In Need of Mutant advice

[aprok]

I am looking for opinions on mutant performace of various brands in surf and flat water. Would like to hear your experience and comments.

[Des Walsh]

The mutant board does everything fairly well. You can put bigger fins on it and it works well in light wind, works well in surf, is great for jumping, and can be set up and ridden like a twin tip. I think that it is the best choice if you only have one board for all conditions.

[Dan Glyaire]

yep, does everything fairly well, but nothing great. in my opinion. i find im either on my directional or my twintip. having said that, when travelling and limited to one board i have taken the mutant. mine doesnt work that well riding as a twintip, and is a rougher ride than the directional. but it does jump well. its an older airush 158.

[Ian-H]

I rode a Naish 137 Alien for quite a while, which a friend has now got off me. If you're new to surfboards or scared of the whole gybing thing, or can't handle the speed of the board in waves then a mutant is a great idea - most of them ride fine backwards, even though they look a bit funny.

Not all the mutants work that well in light winds - the smaller Naish Aliens definitely aren't light wind boards. But they jump BIG and ride toeside well. Definitely much better than a twin in waves.

A surfboard is a total waste of time on flat water, but in the surf they kill mutants - I'd say it's a single step up from a twin to a mutant and a double step to a surfboard in terms of performance. Two things - the size of fins and volume give so much drive, and the volume under and ahead of the front foot give you much performance on bottom turns and in big waves.

[bennyh]

gaastra sky pro 133

previously rode twin tip, then directional for a year each

this board is very good. most people pick it up and say it's heavy. heavy? so what?
great for chop
great in waves - very loose but carves well too
rides twin tip fine - ideal for those 'get out of there quick' moments in the waves. You notice the bias, but not much
you can just about jibe it
rides toe down nicely
its fast
transforms a no swell spot with a good wind swell in to a lot of waveriding fun.

doesn't lock in as well as my directional but better than my old twintip
perhaps not the thing for bigger waves - I'd use a surfboard

its a bit out of date now. don't know what else is about, but I'm happy with this and still use my homemade directional

[The Jess-Man]

Not all the mutants work that well in light winds - the smaller Naish Aliens definitely aren't light wind boards.

This is true but my 121 Alien still goes in light wind when guys on regular twins 142 or smaller are stuck doing down winders.

J.

[Robsw6]

Mutant performance in surf.... depends a lot on the mutant, I ride mostly a 148cm (also have a 128cm for high wind stuff) both with 6-fins, the 148 has 11 cms on the rear and in good surf (overhead to double plus) it is more secure than a directional with more rounded rails and gives you more speed/securirty on a bottom turn... the advantage is that if the sets are closing out and there is no area of safety (due to a rocky shoreline) you can ride back out without gybing.

In flat water, the board is faster than a twin tip as it has flatter rocker at the back and edges boosts far better

For those who find a mutant a compromise, Have a go on the Naish 4'7 pro, that is a really nice board - my 148cm is a custom and based on this, but with better tail closure and improved rocker

Remember... lots of people are surprised that I ride a mutant (especially with big fins) but they will come back again sooner or later, as it is a concept that is unmatched in so many circumstances.... pity the inverntor (Flash) lost the plot

[aprok]

I had the Airush starboard mutant in the past and must say that I was not impressed with its performance. It looked like the board was either hollow inside or had a foam core. Do more expensive mutant boards have construction similar to twin tips and similar rails? I am a little hesitant to spend my dough on something I may not like.
Also I heard that it is much harder to make a custom mutant board than a twintip, is that true?

Thanks.

[Frank Rosin]

Best construction I have seen so far: Underground Firebird FLX

141x40

140x38

[tautologies]

good tip, I was talking to the Naish guys on Oahu, and appearantly they are expecting loads of Aliens from 2005 and 2006, and they intend to sell them for cheap. I am looking at the 146 for surf and boost....looks like a super nice board, which can hold lots of power....

( http://www.naish.com ) then click Naish hawaii....their phone and email contact should be there....

Alex