Table of contents for 2019 ANNUAL in Tracks

Ride this board if ... you want to have more fun than anyone else in the water, this board is fast, smooth and holds its line through full rail turns. Under the hood ... Still probably the most versatile design of all surfboard crafts. If you were stranded on an island for the next 10 years and were only allowed one board this would be my recommendation. Tested from Cardiff Reef to Uluwatu, Waikiki to Pipe, this is a very trustworthy design. Double foil fins with low cant and toe, complimented by the twin pin tail allow this board to reach high speeds and ensure hold whenever on the rail. Rolled nose to concaved tail gives this board a great feel in all conditions. This will blow the hair off…

Ride this board if ... you are looking for a high-performance board that loves perfection and slop in equal measure and offers paddle power. Under the hood ... The Hydroshort is a next generation Tomo shortboard design, with consideration for artificial waves. Inspired by the functional aesthetic of the Hydronaut, the Hydroshort is tuned for maximum performance in small to medium waves. Highlighted by the ultra-modern ‘torpedo nose’ profile, the Hydroshort has an incredible rail-to-rail flow and low swing weight at the front end, which translates to a feeling of instant response. Coupled with a clean, continuous, (medium) rocker curve and the quad inside single concave (QISC), the Hydroshort is ready for maximum wave attack with tremendous bursts of speed. The squash tail version is more favourable in flatter face,…

Ride this board if ... You want maximum grip off the bottom with the claw action of a swallow while retaining total freedom off the top. Under the hood ... The swallow is a great alternative to the common rounded pin tail in bigger waves. The claw action of the swallow holds off the bottom just as good as a narrower pin, but delivers more dynamic moves off the top. The rails are small box designed to handle maximum plunge with a quick release response. The plan shape in the back half is a clean curve with no hips, and the depth of the concave is deepest between your two feet in order to get maximum lift squirt and bight. Using Epoxy resin on a PU shape is not common,…

Ride this board if ... you are looking for an all-rounder suiting small to medium waves with a flowing, stable ride. Under the hood ... The Cuttlefish is a user-friendly model. The flatter nose rocker combined with the wider nose creates speed off the mark and facilitates early entry into waves. To compensate for the flat rocker we`ve added Vee under the front foot, which helps surfing rail to rail. A double concave through the tail maintains speed and release. The Cuttlefish features a super flat deck (almost concaved) which creates a boxier rail for flow and stability, allowing you to push hard through turns without digging rail. One of the main features of this model is the wider tail, curving into a tight pin tail in the last six…

Ride this board if ... you are interested in the feel of a twin with a high level of performance in your surfing. The flavour is retro, the spice is contemporary. Under the hood ... Inspired by the twins ridden around 1980. The flat-ish rocker supplies loads of available speed. The bottom has a concave running through the meat of the board, shifting to a double concave through the side fin area. These contours respond well when the board is driven hard. The board has the ability to glide on the forward volume area at any moment, while swooping back to the most critical wave position at any point in time. Well-balanced volume distribution ensures the rider enjoys the smoothest transitions from forward trim into tail surfing. Features the slightest…

Ride this board if ... you’re looking for a board with a classic look and progressive feel to spice up your surfing life. This will draw you lines you didn’t think were possible. Under the hood ... One of Town & Country’s most iconic boards to this day. It’s an updated twin fin, based on the board that Pottz used back in the heyday when twins were all the rage. Fuller twin, wing swallow outline with a beaked nose. Most guys order the board with glassed on twin fins, but they can also come with either Futures or FCS. Kolton’s Conclusion The first word that came to mind when I saw this board was Martin Potter! I was immediately drawn to the classic 80s spray and the back half of…

Tyler Warren, 33, Southern California Tyler Warren is one of the most respected surfer/shapers on the planet. He has a laid back approach in and out of the water and his knowledge of surfboard design is both diverse and expansive. One of the smoother styles you will have the pleasure of witnessing, Tyler draws lines that reveal a whole different way to approach the open face. He’s an extremely versatile wave rider and is a pleasure to watch on any kind of craft. When he’s not cutting foam in the bay or testing boards out Lowers, he’ll most likely be on a swell run south, slotting into some heaving Mexican chambers. Robbie Rickard, 23, Fingal Robbie Rickard is an absolute powerhouse of a human. With a heavy back-foot and 90…

Ride this board if ... you are after a lively forgiving performance board that will improve your surfing. Under the hood ... The PoPo features a fuller outline combined with concaves, providing an easy surfing, high performance board suited to a wide variety of conditions. Available in round, squash and swallow tails. This PoPo model uses Diamond Edition Injection Technology incorporating our Flex2Weight program to optimise performance. Injection Tech utilises the pressures and forces from the surfer and the wave itself, elastic energy. By strategically engineering the position of the reinforcing material on the bottom of the board we create less resistance to torsional flex, allowing the board to flow through turns with a more drawn out turning arch. The continuous length of reinforcing material is injected through the core…

Ride this board if ... you are looking contemporary shape combined with futuristic technologies that provides a ride that is solid under-foot with increased life, spring and pop. Under the hood ... Para-flex Whip is a high-performance based model that will light up in medium to good quality waves. Standard medium rocker with late tail kick to give it whip and release off the top. Medium low rails providing plenty of hold and drive in punchy hollow waves. The construction method used on this board is something we’ve been developing over the past three years. Taking a stringerless PU blank cutting and glueing our own parabolic composite stringers down each rail, ending in line with the front fins then glassed in Epoxy. This produces an extremely responsive board with controlled…

Ride this board if ... If you like surfing something a few inches shorter than your normal performance board but still want something fast and lively. Under the hood ... The Joker is a super fun alternative to riding your normal shortboard. It has a flat deck and full rail, giving the smaller board enough volume to paddle well and keep your wave count up. The wider nose and tail keep the outline straighter through the centre of the board, which helps you to hold your momentum through turns. The Joker has a low entry rocker which is increased through the tail, this is combined with a single concave, which runs right through the bottom, but is deeper between your feet giving you plenty speed and drive. The wide round…

Ride this board if  ... You are looking for a mid-length to be ridden 7-8 inches longer than you are tall depending on the feel you are after. Under the hood ... Notox is an exciting technology that is tackling the issue of sustainable surfing head-on with innovative and ecologically-friendly surfboard construction. The traditional surfboard generates around 6 kg of waste whereas a Notox surfboard produces only 1 kg of waste, 75% of which is recyclable. This is a stark contrast when you consider the number of boards manufactured annually. The Shiitake is not a shortboard, it’s a mid-length fish with performance built into it. It has a very classic outline carrying more width forward of centre for paddle power and drive. When combined with a quad set-up it delivers…

Ride this board if ... you want a bit more economy in your surfing, just place the board in the right part of the wave and let it do the work. Under the hood ... Extra volume throughout the board with a flat deck equates to paddle power. A slight forward foil allows you to gain speed by placing the board in the power source rather than constantly keeping the board activated, like a contemporary thruster. The bottom contours are as follows. Slight Vee through the entry of the board to add a little curve in the rail line to balance out the very low centre rocker. Leading into a light single through the midpoint to further flatten the rocker and provide a little push back under your front foot.…

Ride this board if ... you want a board to grovel on or ride well in clean head-high and just above waves. Under the hood ... This board is my take on the high-performance fishy shortboard. The forward half looks like a fuller shortboard, while the tail, a chopped swallow tail around eight inches wide at tail block, allows for instant speed and looseness. It features a straight rail line in the last 1/4 inch of the board for drive. The slight flatness in the forward deck is blended into the rails and through the tail. The bottom is slight single concave with a bit of double for maximum water flow. Forgiving rails further forward that become nice and edgy in the back. Board will work well with a number…

Insanity - 5’10 x 19.5 x 2.5 - 31 Litres Ride this board if ... you want the most versatile one-board quiver to fly on in the small stuff and hold in a barrel. Under the hood ... The Insanity was developed with Josh Kerr over the last half of 2017. He wanted a one-board solution to take to the North Shore for that 17/18 winter season. We worked on a few ideas and found some black magic! It has a little bit of fish, a little bit of step-up and a lot of performance wrapped into a tight, foam friendly package with an alternative performance rocker and modern bottom contours and a slight beak nose. Makes for an amazing combo that works in all sorts of conditions. Josh has…

Ride this board if ... you want something different to mass-produced popouts and to experience tail channels that lacerate the face of a wave and give you something to drive off. Under the hood ... Well, after you have been shaping for 44 years you can basically shape any style of surfboard for any sorts of waves ... I have always been a designer/shaper who uses Australian workers to manufacture my boards, not Asian popouts that basically copy the curves and contours that the Australian surfboard industry has made. My designs reflect that 44-year history and the flatter tail curve I use gives you a turbo-charged board, while the tail channels allow you to attack the face and dig it. You will find this model so much fun that it…

Ride this board if  ... You want to fly down the line with unprecedented speed and flow. Under the hood ... This board is custom made and 100% hand shaped. It is designed using the golden ratio of 1.618 to create unbroken parabolic curves throughout its shape. This maximises the wave/surfboard energy transfer to give the board unbelievable speed. It’s a cross between a traditional keel fin fish and a conventional short board, with a side cut. It’s got a super flat fish rocker in the centre line and a short board rocker in the outline. The bottom configuration is Vee to deep concave coming out to a big Vee through the tail. The split keels allow water to move through the fin configuration, loosening the board up off the…

Ride this board if ... You’re looking for a high performance board that wants to go hard on rail yet is super responsive off the lip. Fast, drivey and stable under foot – a great travel shorty. Under the hood ... Working with team riders and loyal customers we wanted to achieve a design for good waves in mind. So we came up with the Hornet model. It has amazing hold and speed off the bottom, which is generated by a generous single concave just forward of the fin cluster. It also features a flipped rail line rocker out the tail to help the board fit in the pocket and give release off the lip. A really balanced and stable board under the foot. Also works well on the open…

Ride this board if ... You are looking for a mid-length fish. This is to be ridden seven-eight inches longer than your height, depending on the feel you are after. Lots of paddle power and flow. Under the hood ... A mid-length fish with performance built into it. It has a classic outline carrying more width forward of centre for paddle power and drive, but when combined with the Twinzer fin set-up and bottom contours it is surprisingly nimble when you jam on the tail. The nose entry rocker is flat with a rolled Vee, single concave through the centre blending into double concave to concave Vee right out the tail. This creates lots of rail line rocker off the tail to keep it manoeuvrable, yet also helps preserve drive…

Ride this board if ... you want to make the most of almost all wave types without having to change your board! Under the hood ... A semi hybrid design with a wider nose, flatter deck with subtle smooth rounded area pin tail outline. You can ride this model a couple of inches shorter than a standard HP surfboard. Single to an accentuated, double concave bottom curve to help create more Vee through the fins to add more speed and lift through turns. Combined with our stringerless PU design featuring deck channels and XF-RAP carbon to add more coil and spring to your turns, it makes it an extremely punchy and explosive design that works in a large range of waves. It goes awesome as tri fin but I reckon…

Ride this board if ... you are looking for an all-round high perfomance board that works really good in any condition and you’ll always have in your car. Under the hood ... The IKi is our high-performance all-round board. The key features in this board are the rocker, particularly between your feet, the position of the hip in the outline, and fin placement. All these elements combined allow the board to have a ton of drive and acceleration with exceptional manoeuvrability. They also make the board user-friendly. If you’re looking for a board that works consistently in any sort of condition that’s the IKi. Board spray by Adrian Robert Turner. Robbie’s Conclusion With a low entry rocker and hip through the tail the Iki is a high-performance board typically suited…