Great review! Sounds as if this would be made for slightly "better" waves. I'm surfing waist high, mushy 5-6sec windwaves in Northern Europe sharing with Midlengths and Eggs. I actually want something fishy as I gave up shortboards with my lazy 42y. Would you recommend a proper fish like the Chilli Sugar or something like this or maybe the Chilli Pina Colada? Would be great to hear you opinion.
Hey Max sorry for the late reply. Depends on what your looking to achieve really for me personally I can find twin and keel fish to be a little hard to keep under control and not a good enough surfer to be able to use them as a versatile board in a fair range of waves. The seaside is a popular model but got a good reason. Its fishy but does a bit or everything. We can't get they many chili boards locally unfortunately and.many of the ones available are mass manufactured. Chilli makes someone grest models though. Is there a step down from something like the rare bird? Not super familiar with the chilli range but I like the look of the Miami slpice and tbt pink colada too both look like a "Summer " model which can be a daily driver for us that have sub par waves a plenty. Could always go for an actua mid length or another board I really like that has just been updated is the lost lazy boy / lazy you 2 that would be easy to ride and forgiving and open to.a size range to choose from. og puddle.jumper always a classic.too. Hope that helps some. Think the pino and Miami spice probably good.versatile choices and noting wrong with that fish too if that's what your looking for cheers
hi mate.thanks for all the info. what interest me the most is that you mention this: definitely the most user friendly and responsive twinny I have ridden that still doesn't slip out. " oter boards i tried 2+1 mr fins i didnt like the feel of it..it wasn't a thruster nor a quad...(i usually ride quad set ups).can you elaborate on it since we dont have a demo board and im thinking of buying it...thanks
Yeah so if you love quads you might still want to consider something else. Twins and twin with trailer it's really got a lot to do with fin position and board design.. If you pop twin and trailers in a lot of stock five fin boards your twin fins are actually forward of where MR would put them or most shapers would put them on a specific twin or twin with trailer. Plus side of the MR is it's not as tracky as a keel fin fish and not got the drag of a thruster either so you get some decent speed and flow with a loose tail.... Downside can be the fins and the wing in the tail can mean you need to get your foot in the right spot right over the fins to get the best out of it which doesn't always feel forgiving and you have to learn how to ride it and adjust for that a bit but the board itself has a really nice design in terms of rocker foil paddle rails turning etc. It's not so short it's unstable and doesn't paddle well not so long it looses that manoeuvrability. Hope that helps. If you do love quads RNF Retro could be worth a look and also the Seaside.. If you want a twin ish feel but dont want a full on keel or upright twins with no trailer slipperyness or tracking you might enjoy the MR.. As with most things it's a lot about personal preference and ride style and what you enjoy but i'm definitely a big believer in making the board shape and fins positioning specific to that fin set up to get the best out of it.. I think having a 5 fin swallow tail is a good way to try out and have the training wheels but the dedicated shaped to suit is usually more true feel... I know NVS fins just started doing a twin and trailer with a heavy offset back that's pretty smart as it means in a normal box there closer to where you would put them specific.. Just for reference i think the MR fins are about 20-30mm further back towards the tail and another like 4mm extra in from the rail than a thruster would be. Hope all that helps. It's always hard to recommend some of these dedicated set ups too as the more optimal the fin set up the less neutral and familiar it can sometimes be to a stock Tri or quad and it's hard to say if your gonna like that or not. The MR is a good step to the right middle risk to reward VS a full on jump off a bridge glass on 50 50 foil straight rail keel twin though :-) Cheers.
Great review, nice to get a good look at the rails and concave compared to other reviews out there 👍 do you know what cant they run on the side fins, 5° or 9°?
Cheers mate would have to double check the actual board but pretty sure Tommy put 9Deg in. I'm considering if I go 5 on the next twin and trailer I make myself actually... Last one I made for my mate came out at 8 and he loves it.. Or buy it with futures and the cant is in the fins :-P lol I have definitely seen some twins with reduced cant and toe and there is probably a benefit if your in weak waves doing less radical turns as would be less drag...
Cheers Steve. Hope you enjoy it :-) MR is such a legend and colab with Biolos too... Soooooo Goood ;-) Bit different feels but great way to experience a propper bespoke twin and trailer. Pretty sure the pad is the 2 Piece Thrash by Ocean Earth. Cheers
Hi @GO SURF really liking your honest reviews! Hey how would you compare this MR Cali Twin to the Puddle Fish and the Sea Side? 3 boards I'm considering for a little more performance to my daily groveler. Cheers
Hi Michael. Thanks for the feedback appreciate you watching and getting in touch. Ok so it really depends on what your looking for. For me personally as an all round board that will ride various condition and be easy, forgiving fast and still have performance I would pick the seaside.. The MR is great too but definitely a little more of a specialty board mainly just from the point of view of being a 2+1 thought really. The fin set up shape and style of the Board will take us average surfers a little more getting used to but very rewarding once you do and it's definitely the most user friendly and responsive twinny I have ridden that still doesn't slip out. The puddle fish after having it a while I actually found it a little difficult to get over the lip and into a wave for some reason but that would ride a variety of wave sizes too. Personally like the OG puddle jumper better than the puddle fish. If you want something's with a bit of a fishy vibe still but perform and wave range I would give the seaside the nod but there all excellent boards and if you wanted to try a twin / 2 plus one. The MR is the best I have tried. Hope that helps. Cheers
@@lawson45uk Hi, I got the Gem and I love it. definitely the best log I could ever get for the Mediterranean. I really enjoyed the video and the honest review you did about the MR Cali vs the Seaside. Now I was wondering if you will do a review on the Seaside & Beyond, as it looks good as well for those onshore days in the Med. Thanks for being awesome!
Xisco Morey Serantes Hey mate.. Awesome :-) Always good to hear people getting to boards they are stoked on. Oh was that the Seaside vs RNF Retro.. Love both of those boards.. Had a great session on the RNF the other day. The MR Cali has been a fun board and a surprisingly good little performer for that kind of shape. Ah I would love to have a seaside and beyond they look pretty cool.. Shame people don’t give me them to review like the big boys but then they would probably have some sway in what you say.. Though I think most reviewers are still pretty impartial and objective in our community to be fair. My old concerns with the Seaside and Beyond are the width and volume related to sizes but I think the 7’0” looks pretty good on paper.. Could be a fantastic Midlength Rob knows his stuff. Making big fish is definitely a skill though, especially compared to a Smooth Operator or One bag Egg type shape.. Got to make sure it’s not too straight and that the nose isn’t in the way.. Certainly looks the goods to me though…
@@lawson45ukiam testing the pukas tasty treat , easier than the dark from stab in the dark but based on it. Need good wave and above 1m to work. 35liter board.
Youdig surf mate there is a really good epoxy factory in Taiwan. Our guy here gets some of his lost ones in from there. I was dissolve when I looked at the badge but the finish was impeccable. Wonder if it's maybe the same factory. Our local guy even said he stuggles to do as good a finish himself without putting a silky anout of hours in. Proof is in the finish and the riding I guess mate.
Yeah very different boards mate don't have the hydra anymore. The MR being a twin and trailer with a kind of small wave but also all round design and length and the Hydra being a short fat massive tailed quad it's hard to compare them really. Both really nice boards though. if your a twin guy wanting all rounder and a bit more control the MR is great if your a quad guy wanting a big tail and speed grovel board Hydra.. Not sure what other detailed comparison would help there so different sorry mate.
Yeah absolutely mate. I wouldn't take a black box out here till it was at least shoulder high. MR is wider flatter faster more stable etc. Obviously the performance will dial back a little but yeah MR will be a better grovel board. There are boards that will ride even smaller waves but the MR is a fun small to medium wave board 👍
Hi Trevor Stamand would really depend on what your used to and what your looking for. Weight and ability your pretty similar to me so so you could go as big as I have if you wanted but not many people ride as high a volume as me so you could well be a size or two lower too if you wanted to. I think this board surfs nicely in about the same volume as your usually or slightly more. Allot of board choice is extremely subjective to ability waves your riding etc etc. Personally I would recommend this size or one below but not knowing that much about you and how you surf and what your used to riding you might think it was a boat. I would have thought someone your size and ability would be riding at least 36 litres and upto 40 or a touch more? Cheers
As a heavier guy, 105kgs, could you use a set of twin fins up front and then add a normal size back fin and use as a thruster setup on my everyday board?
Hi Mate. Yeah for sure you can mix and match to get the feel you want and i'm sure many people do.. There are some really big fins out there so you could use something like a Chippa wilson Neal Purchase Juniour up front and anything you like out back to get a little extra hold. Larger Trailer, Small, meduim, large rear quad, small, medium large standard centre fin. I wouldn't go too grazy though... Try to go big fronts and get the feel you want from tuning the back one. You dont ideally want to be getting to an equal thruster set up for that placement. There is not right and wrong if it works for you and gets the feel that you want though. The board has a lot more hold than you would get from a board with a stock thruster or 5 fin layout out of the box too so might not be as much of an issue
@@Gamesl2882 Yeah that's fairly big but yeah just have a go with fins that you have first and go from there I guess. The Merrick twins feel really good. Ideally you could go a bigger front fin or with more rake if it's the slipperyness your trying to counteract but there isn't a massive difference between the differnt twin and stabilizer fronts available in FCS 2. As I say the Chippas are really big but then you have to go back to a stock 2 tab. Do you have a quad set in this board too??? Would be really keen to know how they are placed if you do? I thought most of these would come out just twin and stabilizer. I'm working on a board that can run twin and stabilizer and twin and 2 stabilizers as a quad set up myself... Have the Neal Purchase Chippa Quartette and that's basically twin and 2 trailers as you are describing... The GX is also smaller than all the new rear quads they are now G1000 equivalent in the old models. Do you have anything a little smaller like even the trailer out of a GAM large? I think you can just have a go with what you have really and see how it feels and if you want any advice from there let me know.. I can tell you what fin is smaller than the next one.. Go to the FCS Australia website and at the bottom it has a fin data link. You can see all the areas and depths and base measurements etc on there too that will help you choose he next one down or up
@@lawson45uk thanks for the info. I was looking at the Xxl goliath fins on big guy boards and just curious really. Stock 2 tabs is what I normally use to be honest and used to surf Shapers S8 fins but on a recent surf trip they fell out of my bag... So looking at some new options. I have the FCS Arc fins which are essentially the same as the AM GAMs but the trailer in the arcs is larger.
Kaleo Delatori Yesb again this probably has a ceiling to the wave range that may or may not suit you. All depends on volume and skill level etc. Have you seen the video lost 5'5" 19 1/4 it's a good watch. Some of the guys like wardo etc riding round nose fish and rockets in all sorts of wave and making it look fun and easy but most of us are no where near that that tallented or riding that low volume so it will bite they mmmmm tough call mate. What do you currently have in your quiver?
@@lawson45uk I'll check the video! And I think all my boards I have are over 26L.. Got a 5'8" shortboard, 5'6" Mason twin, and a 6'3" step-up ish type board which I rarely ride. I love the Mason twin and my " real board" 2+1 is beat up to death so want something similar to the softie( but not a softie haha).. Don't know much about dims and all that hence my questions lol.. Pretty much a " give me a board and I'll ride it" kinda guy
Man really good review hey! Keep it up
Thanks Joey, appreciate the positive feedback :-)
Great review! Sounds as if this would be made for slightly "better" waves. I'm surfing waist high, mushy 5-6sec windwaves in Northern Europe sharing with Midlengths and Eggs. I actually want something fishy as I gave up shortboards with my lazy 42y. Would you recommend a proper fish like the Chilli Sugar or something like this or maybe the Chilli Pina Colada? Would be great to hear you opinion.
Hey Max sorry for the late reply. Depends on what your looking to achieve really for me personally I can find twin and keel fish to be a little hard to keep under control and not a good enough surfer to be able to use them as a versatile board in a fair range of waves. The seaside is a popular model but got a good reason. Its fishy but does a bit or everything. We can't get they many chili boards locally unfortunately and.many of the ones available are mass manufactured. Chilli makes someone grest models though. Is there a step down from something like the rare bird? Not super familiar with the chilli range but I like the look of the Miami slpice and tbt pink colada too both look like a "Summer " model which can be a daily driver for us that have sub par waves a plenty. Could always go for an actua mid length or another board I really like that has just been updated is the lost lazy boy / lazy you 2 that would be easy to ride and forgiving and open to.a size range to choose from. og puddle.jumper always a classic.too. Hope that helps some. Think the pino and Miami spice probably good.versatile choices and noting wrong with that fish too if that's what your looking for cheers
hi mate.thanks for all the info. what interest me the most is that you mention this: definitely the most user friendly and responsive twinny I have ridden that still doesn't slip out. " oter boards i tried 2+1 mr fins i didnt like the feel of it..it wasn't a thruster nor a quad...(i usually ride quad set ups).can you elaborate on it since we dont have a demo board and im thinking of buying it...thanks
Yeah so if you love quads you might still want to consider something else. Twins and twin with trailer it's really got a lot to do with fin position and board design.. If you pop twin and trailers in a lot of stock five fin boards your twin fins are actually forward of where MR would put them or most shapers would put them on a specific twin or twin with trailer. Plus side of the MR is it's not as tracky as a keel fin fish and not got the drag of a thruster either so you get some decent speed and flow with a loose tail.... Downside can be the fins and the wing in the tail can mean you need to get your foot in the right spot right over the fins to get the best out of it which doesn't always feel forgiving and you have to learn how to ride it and adjust for that a bit but the board itself has a really nice design in terms of rocker foil paddle rails turning etc. It's not so short it's unstable and doesn't paddle well not so long it looses that manoeuvrability. Hope that helps. If you do love quads RNF Retro could be worth a look and also the Seaside.. If you want a twin ish feel but dont want a full on keel or upright twins with no trailer slipperyness or tracking you might enjoy the MR.. As with most things it's a lot about personal preference and ride style and what you enjoy but i'm definitely a big believer in making the board shape and fins positioning specific to that fin set up to get the best out of it.. I think having a 5 fin swallow tail is a good way to try out and have the training wheels but the dedicated shaped to suit is usually more true feel... I know NVS fins just started doing a twin and trailer with a heavy offset back that's pretty smart as it means in a normal box there closer to where you would put them specific.. Just for reference i think the MR fins are about 20-30mm further back towards the tail and another like 4mm extra in from the rail than a thruster would be. Hope all that helps. It's always hard to recommend some of these dedicated set ups too as the more optimal the fin set up the less neutral and familiar it can sometimes be to a stock Tri or quad and it's hard to say if your gonna like that or not. The MR is a good step to the right middle risk to reward VS a full on jump off a bridge glass on 50 50 foil straight rail keel twin though :-) Cheers.
@@lawson45uk thanks for your time bro🙏👍
Great review, nice to get a good look at the rails and concave compared to other reviews out there 👍 do you know what cant they run on the side fins, 5° or 9°?
Cheers mate would have to double check the actual board but pretty sure Tommy put 9Deg in. I'm considering if I go 5 on the next twin and trailer I make myself actually... Last one I made for my mate came out at 8 and he loves it.. Or buy it with futures and the cant is in the fins :-P lol I have definitely seen some twins with reduced cant and toe and there is probably a benefit if your in weak waves doing less radical turns as would be less drag...
Thanks 🙏🏽 . I have one on the way, I can’t wait 😁.
What traction pad you got there??. It goes perfect on that board. 😍
Cheers Steve. Hope you enjoy it :-) MR is such a legend and colab with Biolos too... Soooooo Goood ;-) Bit different feels but great way to experience a propper bespoke twin and trailer. Pretty sure the pad is the 2 Piece Thrash by Ocean Earth. Cheers
Hi @GO SURF really liking your honest reviews! Hey how would you compare this MR Cali Twin to the Puddle Fish and the Sea Side? 3 boards I'm considering for a little more performance to my daily groveler. Cheers
Hi Michael. Thanks for the feedback appreciate you watching and getting in touch. Ok so it really depends on what your looking for. For me personally as an all round board that will ride various condition and be easy, forgiving fast and still have performance I would pick the seaside.. The MR is great too but definitely a little more of a specialty board mainly just from the point of view of being a 2+1 thought really. The fin set up shape and style of the Board will take us average surfers a little more getting used to but very rewarding once you do and it's definitely the most user friendly and responsive twinny I have ridden that still doesn't slip out. The puddle fish after having it a while I actually found it a little difficult to get over the lip and into a wave for some reason but that would ride a variety of wave sizes too. Personally like the OG puddle jumper better than the puddle fish. If you want something's with a bit of a fishy vibe still but perform and wave range I would give the seaside the nod but there all excellent boards and if you wanted to try a twin / 2 plus one. The MR is the best I have tried. Hope that helps. Cheers
@@lawson45uk Hi, I got the Gem and I love it. definitely the best log I could ever get for the Mediterranean. I really enjoyed the video and the honest review you did about the MR Cali vs the Seaside. Now I was wondering if you will do a review on the Seaside & Beyond, as it looks good as well for those onshore days in the Med. Thanks for being awesome!
Xisco Morey Serantes Hey mate.. Awesome :-) Always good to hear people getting to boards they are stoked on. Oh was that the Seaside vs RNF Retro.. Love both of those boards.. Had a great session on the RNF the other day. The MR Cali has been a fun board and a surprisingly good little performer for that kind of shape. Ah I would love to have a seaside and beyond they look pretty cool.. Shame people don’t give me them to review like the big boys but then they would probably have some sway in what you say.. Though I think most reviewers are still pretty impartial and objective in our community to be fair. My old concerns with the Seaside and Beyond are the width and volume related to sizes but I think the 7’0” looks pretty good on paper.. Could be a fantastic Midlength Rob knows his stuff. Making big fish is definitely a skill though, especially compared to a Smooth Operator or One bag Egg type shape.. Got to make sure it’s not too straight and that the nose isn’t in the way.. Certainly looks the goods to me though…
Good review as usual 🤙
Youdig surf cheers mate. Hope all is well over your way 👍
@@lawson45ukiam testing the pukas tasty treat , easier than the dark from stab in the dark but based on it. Need good wave and above 1m to work. 35liter board.
Youdig surf nice mate. Sweet looking shape. Be keen to hear how that goes. Pukas pretty sweet stuff. Support to be super nicely made in the factory 🤙
@@lawson45uk unfortunatly it's not true with their new epoxy construction.. it's made in taiwan, it's written on the board... Yeah i was dissapointed.
Youdig surf mate there is a really good epoxy factory in Taiwan. Our guy here gets some of his lost ones in from there. I was dissolve when I looked at the badge but the finish was impeccable. Wonder if it's maybe the same factory. Our local guy even said he stuggles to do as good a finish himself without putting a silky anout of hours in. Proof is in the finish and the riding I guess mate.
When you get your hydra could you do a comparison?
Yeah very different boards mate don't have the hydra anymore. The MR being a twin and trailer with a kind of small wave but also all round design and length and the Hydra being a short fat massive tailed quad it's hard to compare them really. Both really nice boards though. if your a twin guy wanting all rounder and a bit more control the MR is great if your a quad guy wanting a big tail and speed grovel board Hydra.. Not sure what other detailed comparison would help there so different sorry mate.
Would this board grovel better than Black box 3? less rocker?
Yeah absolutely mate. I wouldn't take a black box out here till it was at least shoulder high. MR is wider flatter faster more stable etc. Obviously the performance will dial back a little but yeah MR will be a better grovel board. There are boards that will ride even smaller waves but the MR is a fun small to medium wave board 👍
What length would you recommend for it as a daily driver for someone 175 pounds, 6 ft intermediate surfer?
Hi Trevor Stamand would really depend on what your used to and what your looking for. Weight and ability your pretty similar to me so so you could go as big as I have if you wanted but not many people ride as high a volume as me so you could well be a size or two lower too if you wanted to. I think this board surfs nicely in about the same volume as your usually or slightly more. Allot of board choice is extremely subjective to ability waves your riding etc etc. Personally I would recommend this size or one below but not knowing that much about you and how you surf and what your used to riding you might think it was a boat. I would have thought someone your size and ability would be riding at least 36 litres and upto 40 or a touch more? Cheers
As a heavier guy, 105kgs, could you use a set of twin fins up front and then add a normal size back fin and use as a thruster setup on my everyday board?
Hi Mate. Yeah for sure you can mix and match to get the feel you want and i'm sure many people do.. There are some really big fins out there so you could use something like a Chippa wilson Neal Purchase Juniour up front and anything you like out back to get a little extra hold. Larger Trailer, Small, meduim, large rear quad, small, medium large standard centre fin. I wouldn't go too grazy though... Try to go big fronts and get the feel you want from tuning the back one. You dont ideally want to be getting to an equal thruster set up for that placement. There is not right and wrong if it works for you and gets the feel that you want though. The board has a lot more hold than you would get from a board with a stock thruster or 5 fin layout out of the box too so might not be as much of an issue
@@lawson45uk thanks for the quick reply. I was thinking of using a set of Merrick twins up front and a M7 or Arc back fin or GX's as a quad?
@@Gamesl2882 Yeah that's fairly big but yeah just have a go with fins that you have first and go from there I guess. The Merrick twins feel really good. Ideally you could go a bigger front fin or with more rake if it's the slipperyness your trying to counteract but there isn't a massive difference between the differnt twin and stabilizer fronts available in FCS 2. As I say the Chippas are really big but then you have to go back to a stock 2 tab. Do you have a quad set in this board too??? Would be really keen to know how they are placed if you do? I thought most of these would come out just twin and stabilizer. I'm working on a board that can run twin and stabilizer and twin and 2 stabilizers as a quad set up myself... Have the Neal Purchase Chippa Quartette and that's basically twin and 2 trailers as you are describing... The GX is also smaller than all the new rear quads they are now G1000 equivalent in the old models. Do you have anything a little smaller like even the trailer out of a GAM large? I think you can just have a go with what you have really and see how it feels and if you want any advice from there let me know.. I can tell you what fin is smaller than the next one.. Go to the FCS Australia website and at the bottom it has a fin data link. You can see all the areas and depths and base measurements etc on there too that will help you choose he next one down or up
@@lawson45uk thanks for the info. I was looking at the Xxl goliath fins on big guy boards and just curious really. Stock 2 tabs is what I normally use to be honest and used to surf Shapers S8 fins but on a recent surf trip they fell out of my bag... So looking at some new options. I have the FCS Arc fins which are essentially the same as the AM GAMs but the trailer in the arcs is larger.
Obrigado, pela aula de fins.
Another one in mind to compete with the seaside v Midas purchase x|
Kaleo Delatori Yesb again this probably has a ceiling to the wave range that may or may not suit you. All depends on volume and skill level etc. Have you seen the video lost 5'5" 19 1/4 it's a good watch. Some of the guys like wardo etc riding round nose fish and rockets in all sorts of wave and making it look fun and easy but most of us are no where near that that tallented or riding that low volume so it will bite they mmmmm tough call mate. What do you currently have in your quiver?
Kaleo Delatori What kind of volume usually works for you?
@@lawson45uk I'll check the video! And I think all my boards I have are over 26L.. Got a 5'8" shortboard, 5'6" Mason twin, and a 6'3" step-up ish type board which I rarely ride. I love the Mason twin and my " real board" 2+1 is beat up to death so want something similar to the softie( but not a softie haha).. Don't know much about dims and all that hence my questions lol.. Pretty much a " give me a board and I'll ride it" kinda guy
Kaleo Delatori Steff Gilmore rides the MR in the electric acid board test too seems to go well for her in a decent wave
how many boards has this guy got haha
Toooooooo many :-) lol Clearing the decks at the moment making my own too they are stacking up.