9'4" Firewire CJ Nelson Haven review
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- čas přidán 20. 11. 2021
- Review of the Firewire Haven
CJ Nelson Wayne Rich collaboration
9'4" 23" 3 1/8" 73 Litres
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www.firewiresurfboards.com/pr...
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Good review of the Haven. I have CJs Sprout, Parallax and Guerrero all in thunderbolt tech and wouldn’t go back to a PU board after surfing these. The Haven reminds me of Takayama’s In The Pink….similar rails, concave and planshape but much more aesthetic. I am reasonably good on the nose and have some understanding of nose concaves and they are the most misunderstood part of longboard design. In the early 60s at Malibu and Rincon, they were forever running out onto the shoulder and having to cut back on those heavy boards. The noseride developed as a stall manoeuvre to keep the board in the pocket and avoid cutting back. The concave was designed in the mid 60s when noseriding became a style-thing, to slow the board down, and keep it in the pocket and therefore keep the wave breaking on the tail, which gives the feeling of lift. It’s not the nose concave providing the lift….there’s no way a 1/2 inch pocket of watery air can lift the board and a 14 stone surfer up out of the water. Look at what happens when you turn a spoon upside down under a tap, it send the water out sideways which is the release of water you see off the rails in the nose. Hydrodynamics. Most people try to noseride out on the shoulder and wonder why the board sinks….you have to stay in the steep part of the pocket and then stall to hang your toes over properly!
Hey Tom. Great insight really appreciate your comment. Funny.. you actually have the same 3 boards as a local friend and I have ridden all of the above. The sprout definitely wants to stay in the pocket and my slasher used to feel the same. I agree that it's the wrap and weight of the water around the tail that lifts the nose on boards like the sprout it feels like the whole board is designed to stay right in the pocket too which no doubt helps you to be in a better place on the wave to get that stall up for a nose ride. I really suck at nose riding so don't really do it hence prefer the boards that you can develop speed on and have a hard edge for a little more turning assistance. Also that wide to narrow shape seems to suit me on most boards. Again due to my lack of any walking skills. I dont have to step back or drop knee some much on the Haven to get myself behind a hip like the pig shapes have. Not sure I 100% agree on the concave comment sure they dont provide all the lift but they must provide some or at least have have some sort of tracking effect that helps less seasoned nose riders understand
I picked up the Firewire Outlier 7’6 a couple of months back
CJ Nelson knows how to make boards that work and make your surfing enjoyable
And the Thunderbolt is the best construction I have come across. Very durable, but also responsive. Worth the investment
Veeeery nice mate. I was eying up tnt 8' but it's already gone now and the price went up. Beautiful rails on that board sounds like it's a winner 👍
Have you seen the new 7"0" Version? Heaps of volume. Very different board to the longer ones but looks like heaps of fun for average to good waves probably in the small to medium range.
@@lawson45uk yeah, I have seen it. Single fin with side bites. The plan shape is a little different, and I imagine it would be a more conventional ride in poor to average+ waves. I like the 7'6 as a true hull mid. The 7'0 seems like an inferior option to something like the Moe (which would be far more versatile)
@@thestow35 as a 7' Outlier owner I'm happy to say you certainly got your assessment of the 7'er wrong..
@@lawson45uk get one...! That's all I have to say!
Great review. I probably can't afford the price tag, do you still think the GEM is a good buy compared to more recent designs.
Yeah I hear you mate. These are getting silly expensive now. The GEM is a really nice board. More performance orientated but still an all rounder the Wingnut and special T also nice at the less performance end. You might pick a timbertek up cheap still just watch out for damage and sand outs they can have delam issues if they are not made well and looked after. To be honest even some of the old surftech boards are still great boards in the old tuflite construction before they started all that tlpc stuff if you can find a good model second hand they are built to last. There is always something out there on special or second hand if your patient. The Thunderbolt is really nice for feel and flex though so if you get a model you like or ideally can test ride first your only gonna need to buy it once and it will last well if looked after.
Thanks heaps for the advice. Cheers from Australia.
Can u do a review of the cj nelson parallax?
Sorry don’t have access to boards or sponsors so just what I have myself. My friend has one and really likes it though.
Love your longboard reviews! How does the Haven compare to your Wingnut, Gem, and Blender for speed, glide, paddle, early entry, turning, versatility, etc? I felt up a 9'1 Haven in Tbolt Red and, for being the dimensions I like, it felt really big to me. I also felt up a 9'3 HI4 in Tbolt Red and even though it's 23" width and about the same volume (+1 liter) it felt much better. Unfortunately they were at different shops so I didn't get a chance to put them side by side... I'm still on the new board quest- I actually ordered a 9'2 HI Diamond Drive from my local shop 6 months ago but they still have no word from Firewire on when to expect it. Shops where I travel for the summer have a 9'1 Gem and a 9'1 HI4 both in Thunderbolt Black, so even though I decided on the Diamond Drive in Thunderbolt Red as my perfect fit, I might have to take what I can get at this point!
Hi Brian. Yeah Supply is definitely an issue at the moment. Same in NZ we kinda get what we get given with no promises or dates from what I hear from the shops. Ok so kin of a massive question your asking and comparing apples to eggs :-) lol so I'm just gonna say that in the 9'4" I'm catching more waves than my 9'0" Wingnut did and it doesn't feel all that much less maneuverable. It's a similar ride and feel but more forgiving and less liable to pearl as not quite as sensitive and tight sweet spot. I basically ride this when it's under shoulder to head high kinda 1-3ft and step onto my Skindog blender once it's over shoulder to head high if that helps. I think every other board you mentioned other than the wingnut I would consider a little more towards the performance end than the Haven. Saying that I suspect that the 9'1" Haven would preform quite nicely but the design I would still say more of an all rounder. I think the 9'4" Haven and the 9'1" Blender are a really good 2 board longboard quiver for the waves we get locally but yeah the Haven I would say has more in common with the wingnut than the others but for me but that's very much subjective as the 9'1" Haven would no doubt be a different beast to the 9'4". Hope that Helps. Hi4,GEM and Daimond drive are more leaning towards the performance inspired all rounder. Haven is more all rounder mix of modern and some more traditionally elements. Depending on your weight I think most people would struggle to do much traditional riding on the other models. The Haven you could do a bit of both. Cheers.
@@lawson45uk Thanks bro! I like to think of myself as mix of modern and traditional but the local shape I use now (Nature Shapes HP1 9'0 x 22.75 x 2.75 about 65 L) is probably leaning toward the "performance inspired all-round side" like you say (I just like to ride it single fin). In fact the dims look really close to the 9'1 Hi4... That's probably why the 9'1 Haven felt too big to me... and that's why I thought the Diamond Drive with that little extra bit of volume (69 L) and flat spot in the middle of the rocker would be the safest bet to handle smaller crappier days (Unfortunately, apartment living with a wife is not friendly to having more than one longboard in the quiver!) But since my Nature Shapes might not make it (already repaired fin box 3 times) until Firewire supply issues get sorted out I might be forced to choose between a Gem, Hi4 and Haven...!
how do you feel it catches waves compared to a parallax or a special t ? looking for a groveller kind of longboard when waves are small and gutless
Hi. Not ridden the Parallax sorry but this one catches waves a bit better than the 9’0” Special T I slightly prefer the 9’0” special T myself as I’m short so find the special T more responsive at not too big a sacrifice on wave catching. If you we’re talking the special T in a 9’6” it may paddle better than the 9’4” but again not ridden both to compare sorry. The Haven did definitely add a bit of wave catching ability compared to the other 9’0” boards I had too to be fair. I was catching more small waves more easily. Just that bit more trim power. I find there is quite a difference between 9’0” and 9’6” boards in both the way they catch waves and ride. I always find 9’6” a little bigger than I want personally but if I were closer to 6ft than 5’6” it might be a different story. I like the 9’0” Special T as a do it all board myself for the local conditions. Cheers.