So, Nathan Florence Hates Bottom Turns?

Nathan Florence doesn’t say the h-word directly, but based on the assortment of lean and mean Pyzels assembled above, it’s safe to infer. His quiver of Pyzels reflects his wave-riding philosophy: Paddle hard and go late. Long roll-ins and drawn out bottom turns are out, last-second drops into the wave’s most critical point are in.

“On a smaller board with less volume, when you take off later, you have to take a heavier drop, (but) you actually end up entering the barrel sooner and you can maximize your barrel time,” Nathan said. 

Since embarking on his shallow water circuit, most of Nathan’s most memorable rides have come on the Puerto Padi, a more refined, tube-hungry version of the Padillac that he reviews with Pyzel above in his North Shore garage. In terms of sizing, this is Nathan’s most versatile model, and he’ll ride it from 7’ to 9’8”. Those abusive Puerto Escondido sessions and hair-raising Irish barrels were all courtesy of this thing.

A key detail: all thrusters, not a quad in sight. Quick pivots and last-second grip are prioritized over down-the-line projection. “With the waves I’m surfing, I want reliability and trustability,” Nathan said. “The thruster gives me that.”

Given Nathan’s minimalist philosophy, it tracks that he isn’t fond of the larger liters found in the 9-foot plus range.

“Honestly, I don’t like riding these types of boards,” he said. “They’re so big. They work, and you can get the wave of your life on it on a big Jaws wave. Jaws is really hard to get the perfect wave, and they work well for that. But you want to be on a smaller board once you’re in. I think there’s progression to be made to sneak volume in somewhere and get a larger wave with a smaller board.”

For peaks that don’t require as much heavy artillery, Next Steps are Nathan’s next choice. Nathan prefers his from 6’ to 6’8”, and they’re his go-to for Pipeline whether it’s head-high or maxing. Click here for his Pipe quiver ideology.

After watching his quiver breakdown, one thing is clear: Nathan leans toward the Mick Fanning side of the surf-trip. Every detail is scrutinized through the lens of surfing. Function over fashion, you might say. That means bringing extra gear and donning reef boots and thicker wetsuits even when it’s not totally necessary. It’s all for the sake of longer, better sessions. Nathan also muses on bringing smaller board bags, heat stroke mitigation, fin options, and why he took Ivan’s Radius Prime.