Back in the 90s, Kelly Slater was almost single-handedly responsible for ushering in the trend of narrow, thin, long surfboards often pejoratively referred to as “potato chips” for their wafer-thin construction.
A few decades later, Slater and Daniel “Tomo” Thomson are like two mad scientists dragging the collective surf world into new realms of board design and experimentation. Their most recent collaboration – the Cymatic – has been the subject of glowing reviews. Like other Tomo models, its snub nose eliminates the swing weight and length you’d get out of the extra several inches of a pointed nose shape. It’s meant to be ridden shorter than your average board, but Slater and Tomo are only scratching the surface of what’s possible with shorter equipment.
Here’s Kelly on a 5’3″ Cymatic in some chunky waves at Haleiwa. Granted, at 5’9″, 160 pounds, Kelly is downright diminutive compared to giants like Jordy Smith and Owen Wright. Still, surfing craft just barely over five feet in waves like this is pretty nuts.
