Stab Recommends: Pyzel Tiger Twin
Ever heard of the groveler glass ceiling?
“This board originally kinda came from looking at those Bob Hurley boards, those eighties twin fins,” Jon Pyzel told me, a few months ago when I asked about the Tiger Twin.
“But then for the Tiger Twin we decided to put another box in there so that you can have a stabilizer fin, like a little two plus one situation. To do that, we set the fins back. It’s made to be a twin fin, but then you can throw a trailer in there. A bunch of my team riders in California would ride it as a thruster. So you can kind of go both ways with this board too. It’s kind of a big jump from being a thruster guy to riding a twin fin, and I want people to feel like they can ease into it. Having that back box gives you a little bit of reassurance.”
If you haven’t seen any of Pyzel’s many cameos on stabmag.com, you should go watch them here and here.
If you have? You’ll already be aware of the fact that he’s a terrifically engaging, thoughtful human. Also very clever at marketing.
As such, in return for a board giveaway to a Stab Premium member, he offered to have his head Californian shaper build me a custom Tiger Twin to try out — all I had to do was provide an honest review. If it was good, we’d give the board a little extra love on the site. If it was bad, we’d hand it back with no hard feelings.
And here we are today, so.
Now three months later, having ridden the board in everything from sloppy Northern California junk to wavepool slabs to perfect beachbreak tubes, I can confirm that this board is the most versatile step-down I’ve ever owned.
To be clear, I’m a very average surfer — but, I have owned a whole lot of surfboards in my brief tenure on this planet to compare this to.
So, what qualities does a board need to have for me to constantly pull it out of my truck? Easy access to speed and a broad sweet spot, while retaining enough curve in the outline to keep me from looking too silly on the occasions when I attempt to get critical.
And yes, the Tiger Twin hit all these marks.
In playful, gutless, California south swells, I found the flatter curve and foam distribution through the front of the board did a lot of the work for me — while the tail rocker and pulled in swallow made it so I could still put it into the lip if I wanted.
Where did it falter?
In windy conditions, I found the the width through the nose would catch on random bumps and I’d faceplant sometimes.
But, this downside was made up for by the fact that the Tiger Twin undeniably exceeds the glass ceiling that most ‘grovelers’ can’t seem to surpass…
Whether a product of Pyzel’s Hawaiian predilections or simply some shaping sorcery, the board somehow works in genuinely barreling waves.
See below.
While probably better exhibited by Benji Brand than myself, the Tiger Twin doesn’t have the same limitations in good waves that most step-downs fall victim to.
So, honestly, while I thought it was just a summertime board… I guess I’ll keep it in my truck through the winter.
Click here to get yourself one.
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