Photo: Alex Laurel

I ALWAYS TRAVEL WITH 3 VERSIONS OF MY FIREWIRE SPARTAN MODEL. ALL OF THEM ARE SINGLE CONCAVE, THE SAME RELATIVELY MODERATE ROCKER BUT DIFFERENT VOLUMES. EVEN THOUGH THERE ISN’T MUCH SPREAD IN LENGTH, THE BOARDS ARE DIFFERENT OVERALL AND PERFORM DIFFERENTLY, SO I KNOW AT LEAST 1 OF THE 3 WILL WORK IN ALL CONDITIONS I FIND DURING AN EVENT.

(More like this in SE103)

5’11” X 18 3/16” X 2 3/16”

My small wave board, easy to turn and really reactive. It’s easy to find speed on mushy waves on this one, ideal for European beachbreaks on high tide, I use it in up to 3-4ft surf.

5’11” X 19” X 2 1⁄2”

I use it when the conditions are a bit more powerful, I like to have that bit more width, that way I’m able to push harder on my turns and the board will still respond well. Maybe this is unusual, since some guys go narrower in more powerful surf for more control.

6’0” X 19” X 2 1/2”

My step up board, I surf this one from around 6ft whether it’s barrelling or not. This board is really good for all kinds of conditions, it’s just a touch longer than my shortboard with the same rocker and concave, that way the ride doesn’t change, it just handles a bit more size a bit better.

“The first year that I made the WCT, I went to the Mentawais and Firewire gave me 2 Taj models to try, and they were just insane. I kinda fell in love there and then with the shape and feel of these boards. Mainly, I love the speed and precision they give your surfing… they’re really strong too – perfect for my power surfing as they last longer. I get through quite a lot of boards, this year I ordered around 80, and I’ll break way less than if they were regular PU boards. To me, Firewires are the future of surfboards…”