Performance Longboard?

[Tommy]

Ladies and gentlemen looking to buy a performance longboard for all types of breaks. Loaded up the Noserider and headed south to Carlsbad and was able to get a few corners with a 9’6” log. But it was a bit fast and feel like a performance longboard with more drive would have been the right call.
So hit me with your experience’s good or bad and recommendations for a killer 9 foot performance longboard.
I surf shorter as well all the way down to 6’8” but have been gravitating towards longboarding more in the 3-4 years as I get older. I have a little bit of everything in my quiver but not a performance or high performance longboard.
Apreciate the feed back and knowledge.
I’m in so cal, Usually surf between Ventura and San Diego. But mostly in the Southbay fast beach break.
Ready, Set, GO!

 

[ShipFixer]

Welcome! I feel like you just waved a red cape in front of 80% of this forum :lol: But here goes...

I still have one of the original TJ Pros from ~10 years ago. But, that thing really needs a short board wave with lots of power behind it to fire, and at that point you might as well be on a short board or a mid length. Like you would take it out in the same waves you would your 6'8". I want to say the TJP has more rocker and whatnot than a lot of the other full HPLBs, but to me they are all pretty similar. There are comments on other forums like "it's a gun with a wide nose" that aren't too far off. If you head out to the break, you will notice people on that board and anything like it (high rocker, lotsa concaves and curves) waiting for just the right wave in between short boarders and people catching outside. I still like it, but there are boards I like more.

Enter the newer options, which are my go-to's. The latest thing I got is the TJ Pro V. It's a 9'0" at 60L just like the original TJP, but noticeably flatter and a bit lighter (Thunderbolt vs. Timbertek). Tail is a bit wider. It suits San Diego every day surf much, much better. It has a better low end but it's still thin, so it is in fact a "cheater board" with a short board tail where mid lengths and the original TJP are not. I like it as a thruster and have pumped it through flat sections pretty much like a shortboard, but I can still get out on the nose a bit. If I had to ditch my other HPLBs, this would be the one.

Other thing I have that is a bit fatter and flatter is the Harley Ingleby Diamond Drive. It's 9'2" and 10L fatter, and flatter on the bottom. Has really hard rails though, so it will hold a turn well enough I've forgotten how good it is and kicked right out after dropping in a couple times. Really likes a quad setup. Likes flat faces, but you really feel the flatness of the tail plus the trackiness of the quads there.

Stuff that is not exactly what you are looking for but worth checking out: the CJ Nelson Outlier or Parallax. I have the 8'0" Outlier and 9'9" Parallax. They are singles, so...not really an HPBL or something you can drive like a shortboard. But they really, really like to go fast and makes turns. I am not missing much when I go out on the Parallax, it's fast and loves to go up and down the wave face.

 

[West81]

For a real HPLB I wouldnt recommend the Outlier of Parrallax. I feel the Parallax especially flies out of control at overhead faster waves. To me thats a proper alrounder

The most performancy longboard I surfed in recent years was the Harley Ingleby HIHP in carbon

I owned it for about 6 months but eventually sold it. I really want to like his boards but for some reason I prefer the CJ Nelson models. My mate has the HIHP and HI4 and is really stoked on the HI4. He surfs it very aggresively.

The HIHP is fast and turns on a dime. When you drop in and feel the rail and fins engage you are solid

 

[ShipFixer]

For a real HPLB I wouldnt recommend the Outlier of Parrallax. I feel the Parallax especially flies out of control at overhead faster waves. To me thats a proper alrounder

Don't disagree with this at all - just a fun board that's more performance-y than a regular long board in not-so performance waves. Which is pretty much normal south SD :-D OH and above or even 3+ ft reliable waves are a different thing.

Meanwhile...any chance you could compare the TJP to the HIHP? And on the HIHP vs HI4, my best understanding is "same as the HIHP, but a bit flatter and wider nose." But some of the descriptions vary a bit.

I was/am very curious about the HI4 but when I put it up against the TJP V, the TJP V looked more like a HPLB with a lower end (wider, flatter tail, etc.) vs. the HI4, and I already have the TJP. So I feel like I have the full spectrum between TJP, TJPV, and HI Diamond Drive. I could see trading my old TJP for a HIHP or even HI4 though. I'd much rather have Thunderbolt than Timbertek for this kind of board.

 

[JTS]

I picked up a used 9’0” Proctor Performance Longboard,a couple years ago really really like it . It is one of his Proxy Epoxy builds worked really well, I eventually buckled it in some dredging sandbar barrels, but it was a favorite.
It was the board that reignited my interest in EPS/ Epoxy builds , it felt so good , light but not too light or corky. Felt similar to the Thunderbolt Red builds

 

[Tommy]

Welcome! I feel like you just waved a red cape in front of 80% of this forum :lol: But here goes...

I still have one of the original TJ Pros from ~10 years ago. But, that thing really needs a short board wave with lots of power behind it to fire, and at that point you might as well be on a short board or a mid length. Like you would take it out in the same waves you would your 6'8". I want to say the TJP has more rocker and whatnot than a lot of the other full HPLBs, but to me they are all pretty similar. There are comments on other forums like "it's a gun with a wide nose" that aren't too far off. If you head out to the break, you will notice people on that board and anything like it (high rocker, lotsa concaves and curves) waiting for just the right wave in between short boarders and people catching outside. I still like it, but there are boards I like more.

Enter the newer options, which are my go-to's. The latest thing I got is the TJ Pro V. It's a 9'0" at 60L just like the original TJP, but noticeably flatter and a bit lighter (Thunderbolt vs. Timbertek). Tail is a bit wider. It suits San Diego every day surf much, much better. It has a better low end but it's still thin, so it is in fact a "cheater board" with a short board tail where mid lengths and the original TJP are not. I like it as a thruster and have pumped it through flat sections pretty much like a shortboard, but I can still get out on the nose a bit. If I had to ditch my other HPLBs, this would be the one.

View attachment 51627
Other thing I have that is a bit fatter and flatter is the Harley Ingleby Diamond Drive. It's 9'2" and 10L fatter, and flatter on the bottom. Has really hard rails though, so it will hold a turn well enough I've forgotten how good it is and kicked right out after dropping in a couple times. Really likes a quad setup. Likes flat faces, but you really feel the flatness of the tail plus the trackiness of the quads there.

Stuff that is not exactly what you are looking for but worth checking out: the CJ Nelson Outlier or Parallax. I have the 8'0" Outlier and 9'9" Parallax. They are singles, so...not really an HPBL or something you can drive like a shortboard. But they really, really like to go fast and makes turns. I am not missing much when I go out on the Parallax, it's fast and loves to go up and down the wave face.

Love all the Boards Choices and info! Super stoked. Looked at a couple of these models pre posting this on here. So thank you for your knowledge and Board reviews. Truly helps guide me in the right direction. There are so many boards but few that seem like they’re built with performance in mind. Stoked!

 

[Tommy]

For a real HPLB I wouldnt recommend the Outlier of Parrallax. I feel the Parallax especially flies out of control at overhead faster waves. To me thats a proper alrounder

The most performancy longboard I surfed in recent years was the Harley Ingleby HIHP in carbon

View attachment 51628

I owned it for about 6 months but eventually sold it. I really want to like his boards but for some reason I prefer the CJ Nelson models. My mate has the HIHP and HI4 and is really stoked on the HI4. He surfs it very aggresively.

The HIHP is fast and turns on a dime. When you drop in and feel the rail and fins engage you are solid

Sweet, never researched Harley Ingleby boards so this gives me something new to check out. CJ Nelson’s boards are sic. I personally have been looking at a couple of his models but haven’t taken one for a spin yet. Thanks for the info

 

[Backyard B]

Get a Stewart or a Wave Tools.

 

[Tommy]

I picked up a used 9’0” Proctor Performance Longboard,a couple years ago really really like it . It is one of his Proxy Epoxy builds worked really well, I eventually buckled it in some dredging sandbar barrels, but it was a favorite.
It was the board that reignited my interest in EPS/ Epoxy builds , it felt so good , light but not too light or corky. Felt similar to the Thunderbolt Red builds

Right on.
Something else I can research. Love all the board info.

 

[Chilly Willy]

How about a Jim Phillips HPNR? Disclaimer: I've never ridden one but you can't go wrong with a Phillips. Could have sworn that he once said that this is the model that he personally rides, but don't quote me on that.

"The High Performance Noserider is a rockered and contoured longboard for more progressive/vertical surfing. The rails start out at 60/40 in the nose but very quickly transition to a 70/30 tucked edge all the way to a hard/release edge in the tail. A slightly blended yet defined concave runs about 24” under the nose to flat in the middle and then a double barrel concave/vee finishes off the tail. Don’t let the rocker or concave fool you into thinking this board sacrifices paddle-ability for surf-ability; this board paddles extremely well. Think of this board as high-flying surfing: torque-y bottom turns, pulling up into a rail grab in the barrel, fly out onto the nose then run back to crank another bottom turn into a floater."