Dane Reynolds Felt “Out Of Control” On Maurice Cole’s Speed-Focused Board

If Stab In The Dark is the main event, then please consider the Shaper Series as special features.

Presumably you’ve already watched our 36-minute film, in which Dane Reynolds takes 13 of the world’s best (unbranded) surfboards to South Africa for 10 days of rigorous and unbiased testing and flexing.

In the Shaper Series, a joint with our pals at Swell, we delve a little deeper on the other side of the coin; we step into the shapers’ bays and syphon their thoughts and reasoning around their art, and the board they shaped for Stab In The Dark 2016.

So, what did we tell our shapers? Boards to be delivered by June 1 in either LA or Sydney. Surfer is 6’0” and 190 lbs (86 kg), but will remain anonymous. Shoot location, South Africa. Surfboard must be 6’0” but width, thickness and volume all open to interpretation. Oh, and blank, blank, blank. Completely void of all branding or recognisable features like unique carbon patches. This is not a paid-for board guide – our readers are too savvy to make informed decisions based off that. Yes, there will be honesty. Every board will have positives and conversely, every board will have negatives. And, there’s a chance the board could break first wave, first turn, first air. If it does, apologies, you’re out.

Photography

Greg Ewing

“I used my Metro-iD model,” said veteran Bells Beach shaper Maurice Cole. “Ross Clarke Jones and I have been honing in on tow designs, they’re built for speed. I’ve been intrigued by the lack of design in the last 10 years on the WCT and I was wondering if a Tour level surfer could ride such a board as the Metro-iD knowing he’d have to change the way he surfs a bit because of the extra speed. I chose this design because there’s nothing like it in the world. It’s an original design made to go very fast and carve at high speeds. I thought I’d throw in a ‘now for something completely different…’” As you’ll see above, with that immense concave and rather unusual tail, the board stood out from the rest, positively making for different lines from Dane and an easy time identifying its origins.

Straight off the bat, Maurice Cole said this board would be different than your ‘normal’ high performance craft. This model was all about speed and drive. Dane did enjoy its drive (scoring it a 4 out of 5), but felt like there were too many surprises along the way.

Photography

Greg Ewing

“It felt pretty weird,” said our test rider. “It really gripped to the face of the wave and was kind of clumsy. Like, there was a delayed reaction when I set it on rail. I imagine it’s made for clean, down the line pointbreaks – like Bells or something. It’s definitely fast. I just didn’t feel very comfortable on it. I felt out of control… but I did land an air.”

In case you missed the memo, we’re giving away all of the boards submitted for this year’s Stab In The Dark. Flick over this way to exercise your SITD knowledge and take a shot at winning a priceless piece of foam.

And, you can purchase our SITD shaper logo tees, right here: