Channel Islands Fishbeard Surfboard Review
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- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
- IMPORTANT: I stated the board is concave all the wave through but I failed to mention that at the tip of the tail, it is flat.
A marriage between the CI Fish and the Neckbeard2. This is a surfboard that is all business up front and party in the back.
It's a hybrid board that has a great deal of potential for performance due to it frontend outline but also can grovel and accelerate in small waves because of its wide fishlike tail.
Many that are intermediate might not like this board with Keel fins. The amount of pushback from the fins might get mistaken for the board being too tight. When in actuality is potential for drive if harnessed correctly.
However, a more upright non keel twin fin, it might feel loose and responsive to an intermediate so it has the potential to satisfy a lot of different skill sets.
I recommend this board for midrange intermediate surfers all the way up to expert.
@cisurfboards
#cifishbeard
#nakedvikingsurf 4:55
#nvsonofins
Legit the coolest boards such a hook up
Hello I'm5'9 165lbs having same size！but really suitable for my style♪its been smooth take off and very fast keel fin♪
Good video 🤙🏾. Hope CI sponsors you one day
Never was a fan of this model watching all the videos on her.
This particular one looks to long for you and the lines it draws isn't appealing.
I call it as I see it.
Good review🤙
Mabey try Noel's signature twin fins with more base and release off the top. yes I find twins suck on backhand also though.
Excellent review and how you broke down the turns frontside, backside, air attempts etc. unique format keep it up!
Great review again. I love my fishbeard, great all rounder, the more I surf it the more I like it! Thanks for the info and thanks to Jeff!
How do you deal with the backside part ?
@@chrisathan4293 the fish-beard does backside just as good as frontside. It’s an easy board to ride too.
@@brodykuhn6029 thank you for the reply! Thinking about getting one :)
Hi Thomye, during this review you ride a fishbeard 5.8 PU but when you reviewed the SCI-FI 2.0 you used a 5.7 size. These 2 boards have very similar dimensions, why did you go bigger on fishbeared? Is it because it is a PU construction? Would you ride a 5.7 if it was Spinetech EPS construction? Is it because there are rumours that it is good to ride the fishbeared one size bigger? How do you compare these 2 boards? thankssss!
no, a friend of mine gave me his fishbeard to review. and as the saying goes, beggars can't be choosers. I'm not exactly sure how I would size a fishbeard to be honest. If I were to resize based on my experience, I would like do a 5'5 or 5'6 SciFi2 instead of 5'7 and maybe a 5'6 or 5'7 Fishbeard. Both felt a tad big for me. nothing that hurt my surfing but it just would have felt more comfortable. Maybe in the spinetech, 5'6, 5'7 in the PU.
with that said though, a shorter fishbeard would have been harder backhand. it was already pretty hard. the volume wasn't the issue, I'm sort of used to buying 28L boards and being on top of the water. The board was too long for its width. I like a 5'8 rail line but narrower, my newer Sharpeye FT and Frk+ are both 5'8 but narrower, making them 25+ Liters.
Hi Thomye, I have a Neckbeard 5.10 and I love it. Can you compare with the fishbeard ?
hard for me to compare them fairly. my neckbeard was 2" shorter than my fishbeard. with those differences, I found the neckbeard to be better in the pocket where it was steep. However, the fishbeard with the keel fins had more drive and it felt like a part of my body. Almost instantly felt right where as the neckbeard took me a few sessions. fishbeard definitely excelled in smaller mushier waves.
You looked better on the modern 2. When I rode the fish beard, the nose seemed long when I did cutbacks and some turns.
I think you would love the JS Black Baron. One of my favorite boards
If a decent one ever pops up on the used market I'll have to try and pick one up. Yeah when that bored first came out I was very interested.
Have you ever tried the tomo Evo? Heard it's a great board but wondered what you'd think about it.
I've heard the same thing and two of my buddies can't talk enough good things about it. The hardest thing for me as a starting youtube reviewer is finding these boards and affording them. But if I ever see one my size and on the used market, I'm not going to overlook it. Based on comments from viewers, I have a list of boards if ever I get the chance to buy, I'll certainly pick it up.
@@ThomyeSurfs +1 for the Tomo Evo, very curious about it. Have you tried asking surfshops? Sometimes they have demo boards to test.
Great video btw, impressive speed and turns in such small waves.
@@fox..2668 i'll ask around.
@@ThomyeSurfs I've got a Helium 5'5" Evo you are welcome to test drive. I surfed main tower on it today!.....BTW, m'names Jeff.....ha!
white tail pad would look best
Would you prefer it in Spinetek? Did you get any bigger waves on it?
yes, much prefer it in spinetek or a lighter pu glass job. this thing is too heavy.
Really looked good on you. 😎
Great work on the review, really enjoy your channel, I've got a fb in spinetek with the al merrick keel fins - great combo for 3/4ft+ but a bit too much fin for my liking in the smaller days. All round a very fun board tho with heaps of speed and drive as you said. I Just need to find some more upright fins that work better in smaller surf.
thanks for the feedback. I am considering running my Machado keels on the left box and a taller upright EN fin on the right box. Asym fins, haha. Should be interesting.
@ThomyeSurfs I know this comment is from a long time ago, but if you're still reading these comments, did you try the asym fins? Did it work? Thanks for all the great videos!
wow very fast board, how do it compare to the sharpeye modern2 ?
I like the M2 for a bit more performance and release. Also, the most obvious would be ease backside surfing. I like the FB for more drive and speed. I think it can go on rail better too except the width of the tails makes it so you have to be on rail vs push the flat part of the tail. something like a layback jam, which i don't do, would be hard cuz of all the pushback from the wide tail. but carving through a turn is pretty nice. Both different boards, enough so that I would say good to have both if you can afford it.
Also from a psychological standpoint, I like light weight boards so the M2 is heaps lighter than the FB as a PU. I would love to have the FB in spinetek. :)
between the two board that I have, I'll go with my M2. But if I had the spinetek version it would be a very hard choice.
@@ThomyeSurfs Also m2 is v bottom and fb is single into double concave isn't it?
@@MrRobinski M2 is v bottom. The FB is single concave all the way through and flat out the tail like the neckbeard2. i think the original Neckbeard was double.
@@ThomyeSurfs I like the flow on the FB and can see how for softer waves it is really good. The M2 footage on steeper waves looked little better to my eye though, interesting to hear how it felt.
@@chucks222 I am going to try to surf it this weekend with a toe side keel fin but an upright heel side fin to see if that helps with my backhand. :)
Great review
Thanks
I've noticed you are a ligther guy...
And mabe have improved your litres
I normally use 29.5 on my HPSB...do you think thar a Fishbeard with 30.7 sounds good for me?
Thank you again
should be fine. in fact, the fishbeard i was surfing is also about the same liters as my other grovelers if not a little less. With that said, the Fishbeard although technically a groveler, surfs way better than one. it seems to work well in decent waves. I almost put it in between a groveler and a performance board.
The CI fishbeard will be my next board. Thank you for the great review 🤙
So back side it doesn't go well?
not for me it doesn't, i saw parker coffin rip on it. but in all fairness, it's a twin fin kind of thing for me. Maybe the keel fins. I'll have to try it out with a different set.
What size fins do you usually ride for typical thruster setup? I'm still amazed how different a board can feel with small fin changes...
anything under head high, I use large. I like my fins to push back. The futures EA are medium which is why I felt the NB2 and the Glazer felt a tad loose and unresponsive. it was super maneuverable but at the cost of drive.
Looks like that board really works for you. Great review.
Recommendations on upright fins?
I don't really surf upright fins on twins. I have tried the EN's but found it to be a tad too loose. I love the EN's when there is a stabilizer option but on the fishbeard, no such option.
Having said that, if you have good experience with other upright twins, I'd say just use for favorite. Otherwise, I'd say find something that is wider. just so it has a bit of hold. I heard Noel Salas's performance twins are a good option.
@@ThomyeSurfs I’ve got k2 futures and I like them a lot I can see what you mean when keel fins can get a little tight but overall I love them they have a ton of drive and I think they’re less keely as the AMK keel fins
@@AmadeColenbrander I definitely need to try different fin options on that board. might be an easy video to do.
Can you make a review the puddle jumper lib tech or any lib tech board
I'd like to but when I went to check one out, they all felt way too heavy. With my limited funds, I decided not to buy one. If they gave me some sort of break, I would consider it.
Noticed you went up 2 inches from your neckbeard 2 for your fishbeard. Do you think it’s better to size your fishbeard up?
Honestly, I don't really know. The board was given to me by a friend so I didn't have much choice on the size. But it was close enough to what I would normally surf as a groveler. I think it could have been smaller like a 5'6 but then it would have been more performance and less grovel.
This is a great board but it also depends on ones skill level. I saw a guy surfing this board and he was high level beginner. Probably not the most user friendly board. In his case, he was surfing it just a tad bigger so I saw him struggling. If he had bought it huge, then it would have been fine for catching waves and since his skill was low, the surfing part isn't hindered.
Thanks @Thomye Surfs. How do you feel this board holds in above head high/bigger surf?
@@JM-ji7mc for me not so great. One I'm very heavy front-footed which means I don't pivot off my tail as much as I should. But I've seen Park or coffin rivet on a super punchy overhead wave so I know the board is capable. I also don't have that kind of skill to push around such a wide tail in Big surf. I think there are much easier options like a regular performance board or a pintail
Dig your channel and reviews! I’m looking for a small wave board, that’s an “in-betweener” - not quite a true groveler and not necessarily a small wave high performance shortboard, but something in the middle. This Fishbeard seems to fit the bill. Noel Salas also highly recommends it for that general category. A few others I’m looking at are Puddle Jumper Pro, Astro Pop, and Gremlim. Have you ridden or tested any of those yet?
The only other board I've ridden was the Puddle Jumper Pro but only for 3 waves. I traded with a buddy out in the water for a few waves. I don't think that one is a good small wave board unless you are talking wave pools in advance settings. It needs a steeper transition and surfed in the pocket. Fishbeard is a decent option but the issue is backhand. it is a twin so for most people, it will be more difficult to surf backhand. You wouldn't think so from watching parker coffin on it. Not sure how he does that, I guess my technique for backhand needs some work.
Anyways, I have found my Mashup to be the board for smaller softer waves. The El Tomo Fish is also a good option. I have heard good things about the asto pop which to me is similar to the rocket wide. I am hoping to try out different boards this year if my buddies will let me borrow their boards. Fingers crossed. At least this way, i'll have a bigger database of opinions.
Sorry I didn't have more insight. Cheers.
@@ThomyeSurfs No worries. Good to get your perspective on the PJP even if it was for just a few waves. Think I’m veering away from that one. Yeah backside on a twinnie (Fishbeard) could be a challenge for me too. I’m also goofy and most of my local spots are lefts, but would be nice to feel more confident and locked in on the occasional backside. Too bad the stock Fishbeard doesn’t come with a center fin box for a trailer.
As for the the Mashup, I’ve looked at it and it seems too wide in the upper nose section. Wouldn’t mind demoing one though. The El Tomo and Rocket Wide are too short and squat for my liking in the liters that I ride. Even for my small wave boards, I prefer a touch longer with more rail line for better glide while paddling. That’s why the Fishbeard, PJP, Astro Pop, and Gremlin stood out to me…their lengths are a bit more stretched out and match my volume needs.
@@jblo76 I hear ya on the proportions. Lately i have been leaning toward taller boards (5'8) but want to stay around 25L but no grovelers in this range. usually performance or performance grovelers. I think I need to gain a little weight to fit better into stock proportions. I'm not a custom guy cuz i have been burned so many times on customs but with cnc maybe that has changed.
Lately I have been eyeballing some asyms but can't get myself to commit. Albums are too expensive and haven't seen to many others that peak my interest.
if you can, demo the Mashup. Undeniably, it is my favorite down the line small wave or bigger soft wave board. it is super fast. not the best pocket board cuz of the lack of rocker but I'll know better about that when I take it to Waco in March. I need to get my hands one some other boards to test while I am out there.
@@jblo76 I wonder if the rocket redux is a good option. I have always liked the shape of that board and the wide tail which is perfect for small waves. more options. LOL
hy thomye!im 64kg, do you think a 5.8 could be good for me?thank you
what level of surfer are you? When I did this review, I weighed about 140lbs which is basically 64kg. I think if a person is intermediate and up, this shouldn't be an issue. For me, this board was actually a tad too big. The only issue though about any twin is that they are harder to surf backside. so if you are intermediate, then a quad is a better option.
@@ThomyeSurfs im 44 my level is up to intermediate, been riding a twinfin egg 6.2 for the the last two years looking for something smaller, thats why put my eyes on the 5.8.
@@johnslater945 the 5'8 shouldn't be good then. at your weight, it will be a good transition from the 6'2 in terms of volume.
Great review! So FB or seaside?
tough question. if the seaside was taller and narrower, the seaside for sure. but as is, i'd probably go fb because I feel like my surfing is evolving. el tomo fish and fishbeard are tied at the moment for me. slight edge might be el tomo cuz of backside being much easier.
@@ThomyeSurfs legit. Ok so I’m pretty much sold on the FB after your reply, thanks. Going forward. And I’m sure you’re already on it. Next review should be the FB in juicy surf. I think you’ll be shrapeling. Peace!
@@waikikiwilly13 I have both, just picked up a 5'7 custom FB, my Seaside is 5'3 stock. I'm running the AMKs on the fb and the fb to me excels far above the seaside in every category. Backside the FB felt great to me, had no issues whatsoever, the AMKs are what help this board backside. I'm going to pick up Britts new upright twin fins that he made for the Twin Pin to see how that goes with the FB. I will say this though, if im surfing crap waves on the daily, i would probably pick the seaside over the FB. The FB to me seems to shine in good waves, i'm surfing Lowers daily so ive been able to get a feel for this board quickly, and i can see how it might be frustrating for someone whos only riding a wave for a few seconds vs 20 because of the amount speed this board has. The FB loves to be put on rail
@@givememountains thanks man! I’m definitely getting the FB.
Thomye how is it compared to the mashup or neckbeard 2 ?
The fishbeard has great low end drive and projection. But that depends on fins. I don't exactly remember how it surfed other than the video in the review. I remember having a difficult time backhand. So from a user friendly perspective, I would likely put the mashup 1st, then the FB and NB tied but for different waves. The FB for small to medium waves and NB for medium soft to moderate waves. So hard to compare since they are all so different. Purely from a fun perspective and maybe this is because it's the latest one I served, I like the mashup.
@@ThomyeSurfs i have the mashup… would you recommend any other board to have ? (Currently have the happy everyday but it’s 5’11 and i feel it’s too big- my mashup is 5’7 at 31.4 L)
@@RBNK157 that is interesting. The Happy Everyday feels big at 5'11 but the mashup doesn't at 5'7? I was going to possibly buy the happy everyday next but now i'm nervous. I was possibly going to buy the HED next but thought to get it a just a less liters than my mashup. My mashup is 27.1 and was looking at a 26.4.
Out of curiosity, how does the HED feel big? too much float or it surfs bigger, like too much rail?
@@ThomyeSurfs because the mashup is 5’7 going to a 5’11 feels like you have a lot of board the HED is 32.6 L
whats the best tide to surf bolsa
That actually changes. At one point high tide was the best but then all the sand moved so then mid-tide became better and this spring low tide was actually the best.
Nice review and surfing, Thomye! I wanted to get Fishbeard a while back. I would like to have one in size 5'7-5'8" but unfortunately they run in such a low volume and won't really float me well when I'm geared up in 5 mm wetsuit/boots/gloves. May be I should try to go with 5'10". Do you feel like it has a good volume in the chest area like the Glazer or at least Seaside?
Sorry for the late reply. When I hold the fishbeard it feels heavy (pu) and to be honest it feels like it is too thin but surprisingly it catches waves well enough. I think an epoxy version like the spine tech would be awesome and in regards to this particular model it is recommended you ride it bigger. The 58 feels the right size for me and I weigh 145 lb. I think you're a little taller and heavier so the 510 should be fine. In fact I think a 6'0 would be fine.
Hey! Great review! I also got a great insight from your recent Machado Sunday review. I'm looking to get a twinfin and I'm wondering in your opinion which board do you prefer to ride? For referenceI'm a daily surfer and would be using the twinny for putting some spark into good 2-6 ft (mainly 4ft), but predominantly slopey, open faced waves (Costa Verde, Lima, Peru). I'm a larger surfer at 6,2 and 200 pounds and finding it hard to select boards that perform and don't catch on the nose or at the other end of spectrum bog on the tail in the more gutless stuff.
Currently my most used board is a bing dharma fish, i love it but it's too big for me now, my better wave boards don't really come alive unless the swell is clean and or 5-6+.
Any further insight you could provide would be really helpful. I'll be sure to write that email when I do pull the trigger!
@@jakejohnson9458 how big is the dharma fish? and what is its volume? I'm looking to get a sense of what you think is too big. Me at 145lbs surfing a 6'0 Sunday twin that is 38L, I would have thought was too big till I tried it. Now my sense of "big board" has changed. Anyways, let me know that info and I can try to give you an better informed opinion.
@@ThomyeSurfs thanks for replying! I'm sorry it took me a few days to see this as i have been traveling!
My bing dharma is is 6,4 and 43 litres, it has a chopped fish tail, nice knifey rails but the tail block is very wide still, as is the nose and with my surfing progressing I keep catching the nose when I get more vertical... The board is super flat and I think it's a bit too long for how it is designed to be surfed. I love the speed of it, paddle ability etc and I would love to find a more performance orientated board that can carry speed and catch waves in the way that the bing does! For there punchier days I love my 6,2 phantom and I have a really well rockered and pulled in swallow tail at 6,8 as my step up for serious waves. The phantom is ok in smaller surf but doesn't have that zip to it that the bing has, my step up altho 40 litres is too foiled and rockered to surf the open faced waves in anything below decent 5ft. There are so many good boards out there and I can only buy one right now, iv been toying with the fishbeard, the seaside and since watching your reviews and seeing how well you lit up those waves - the Sunday! I just watched your review on the Sunday again, and your travel day with the pov GoPro footage, looks like that board is really clicking for you man! I would have to get the 6,0 I think as the 6,4 is basically coming in at the same dims as my bing and I fear that extra width altho the litres are always welcome on the big sloping waves of the Costa Verde!
Thanks for taking the time to answer questions as well as making good honest reviews. Another subscriber here for sure!
@@jakejohnson9458 couple of things from my perspective. obviously surfing isn't black and white in terms of technique and how boards fit into the different techniques. I'm a heavy front footed surfer, so heavy at times that if I'm not careful, I literally go over the handlebars as they say. Having said that, I tend to like boards with my wide point just in front of my front foot, it tends to dampen the effects of being so heavy front footed. For boards designed with wide point back such as the dominator, I like them longer so that it puts the wide point in front again but then I run the risk of the board being too big.
With that said, I too have major issues digging rail especially on heel side turns, top turns, cutbacks, and backside bottom turns. with Bigger boards with wide point forward, I tent to do better since I physically can't dig the rail, the board is too wide and too long in front for me to be able to sink it with my front foot. One thing that I am learning, still to this day is how not to pull my front leg on a heel side turn. It is very subtle but pulling it, will cause the rail to go in. Rather, I force myself to lock the front leg either bent or straight and really bend my back leg to weight up and push through a turn vs pull. Frontside off the lips are the only things I do that I don't seem to have this issue because, pull the board doesn't matter since there isn't a face to dig rail But the caveat is I end up with very little spray on my turns. if you watch my vids, I don't get the large spray that other surfers do because I'm pull my turns with my front leg vs pushing with my back. Hope that makes sense.
The point of the last paragraph is, at your height and weight, the 6'4 Sunday is probably better. because that board is an evenly outlined board, it might put the wide point on your front foot depending on your stance. I don't know how your dharma is cut but that is something to look at. flatter boards end to be worse when you pull your front foot, like me. Having said that, rockered boards suck too since they don't go as fast. catch 22 i guess. Start with looking at the outline and rails. You want a knifey rail towards the back but you also want some meat on the middle to front to keep the rail out of the water. Which is where the seaside and other Machado boards lately have been good for me as a front footed surfer.
Having said all this, I wish I had more experience on other boards to give you a well rounded recommendation. The only thing I can say is that I am 5'8 and 145lbs and surf the 6'0 Sunday. If I can push that around, I'm certain you can push the 6'4 around. As for the fishbeard, I love that board so far. It is strange because it shares the same outline and bottom as the neckbeard2, but I only liked that board. I did ride the NB2 2" shorter which would have put the wide point just at my front foot. on the fishbeard, it was 2" above my front foot. sorry if this message is getting long. The one really cool thing about the sunday is that you can ride it as a twin, a single, single with sidebites, and given you can get that offset center fin, you can ride it as a thruster. good to have options.