chrispychru said...

this is just my thoughts i got into longboarding for the grace and style which this type of board offers. the noserides,trimming and drawn out cutties now everyone seems to be on the h/p lb bandwagon. i have worked out that i want my next board to be a sb with more foam,which will allow me to to get my aggro out when i dont want to be cruising or im riding suckky waves. i think h/p lb looks like sh1t by about 99% of riders. so is h/p lb really got a place? if it is for performance wouldnt you just buy a sb and keep lb for what it is...styling

In most of cases I would agree with you on this for sure Crispy especially when the surf is under 4 foot.
But a little while back I took my HP-LB for a morning sesh thinking the surf would have been around 3-4 foot but when I pulled up in the car park I found it was a solid 6 foot
S#!T I thought, Do I quickly fang home and get my SB S#!t, Looks heavy, S#!t everyones on short boards s#!t, No LB's in sight S#!t, S#!t, If I paddle out I am going to snap it for sure.
All these thoughts running through my head......
Stuff it I am going out.
I timed my paddle after waiting for a few sets, and made it pretty easy, Yeewww
Once out I sat there for far to long as I was thinking to my self 1st wave = Snapped Board
Then a Bomb set looms and I scratch for the horizon and I make it as I turn around looking back towards the beach I notice it has cleaned most guys up and dragged them 50 to 100 meters back to shore.
As I look back out to the horizon there it is right in front of me one of the biggest bombs of the morning and I think to myself I'M GOING IT.
I dug deep, got up and pulled one of the biggest backhand bottom turns of my life. I could feel all eyes on me as most guys were still paddling back out from the thrashing they had just been handed.
With way too much speed I head up the face thinking don't slip, don't kook it! Then I pull one of the biggest vertical backhand re-entry's in my life.
I was blown away when I pulled it back down as I was watching the nose of my 9'2" and was Just waiting for it to pearl but it didn't.
S#!t I made it were the thoughts running through my head so I picked my line and pulled another one same thing again . By now I can here a few SBers hooting me.
I race the wave some more and pull out just as it turns into a 4 foot sand churning monster shorie.
As I start paddling back out I think what I have just done on a longboard, Giddy up
Then I think to myself I want MORE, and after that if I snap my board hell with it.
I surfed for around another hour, was patient, only got another 4 (solid) waves and was thinking how much fun is it on a HP Longboard.
When I came in I had a grin that lasted hours.
That one wave will be eched into my brain for many years to come. Yer it would have been a great wave on my short board. But the fact that it was on my long board and I had to turn it harder and made it, felt so much better.
The moral of my story is there was no way I could have pulled some of the moves I did on that day on a standard longboard. Yes I could have fanged home and got my shortie but I am glad I didn't because it was such a rush throwing so much foam around on a big day.[}:)]
So I guess IMO some times there is a spot for a HPLB. For me anyway

Cheers Locky