Throttle

GENERAL GOAL | THEME OF THE BOARD:

A step up for surfing solid overhead waves.

WAVE TYPE | SIZE IT'S WORKING BEST:

Juicy heavy waves. From head high to triple overhead.

MANEUVERS IT DOES BEST:

Power carves and high speed hacks.

SKILL LEVEL IT'S BEST FOR:

Intermediate to Pro.

PADDLE POWER:

SPEED: Average paddle speed.

DIRECTIONAL CONTROL: Good, low rails and narrowness keep it tracking straight.

OVER WHITE WATER: Below average due to narrower nose. 

WAVE CATCHING ABILITY: Most drops will be late, but every aspect is designed so you stick it.

WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF WHEN YOU DESIGNED IT?:

This board is an evolution of the Insane after rigorous testing from James Casey. He wanted a board that rode a little different to the Insane, something with a clean bump free outline. Fast forward a few years and the Throttle was born. 

WHAT IT POSSIBLY COMPROMISES ON THEN?:

No compromises, it just needs to be ridden in the right conditions.

OUTLINE:

Sleek clean bump free outline to pintail. In juicy waves, the biggest priority is firstly making the drop. Having a narrower nose in certain cases means less paddle power, however having less nose area does not catch the wind, so there’s less chance of digging a rail at the bottom. The narrower nose blends into a straighter clean curve which carries speed well while the rail is engaged or you're drawing a line around a section. As you step back onto the pin you can either wash off speed for a stall or attack sections with confidence, knowing the tail will bite and hold.

RAILS:

Lower rails with a distinctly low apex through the tail. A low rail is just so much more sensitive when surfing. When you initiate a turn, the first thing you do is bury one rail, if that rail is thick and boxy, you're trying to fight it into the water, the faster you go, the harder it is to bury a thick rail because you’re working against both buoyancy and the flow of oncoming water. 

ROCKER:

Full performance rocker. A clean even curve all the way through. Feed it power and you have control even in the tightest parts of the wave. It loves to stick the latest drops, attack sections tight at speed and it feels really comfortable in the bowl.

BOTTOM:

Flat upfront blending into a single concave through the middle, to a double concave into the back foot and subtle V on the exit. The concave upfront helps initiate a turn earlier, keeps the board responsive, as your rail will engage the second your mind decides to. We have purposely kept the concave out of the nose, this is to reduce over sensitivity and keep the front rail higher out of the water. At speed, if your front rail engages when you don’t want it to, it can throw you off or into a spin. The double concave then creates a spine where the stringer would be but also allows the transition into the subtle V to be smoother. This subtle V kicks in when you are right on the back foot, when somewhere critical it offers that bit more hold and control helping to bed the tail in.

DECK:

It's relatively rolled on this board, the goal being a low rail. At paddling speed, the water rushes over the rail, as the rail is submerged below the waterline, this creates more stability because the board can't bob around without having to lift the water with it. While stationary it's not so effective.

FINS:

5 Fins. Thruster all day long for top to bottom surfing, throw in the Quads when the drops are late and it's more down the line, or you’re wanting to hold the high line with more speed.

FINAL STATEMENT:

A good board for big conditions. If you consistently surf big waves and want a board in the quiver to tackle them, this could well be an option.