kool aid consumption may result in a bitter aftertaste.
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ifallalot
Duke status
Reged: 12/17/08
Posts: 18410
Loc: Carlsbad, CA
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You have that scourge down there too? I hate the modern world, nowhere is safe
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the graphics portray the hawks prey battling death
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teeroi
Gerry Lopez status
Reged: 10/21/07
Posts: 983
Loc: eastside oahu
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Thanks for the coaching tips I'll try to keep that in mind next time I'm on a board like that.
I know if I surfed the SP for a couple of months I could probably figure it out. Funny thing I demoed an Arakawa Wombat a couple of years ago and after 1 surf I ordered a custom one. My brother in law said his brother is trying to start surfing again so I gave him the Wombat to try. It's a little oversized for him so great for paddling. He said the only problem is the board goes too fast. We told him that's a good problem to have and he'll get used to it.
The Tokoro Moonfish, I ordered one from Wade after I saw him surfing the prototype on the eastside. He let me have a go on it and it felt good from the first wave. I ordered one and had the best barrel that summer on it. It worked even better when it was high tide burgers.
Both boards were very good but not perfect. If I wanted Eric or Wade to make me another one I kinda know what refinements I'd want to make. And guess what? They could make them. Wade has seen me surf the Moonfish a bunch of times and he said he would and could make me one and change the rocker so it would work even better for the way I surf.
I know I'm lucky. I live in Hawaii and surf in boardshorts year round. The waves I surf regularly would be the day of the year at certain places in the world. We have dozens of world class local shapers to choose from. And most of the rest of the worlds best shapers make regular trips here. But I was still willing to try FW. I know there's no way they could make me a better riding board than a custom Arakawa or Tokoro (Wade or Kerry).
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Havoc
Tom Curren status
Reged: 09/10/07
Posts: 10001
Loc: The OC Life
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Quote:
I know there's no way they could make me a better riding board than a custom Arakawa or Tokoro (Wade or Kerry).
and there it is folks!
enjoy custom made boards while you can. it's a niche industry and we are lucky in this day and age. it can all change very soon.
thanks teeroi for the review and insight! riding that board in bowly barrels is pretty intense. unfortunately for me, I will not be attending the fw sweet potato ownership. I may hit up dan man and take in some of my boards and see what we come up with! coronado is only an hour away and a beautiful place.
 
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"motions of rippage is initated by the hind leg"-Northern_Shores
"Lemme know. I got endson gas"-20W
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teeroi
Gerry Lopez status
Reged: 10/21/07
Posts: 983
Loc: eastside oahu
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I even owned a FW Alternator model their HPSB with the parabolic balsa rails. I got a 6'8 for the North Shore. It rode okay but took getting used to. The energy loads up from turns and there's a micro second delay or something before you get the spring from the rails they talk about in the FW marketing. It felt good off the top but disturbed me on bottom turns. I did get a really good barrel on that board but Stevie Wonder coulda came out of that one.
I've tried the FW Dominator, the Twin Keel and a longboard friends own. They rode okay but my dims are kinda in between what they offer stock.
I kept the 6'8 for awhile. Until I had Wade make me a 6'10. It was his 4 model that he has spent years refining on the North Shore. First wave I took the drop and it felt like coming home. I put the FW on the used board rack shortly after.
I have an Arakawa Element I got custom 2 years ago. My sister works for HIC and her boss offered me a couple of trade-ins a year. I told Wade, because I know how sensitive shapers can be. He said he didn't mind. Well I'm recovering from a recent knee injury and got rid of all my HPSB except for the 2 year old Element. I ordered the replacements a little thicker since my paddling sucks and have been riding the Element. That board went off. I rode it 2 weeks, everyday straight. This morning I had a crappy session and when I went in I noticed I cracked the glassing around my toe side fin.
Stephen, my sister's boss was still in the parking lot so I showed it to him. He was surprised it did that on a board 2 years old until he looked at the deck. I caved in the rail over the fin boxes which must have weakened the glassing. He said his pro team does that to their boards but usually not regular customers. He had some suggestions how to avoid it on my next board. If it was a new board he said he would fix it for me and show it to the glassers in case it was a defect. He told me to fix it and bring it in as a trade-in when I get it back from ding repair.
Yes the FW construction is probably a bit stronger than the glassing on my Arakawa. But I had that board 2 years and it still rode fantastic after I dusted it off and surfed it on my semi-bum knee. I had 2 weeks straight of head high or bigger Ala Moana Bowls and it finally gave in. I know I got my monies worth. And after it gets fixed I get to trade it in for Eric's 2.0 version of his Pulse. I know I'm lucky. Trade-ins or not, I know I'll never buy another FW.
That said if one of the morning Bowls crew buys a new FW model I'll swap boards for a couple of waves.
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sakana_kid
Nep status
Reged: 02/24/09
Posts: 722
Loc: da aloha state
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Funny to see this thread up and running. It motivated me to borrow one from a friend for a few days. I didn't like the first one I tried, but this ones a little smaller.
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Retropete
Michael Peterson status
Reged: 01/20/06
Posts: 1809
Loc: Sunny Coast Qld Australia
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This thread's got something for everyone.
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Caution: Excessive Kool aid consumption may result in a bitter aftertaste.
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kdropin
Grom
Reged: 02/27/10
Posts: 138
Loc: LI,NY/ TI,NC
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add another to the list 
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1...e=1&theater
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Havoc
Tom Curren status
Reged: 09/10/07
Posts: 10001
Loc: The OC Life
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Quote:
yes havoc loves to bash fw which is his absolute right here in good old usa but makes me laugh hard when in same thread plays ubb by sayin if it works for you great
then right away follows it with rant about moving jobs outside of us to thailand and fw busines model being only abuot profits. then follows that with racial comment like boards made by me so horny sex worker after he has said if it works for you ride it
icing on cake is he posts how hes prolly buying toyota prius
awesome
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"motions of rippage is initated by the hind leg"-Northern_Shores
"Lemme know. I got endson gas"-20W
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Havoc
Tom Curren status
Reged: 09/10/07
Posts: 10001
Loc: The OC Life
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Quote:
Quote:
yes havoc loves to bash fw which is his absolute right here in good old usa but makes me laugh hard when in same thread plays ubb by sayin if it works for you great
then right away follows it with rant about moving jobs outside of us to thailand and fw busines model being only abuot profits. then follows that with racial comment like boards made by me so horny sex worker after he has said if it works for you ride it
icing on cake is he posts how hes prolly buying toyota prius
awesome
Yeah I don't want to Havoc bash, but its fine if you stir a bit of sh*t up, but if you give it, you got to be able to take it too..he doesn't seem to take it to well.
lol!
dude. in all seriousness, what other tech have you ridden that has allowed u to reach this firewire epiphany? In the earlier post I was talking about your experience with materials, tech etc which it appears that the only baseline you have is pu/pe. please correct me if I'm wrong. just curious as to what made u reach this epiphany.
Have i tried any of the following:
xtr, eps, stringerless eps, resin-x + eps, poly + epoxy, hydroflex, fst, vac bagged eps....
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"motions of rippage is initated by the hind leg"-Northern_Shores
"Lemme know. I got endson gas"-20W
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indodreams
Legend (inyourownmind)
Reged: 03/25/11
Posts: 302
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Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
yes havoc loves to bash fw which is his absolute right here in good old usa but makes me laugh hard when in same thread plays ubb by sayin if it works for you great
then right away follows it with rant about moving jobs outside of us to thailand and fw busines model being only abuot profits. then follows that with racial comment like boards made by me so horny sex worker after he has said if it works for you ride it
icing on cake is he posts how hes prolly buying toyota prius
awesome
Yeah I don't want to Havoc bash, but its fine if you stir a bit of sh*t up, but if you give it, you got to be able to take it too..he doesn't seem to take it to well.
lol!
dude. in all seriousness, what other tech have you ridden that has allowed u to reach this firewire epiphany? In the earlier post I was talking about your experience with materials, tech etc which it appears that the only baseline you have is pu/pe. please correct me if I'm wrong. just curious as to what made u reach this epiphany.
Have i tried any of the following:
xtr, eps, stringerless eps, resin-x + eps, poly + epoxy, hydroflex, fst, vac bagged eps....
Look i do agree with you, my experience with materials is fairly limited to countless PU boards and that's what im comparing FW's too, i never said there the best boards in the world or the most durable or they are stronger than coils or anything like that.
There just the most durable boards i have ridden and im stoked on how there holding up and stoked on how they go and im not shy in singing there praises, cause im an Aussie and we like to sh*t stir a bit and know you guys that are against the asian board thing love it so much :P
Where i live the market is still 95-99% PU boards, there's a few shapers dabling with epoxy and there,s some other big label epoxy boards, but both also turn up in the second hand board racks, dinged up similar to a PU board and i haven't had great feedback from anyone on them, only other epoxys are surftech, 7ss which i have no interest in.
Got to remember this is also a thread about FW's if you dont like FW or what i have to say about FW, just skip the thread.
Oh and seeing the thread was about FW sweet potatoe, i dont have one, but i rode a mates and was stoked on how it went in crap waves that day, so i want one.
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sakana_kid
Nep status
Reged: 02/24/09
Posts: 722
Loc: da aloha state
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I have ridden the 5'4" SP for the last two days in knee to chest high windswell. It figured it out today and had a couple of fun waves. Wraparound cutbacks, a floater, but no off the tops. My foot had to be against the kick of the deck pad with the super wide tail. I'm thinking the 5'6" was just too big for me.
I'm going to take it out one last time before returning it to my friend. So far I would still rather take out my 9'0" than this board. 
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Retropete
Michael Peterson status
Reged: 01/20/06
Posts: 1809
Loc: Sunny Coast Qld Australia
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What fins are in it.
Most like the Futures controllers when using Futures and either MR tfx's and various trailers or (my choice) SF4 (Stretches) with fcs.
You won't have the easy early wave catching ability of a longboard but the mini-simmons style manouvreability and especially the glide across fat sections is the buzz on these boards.
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Caution: Excessive Kool aid consumption may result in a bitter aftertaste.
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sakana_kid
Nep status
Reged: 02/24/09
Posts: 722
Loc: da aloha state
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Future SA's. I am going to give it one last go tomorrow. Don't have any fins to switch out so I gotta surf it like this.
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Dorado
Legend (inyourownmind)
Reged: 04/25/07
Posts: 483
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Rode my Chum lee in 3.6@ 14 s groundswell with slack winds yesterday .
Pluses:
Easy paddle in roll into fat wedge jetty peaks
Fast on the high line , and through flAt spots
Carries speed and when behind a section able to get back in the pocket quick
Changes direction easy super loose
Minuses
Redlines out at head high , I mean I was able to ride it without spinning out at this size but you def have to surf it more gingerly as it's pretty slippery and fast . On the bigger sets which were head high plus peaks my hornet would have been a more logical choice but lured by wanting to try this since it's new .
Best in knee to chest range .
On bumpy waves it's def takes getting used to that high on the surface kinda easily bumped off feeling of an epoxy .
On clean faces however board absolutely flies and skates along so nice
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nkpheous
Michael Peterson status
Reged: 04/07/08
Posts: 2987
Loc: Huntington Beach
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Thanks for the report and the pm info. From your review it sounds like the ticket for small waves. I have a 5'2 on order with Dan. He says it's going to have a bit more pulled in nose and bladier than a fw. 
I can't tell from the pic but are you running fcs SA quads?
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Dorado
Legend (inyourownmind)
Reged: 04/25/07
Posts: 483
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Yes it is def more refined than a FW SP . I am running the SA2 Large as per Dan Mann advice .
Board def has it's place . I'm very fit and a strong paddler and my CL catches waves as easy as the 3 mini Simmons I've had .
One other thing is def put a tail pad on as to really get the most performance you need your foot way back over the fins and a pad with a tail kick will def come in handy . I hadn't put one on yet but I am for next sesh As I think I can def push harder on turns with one on it .
Board really is easy to climb the foam / wash and I generally suck at that on my hybrid or HPSB
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sakana_kid
Nep status
Reged: 02/24/09
Posts: 722
Loc: da aloha state
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Suckin Nk. You got a Chum lee on order. 
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prjwebb
Gerry Lopez status
Reged: 02/13/11
Posts: 953
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Not quite Sweet Potato related, but Shane Dorian looking pretty happy on his Thai made board...
another shot here
http://magicseaweed.com/A-Plus-April--Content/3753/17/
Worth looking through the whole feature to be honest.
Edited by prjwebb (04/24/12 09:08 AM)
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surfwhere
Legend (inyourownmind)
Reged: 08/05/08
Posts: 450
Loc: Norf Cackalacka
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I thought he surfed for JC Hawaii 
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Who signed the bottom of your surfboards?
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nkpheous
Michael Peterson status
Reged: 04/07/08
Posts: 2987
Loc: Huntington Beach
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yup 
cool ordering experience too. gave him my age,weight,height and where i surf. all i know is its going to be a 5'2
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indodreams
Legend (inyourownmind)
Reged: 03/25/11
Posts: 302
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I thought only us kooks rode FW's?
Hows the waves, insane wave rifles.
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Kingston
Legend (inyourownmind)
Reged: 08/11/11
Posts: 209
Loc: South Bay
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Here's a review on firewire's custom board design thing
http://www.theinertia.com/surf/firewires-custom-board-design/
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