Can You Guess This Year’s Stab In The Dark Test Rider?

Yes, the boards are black.

We’ve always pushed to minimise bias in our pseudo-scientific search for the best surfboard shaper in the world. One of the ways we in which we do this is by keeping shaper and surfer unaware of each other’s identity.

Shapers received only height and weight dimensions and in return produced a board with zero identifiable markings.

The past three years we’ve asked for their cleanskin surfcraft to be crisp white, however this restricted creative freedom, especially in the tech department.

And, this year is all about tech: expect spring-loaded carbon additives, ultra flex formulas, and various patented performance enhancers. 

Welcome back to Stab In The Dark.

Julian Wilson starred in our pilot episode back in 2015, Dane Reynolds rigorously evaluated the submissions of 2016, and we took Jordy Smith on a Mentawais boat trip to play lead role last year. 

As in the bedroom, as on the internet, we’re fond of a tease. So here’s our first ambiguous peek under the hood of Stab in the Dark 2018.

We won’t reveal when, we won’t reveal where, or even who shaped boards for this year’s project (yet), we’ll simply leave you with a chance to study the image above and post your vote below on who our test rider might be…