Firewire Surfboards available for demo in Cornwall

April 11th, 2013

Fancy taking the Firewire Mini Driver for a spin? Love the look of the Firewire Vanguard but can’t decide on the length? A toss up between the Potatonator and Sweet Potato frying your brain? All these radical changes in board templates is a gamble in just trusting your hard earned cash with the long haired lank down the local surf shack just because he said, “My mate Paul just had  the best surf of his life at Sheepies on the new Firewire Jacknife last night”. Yeah, ok mate, maybe he did, but I know how I surf and I know what I want my new board to do.

Well, fear not, because us friendly chaps at Down the Line Surf Co. Hayle, Cornwall, have a range of new Firewire Surfbaords available for you to take for a spin to check them out for yourself!

Absolutely free, and with no obligation whatsoever, all you need to do is swing by the shop, mention that you’ve seen this blog and you wanna take one of the little beauties out for day. We’ll take your phone number and bank card details, and you get to walk out the door with Mini Driver under your arm. Our demos are on a 24hour basis so you can keep her for the night if you want, (remember, no tongues.)

Check out the line up of all available boards for demo here….

 

 

Firewire Potatonator Demo

5’10 Potatonator

 

As the name implies, the POTATO-NATOR is the result of gene-splicing the SWEET POTATO and the DOMINATOR. With a longer rail line and less girth than the POTATO, and a slightly pulled in nose similar to the DOMINATOR, the POTATO-NATOR is meant to be ridden 4″-6″ longer than a POTATO, and approx. 2″ shorter than the DM.

The double concaves are softer than the SWEET POTATO and while the overall rocker has been increased slightly to enhanced performance, the low entry rocker remains which makes paddling a breeze. Designed primarily for 2′-4′ surf, the POTATO-NATOR will hold its own in 3′-5′ as well. Fin placement is optimized to be ridden as a quad, but don’t be afraid to throw in a small, knubby trailer fin to help this hybrid 4-finner come alive in new ways. Splice and dice it up!

 

 

 

6'2 FST and 6'0" Radifire

6’2 FST and 6’0″ Rapidfire Spitfire

 

The Spitfire was the brainchild of Firewire’s Marketing Director and former top pro surfer Chuy Reyna. He liked Firewire’s Dominator but wanted a bit more drive … The Spitfire combines a Diamond tail and step-down tail rail to give the tail bite of a thinner board, without losing the Dominator’s speed and flotation. The Spitfire also offers the same 5/4/3 fin options and and low entry rocker for easy paddling.

 

 

 

 

Firewire Vangaurd

5’08 Vanguard

 

 

Don’t be put off by it’s quirky looks – this is a highly functional surfboard that lends itself to rail surfing and tricks in a wide range of conditions.

In the words of Firewire, “higher degrees of speed, electric wave attack and radical aerial potential are all possible with this highly tuned machine.”

 

 

5'03" Baked potato in White Rapid Fire

5’03″ Baked potato in White Rapid Fire

 

The Baked Potato has a few subtle design changes from the Sweet Potato, yet still offering the same excellent small wave performance. Pulling the nose in slightly and losing some volume in the rails has allowed for even faster rail to rail transition.

 

 

 

 

Firewire Lost mayhem mini Driver

5’10″ Firewire Lost Mini Driver

 

 

Arguably one of the most versatile boards in the Firewire range.Starting with the Driver, they lowered the nose rocker and placed the outline further forward, both of these changes created extra drive. Throw in a rounded tail for control and add a little extra width 12″ up from the tail to create a clean elliptical outline which allows this board to move freely on the face and also inside the barrel. This board will amaze you in small, everyday surf, but still hold its own when a decent winter groundswell hits.

 

 

 

Firewire jacknife demo

5’08 Jacknife

 

 

As of Spring 2013 the JacKnife is Firewire’s newest high performance hybrid. It has a slightly fuller nose and a fairly wide wing swallow which results in an “effective rail” line that allows length through turns when you need it, and shorter, snappier turns when you release between arcs. Couple this with a contemporary foil and rocker for vertical in the pocket and rail sensitive ripping, and the un-weighting ease for longer airtime, and you’ll love the versatility.

 

 

Longboard Firewire demo

Flexflight 9’0 Longboard

 

 

 

FLEXFLIGHT’S are true high-performance longboards, incorporating the increased dampening and squirt through turns as a result of CROSSFIRE Technology’s flex characteristics; which eliminate the chatter of a longer board while increasing overall speed, never mind the 30% weight saving and increased strength over regular “PU”.

 

 

 

 

 

So, what are you waiting for? The sun’s out and it’s pumping on the coast. Give us a call on 01736757025 and come down the shop to grab a board and have a whirl. you never know, it could give your surfing a completely new lease of life!

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Firewire Mobile Volume Calculator

March 24th, 2013

Firewire & Boardformula.com Create Mobile Volume Calculator

FirewireBoardFormula

As one of the first surfboard brands to introduce volume into the debate around surfboard design, Firewire has now taken it to the next level.

“In the recent past, there was not that much difference between most of the shortboards ridden”, said Firewire CEO Mark Price, “and if you asked most surfers they would probably refer to the length and fin configuration and just say that ‘I ride a 6’2” thruster’ for example. With the wide range of shapes now being offered, volume is a far more precise determinant of which board suits a particular surfer than length is, and the mobile Volume Calculator puts that information at your fingertips at any time”.

Working with Benjamin Thompson, the brains behind Boardformula.com, Firewire co-developed the Volume Calculator, a tool that takes into consideration a surfers age, weight, fitness level and surfing skills, and through complex algorithms, determines the optimum range of volumes for that person.

“To say that volume has been revolutionary in terms of how we talk about board design and shape would be an understatement”, continued Price, “and that has lead directly to better informed and satisfied surfers”.

“Firewire believes that minor refinements to the shape of today’s modern surfboards can only produce incremental performance benefits. Exponential improvements in performance require the ongoing development of new materials, construction methods and radical shape, which, in turn, will fuel new design success. In addition, with the increased eco-consciousness of today’s consumer, Firewire is constantly refining our raw materials to decrease the environmental impact of our boards. Currently our surfboards emit only 2% of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that conventional polyurethane boards do throughout their lifespan.”

Just bear in mind…

Although the introduction of volume to the list of surfboard measurements has been highly useful, it’s not the be all and end all. There are factors which will effect how well a particular mass floats you. For example rocker and concave can create extra lift and make a board float better without changing the overall volume. You also need to consider how and where you’ll be surfing; If you want to take things easy and/or you’ll be wearing a lot of neoprene, then you’d want to go right to the top of Firewire’s suggested literage, perhaps even a bit above.

Check out our recent YouTube interview with Bob McTavish for an interesting angle on using volume as a guide when buying a surfboard…

Buying a Longboard with Bob McTavish

 

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Firewire Vanguard

February 8th, 2013


Ladies and Gentlemen, behold the Vanguard, Firewire’s bold new model – the brainchild of pioneering Lennox Head shaper/ripper Daniel Thomson (Tomo). We spoke to Firewire head honcho Nev Hyman today and he said:
“I’ve been riding this for weeks and it’s f—–g amazing! Problem is I’m going to have to rip up the shaping manual.”
We’ll admit, we were somewhat dubious, but after testing it ourselves for a few days we can confirm that it’s a great board. It takes a few waves to get used to (if you’re used to riding thrusters then maybe start off using the Vanguard with three fins before switching to it’s preferred four fin configuration) but it’s well worth it. It’s fast, smooth, forgiving, versatile and fun. We haven’t fully got our heads around why it works, but it most certainly does. Looks like being a game-changer!

Buy the Vanguard today!

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Ryan Lovelace Surfcraft boards

January 27th, 2013

Ryan Lovelace, shaper and master craftsman at Surfcraft Santa Barbara California is responsible for some of the smoothest curves you will ever see on a board. The Down the Line team were literally blown away when they met the man himself in California this year and saw the boards in the flesh. So much so that we’re shipping the boards over here to have a play in Cornish waters. Ladies and gentleman, we introduce to you the V.Bowls by Ryan Lovelace

V.Bowls by Ryan Lovelace – Surf Craft

Pretty little thing isn’t she? Here’s what he has to say about his creation:-

“This is the board that is leading my focus in surfboard design for the past year. It takes everything that I’ve learned from my years shaping and riding displacement hulls and transfers those feelings of slingshot bottom turns and top speed trim into a package that turns with confidence off the back foot and tackles small waves with pleasure.

There has rarely been a day in the past year that has made me want to ride anything but this shape and it is the go-to board for my worldly travels.”

We’re expecting these absolute beauties sometime around Easter, more details will be coming soon.

In the meantime, here’s Troy Mothershead having a play on a V.Bowls at Malibu Point, with some squabbling seagulls thrown in

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Patagonia R4 wetsuit on an Antarctican Iceberg

January 21st, 2013

Kepa Acero spent a couple of days around Deception Island, in the Antarctic. He didn’t get any waves yet, but you can tell by the stoke on his face that it was a truly incredible trip. He’s still out there, so look out for further footage coming soon

Kepa Acero putting the Patagonia R4 wetsuit to the test in the Antarctic

Here’s what he has had to say about the trip so far:-

“We are going through the Drake Passage, mythical and legendary among sailors and navigators to be more enraged space on the planet.
When we left the port of Ushuaia, our sailboat, the Pakea Bizkaia, estable, seemed solid and we passed Cape Horn and the dimensions change. Now, between two oceans, with this mass movement of water, wind, and snow and crossing 50 degrees of latitude gives you a feeling you are very small amid the vastness.
180 degrees south, morning finally get to Antarctica.
……………………

Land in sight … the distance of a species is white mass. If not for rocky peaks protruding think they are a fog … we are getting closer and begin to see the dimensions of the ice mountains …
It’s huge ice walls … hard to describe. We’re joined thousands of penguins jumping into the stern and petrels playing the lee of the wing …
It is impressive, not how to describe it … a killer whale playing with the boat here, it seems that I can play.
We’re here to Antarctica.

A first shot to test my suits.
The water is less than 2 degrees and have endured half hour.
We are on Deception Island and in latitude 60
The wave prediction for tomorrow is good, so we’ll see a couple of possible breaks below a glacier.
This must be the most beautiful place I’ve seen in my life.”

Check the link directly below for a few minutes of excellent footage of Kepa in the Antartctic

The water temperature here in Cornwall may not be quite as cold as it is in the Antarctic, but it’s still pretty damn chilly, so why don’t you take full advantage of our current sale we have on all Patagonia Wetsuits, where you can save 20% off the retail price.

Click here for 20% off all Patagonia Wetsuits

 

 

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