When Haydenshapes’ Hypto Krypto hit surf shops, it caused quite the stir. It became one of the world’s best-selling surfboards. The Surf Industry Manufacturers Association went on to select the Hypto Krypto as surfboard of the year for 2015. Lineups were inundated with them, and the shape played an important role in the shift towards shorter, fatter, flatter equipment. Then came the Holy Grail, another Haydenshapes design that was focused on allowing an average surfer to perform a little better. The Holy Grail, however, was a little more performance-oriented, but maintained the same wave-catching ability and ease-of-use that the Hypto Krypto became so popular because of. And now, Haydenshapes has squashed the two together in the form of a new shape called the Holy Hypto.
“The Holy Hypto is a combination of the Hypto Krypto and Holy Grail models, thus the Holy Hypto was created,” the Haydenshapes team wrote. “Having more entry rocker, longer rail line with a performance nose, this shape will surf like your everyday driver with the speed and flow of the Hypto.”
Landing somewhere between the Hypto and the Holy Grail, Hayden Cox pushed the wide point a few inches forward of center. That, of course, means that there’s more foam under your front foot, which translates into a bigger sweet spot while on a wave and more paddle power while getting into it. It’s meant to be a board that performs well in a variety of waves for a surfer who is “progressing in surfing ability to advanced surfers looking for the performance to match everyday waves.”
The designers say the Holy Hypto is meant to be an everyday board, working in anything from waist-high to well overhead. “Anything from beach breaks, reef to point breaks,” they wrote, “the Holy Hypto will perform in all around conditions.”
It has a medium entry rocker that was taken from the Holy Grail’s design, then flattens out in the center and ends with a very slight tail rocker. It has a rolled vee in the nose that transitions to a single concave in the middle, then into a double concave through the fins and a vee double out the tail, it’s best suited to a fin with a wider base.
While it certainly won’t make you surf like Craig Anderson (unless you’re Craig Anderson), the Holy Hypto might just make your daily sessions a little more fun. And that’s the name of the game, isn’t it?
