Firewire FRK Plus Surfboard Review part 2 - a great step up for the Average Surfer

This board may be a step down board for Kelly but it is likely a perfect step up for an average surfer. Because of its moderate to low rocker and the dna traces of the dominator, this board can be sized up and wouldn't 'require too much adjustment. If you loved the dominator but need something that handles better in bigger steeper waves, look at the FRK+. It would be a great performance board if sized correctly in your quiver.
Surfer: 5'8" 145lbs
Surfboard: 5'8" x 18 1/2" x 2 3/8" @ 26.1 L
Fins: NVS Dan Mann - Mann Kind thruster and quad (Apex Series)
Traction: FCS Toledo Tread Lite
Leash: FCS 6' Helix
Wetsuit: Volcom 4/3 Modulator
#surfer #surf #surfing #surfboard #surfboards #surfboardreview #surfboardreviews #firewire #harelyingleby #firewiremoe #moe #surfermag #stab #surflesson #surflessons #surfergirl #asiansurfer #beginnersurflessons #beginnersurfer #learningtosurf #firewiresurfboards
@firewiresurfboards @KellySlaterVEVO @KSWaveCo ‪@surfnvs‬

[@thestow35]

Thanks Thomye. Always excited to hear your analysis

[@markjackson5704]

Im 52, 5'11" and 80kg's. Intermidate level and coming back after time off from should surgery. Purchased the 6'0" at 32 liters. Should have gone the 6'1". The construction / tech offers the ability to go up easily, and would advise most people to go up a level from where they think they would be. The tech just makes things differant...

[@ihadtomakethisbs]

'stache game on point

[@ThomyeSurfs]

LoL 😂

[@csarquiweb]

Great review. Your surfing is looking really good too!

[@kookpatrol7490]

Thank you 🤙

[@gilliamm.5732]

Thanks!

[@SMOOTTHH1]

@ThomyeSurfs Thank you for taking the time to make these videos. I normally watch Noel Salas first, then check your channel and see what you have to say about a particular board if you have reviewed it as well. I purchased the Mashup after watching Noel Salas and your video reviewing the Mashup along with the 2+1 fins based on both your recommendations. I loved the Mashup with the 2+1, but I also purchased the RNF 96 and rode it as a 2+1 and also as a Thruster, and prefer the RNF 96 over the Mashup, so I sold the Mashup. I am 52 years old, 5'10" and weigh in at 195 lbs. I ride the 5'8" 32 liter Lightspeed RNF 96 and surprisingly the board is easy to paddle and gets into waves relatively easily considering the lower volume that I am riding. Having said that, the Helium Firewire Mashup has to be the best construction board that I have surfed to date. I had the board for almost a year and there were no dings; there was 1 small barely noticeable pressure ding where my front foot was placed, but other than that the Helium construction is awesome. The RNF96 on the other hand, even though it is epoxy, is not as durable as the Firewire Mashup. I surfed on the board only 4 times and already have very noticeable pressure dings where I place my front foot, so in terms of durability, the Firewire Mashup wins hands down. That being said, I still rather have the RNF 96 over the Mashup for overall performance and flexibility. Regarding this video, thanks again for sharing your experience and insight regarding the liters for this board. I am 100% sold on the durability of the Firewire boards. This was actually one of the deciding factors regarding purchasing FRK+ or the Channel Islands CI 2.0 Pro. The other benefit I think people overlook in terms of buying boards is resale value. In my opinion, Firewire boards retain their resale value and are easier to sell more so than PU boards from other manufacturers. Anyways, I bought the 6'4" 38.6 liter board along with the NVS Mannkine Fins based on your recommendations of going a little higher in liters. My plan is to use this board for 4-8' faces, can't wait to try it out! 👊✊🤙🏻 Side note, just saw your video on the Sharpeye Inferno FT. Now I want that board too. LOL... It never ends 🤣🥹😊

[@ThomyeSurfs]

Great input. Love the comment and constructive opinions. Really appreciate it. I will definitely have to try the r&f. Looking at the outlines they do look very similar to me. But I suspect the r&f has more of a performance rocker. One of my friends has that board and offered to loan it to me once he got done surfing it. It's been 6 months, lol I guess he's not done yet.

[@ThePokersurfer]

Looks magical for you in fact Kelly has been experimenting with a shorter FRK 2.0 on his latest Lowers video which makes perfect sense since it looked TOO long in his last contests which in my opinion inhibited him for optimal performance.

[@ThomyeSurfs]

What's funny is Kelly got us all surfing long narrow boards and then switched it up by making us surf really short stubby boards. And now I feel like he's pushing us back towards long skinny boards.

[@ThePokersurfer]

@@ThomyeSurfs yes a full evolution back to the means and don't forget the quad movement like a decade ago! And the Tomo sidekick interest. I really thought he would implement a Tom Curren inspired design since he idols him ....... Perhaps Tom wasn't interested as an introvert passive person that he is.

[@rjcplus9]

@thomyesurfs love the graph explanation! you also said FRK+ is “groveling performance board”…so, Mashup is supposed to be perf. grov, too…how same? how diff? thanks!

[@ThomyeSurfs]

mashup would be for knee high to chest or soft. great groveling. FRK+ maybe waist high to 2 ft over head. can do softer waves if over chest high but can also do punchy barrel. Mashup is very flat which also helps with groveling. you also ride the mashup much shorter. For example, I ride the 5'4 Mashup at 27.1L. my frik+ is 5'8 and 26.1L. Ideally, I would love for my FRK+ to be 5'9 and 28L. then I can charge even bigger waves but also smaller ones since I would have more volume. Hope that made sense.

[@emisurfchannel2280]

So fun this wave!!

[@eatsurfsleeprepeat5485]

Hey Thomye. Hope all is well. What is your favourite or “go to” board for head to double over head surf at the moment?

[@ThomyeSurfs]

I don't get double overhead too often so I can only speak to head high/couple of feet overhead. At the moment, that would be my Dark Arts Sharpeye FT. It seems to handle the waves well and makes it easier for me. I think if I were to surf bigger waves, I would consider my frk+ but would need to size it up a little.

[@alang253]

thought your surfing looked best in this video, more pockety and on rail surfing. I'm same weight as you and been wondering about narrower (~18.5) and longer boards that are fuller & flatter/user friendly and based on the footage it didn't seem to inhibit you too much. Recently picked up a 5'4" x 19.5" and it is fun it just feels like it's inhibiting progress.

[@ThomyeSurfs]

Thanks. I definitely felt like it made some turns look better too. it felt better too. But the one thing is, since I would use it in bigger better waves, I thought maybe getting an inch taller would have served a better purpose. even the 5'9's width would have been my narrowest board, just a fraction under my Sharpeye FT. I think my FT would be the perfect waist to head high board and the FRK+ would have best the best chest to over head board. a true step up and if I had gotten it at 28L, i could have still enjoyed it in smaller waist high waves too. If I didn't position correctly, I did definitely struggle to catch waves or get into them early enough to use the open face.

[@tezf6883]

@@ThomyeSurfs Slater designs Great White ibolic volcanic coming soon for review?

[@ThomyeSurfs]

@@tezf6883 trying to work out the details. Hoping FW is willing to strike me a deal or demo me a board. I don't want to go broke since my surf funds have been negative for the last year. Also need a new wetsuit for the winter. I wish I was one of those guys that could trunk it year round LOL. Save a crap ton of money on wetsuits.

[@eatsurfsleeprepeat5485]

With the construction, how did the deck go as far as foot wells / wear n tear? Heres my pov. I have the mashup in helium obviously, and Ive had it for 12 mths and surfed it around 100 times. The deck is still flat as a pan cake, almost in perfect condition which just blows my mind. Every board Ive ever owned, PU, EPS/epoxy, PE constructions, end up with foot wells after no more than 10 surfs / 20 hours of surfing. Im heavy on the front foot and have never had a board, until now, that didnt have serious deck damage which drastically reduces the boards life span. I buy a new board every 6-12 mths because of it. But the Mashup and helium tech looks like a game changer for me. Im just a bit annoyed that FW are going purely with futures on all their new board models and Im a massive FCS fan. It’s expensive to switch to futures for some boards and fcs for others.

[@ThomyeSurfs]

on the iBolic, the top is almost similar to helium. it is very strong, maybe just a fraction softer than helium. The bottom is not. My FRK+ has pressures very similar to my mashup on top but the bottom is pressured from my travel to Waco. The bottom is like a normal EPS. I personally like the construction and would love to try a mashup in ibolic vs helium if it was available.

[@mjstatic77]

Hey Thomye, I ended up getting the Sci fi 2.0 not long after we last chatted on here and it’s been my favourite pointed nose board amoungst my twin fins. Pretty much the only shortboard type shape I’m riding. You’re spot on about the El Tomo and the Sci fi in similar volumes, I had a 5’8 ET and a 5’10 SF 2.0 and they both performed just with a different feel. How does the FRK+ compare to the Sci Fi 2.0? In feel, performance and get up and go speed etc…

[@ThomyeSurfs]

I'm glad to hear that you like it. as for the FRK+, vastly different. The one thing about the Tomo boards that I have ridden is that they all felt bigger than their stated volume. I had the 5'6 ET and the 5'7 SF2. after having surfed them, I likely should have been on a 5'4 and 5'5 respectively. Based on the volume, I wouldn't think so but on feel, it would have been better for me. I like my FRK+ but mine is 5'8 and 26.1L. compared to the Tomo's I bought, it is less liters. with that said, this board feels smaller where as the tomo's feels bigger so the gap is much bigger than the 1.5L in terms of feel. I think the frk is a grat step up and performance board in ones quiver. if I were to buy it again, I would buy mine at 5'10 to get more width. it says it 29L but likely cuz of the narrowness really narrow tail block and nose, it will feel closer to 27L. My 5'8 feels like 24L. I think what I was trying to say in the video is that if you are super advanced, this is a groveler. if you are anything else, this is a super high end performance board. if you want it to be your daily type driver, buy it bigger than you think. it will still turn and perform cuz of the design but you will need a better wave and more push than you are used to. I noticed that if you look at most pro surfers, they ride boards a bit taller than their own height. I would say since we aren't pros, we would have to add a few more inches to that. I speculate that for me, the 5'11 would be a good daily and the 5'10 would be a good performance step up in good waves. my 5'8, too small. great for a pool like waco or a really good spot like lowers. hope that helps.

[@mjstatic77]

@@ThomyeSurfs Thanks for the reply…makes a lot of sense. I actually posted the first reply on your Sci Fi 2.0 review page, when we chatted about the el Tomo compared to the Sci fi…I probably should of left that bit out when I posted the reply here as well. I’m ok with which size/volume to get but wondering about the get up and go speed and performance on the FRK+ compared to the Sci Fi 2.0?

[@ThomyeSurfs]

@@mjstatic77 I think sized up, there'd be no problem with get up and go. In fact because it's so narrow I'm able to really get the board going when the waves are a little punchier regardless of size. If it's soft then I have difficulty.

[@mjstatic77]

@@ThomyeSurfs I’m guessing the FRK+ has the full shortboard feel as opposed to the Sci Fi which has a more skatey/hybrid feel…

[@ThomyeSurfs]

@@mjstatic77 yes. definitely full on performance shortboard feel.

[@onshore1ft]

Have to say you were struggling on this one compared to recent reviews. It was probably down to the waves but still you looked so much better on the Dark Arts Inferno 72.

[@ThomyeSurfs]

yes, I would agree that was the case for much of the smaller waves. On anything that was head high, I thought it was great especially backhand. and the open face turn at the end of the video, that was by far my favorite. Another reason I should have opted for the 5'9 instead. I was just commenting to someone else that the Sharpeye FT is perfect for waist to head high and this board, might be better for chest to over head and punchy. I think it would rail better than the FT in those conditions.

[@adam_hr8231]

Can you review the CI Rocket Wide Squash ?

[@ThomyeSurfs]

if I can get hold of one I will but none of the guys I know own CI boards. I have one friend that surfs lost boards in my volume. so he is nice enough to lend me his boards. I will try though.

[@danysenkov9017]

Very informative content! How would you compare FRK+ to FLATEARTH?

[@ThomyeSurfs]

I've not surfed the FE. I've read and seen reviews that state you have to ride that board bigger due to knifey rails. If I am remembering correctly, the board was wider too length than the FRK+. Looking it up, the 5'6 is 19 3/8" wide and 27.13L. The FRK at 5'6 is 18.25" wide at 24.1L. Also, the FE, with it's sting, keeps the width more throughout the length of the board. If I had to guess, I would suspect that FE is a grovel performance board while the frk+ is a full fledged performance board. For Pros, it's probably a grovel performance. For us mere mortals, the frk+ is about as performance as a board gets. I have surfed the Dark Twin which is super similar to the FE but it is described as the CA version while the FE is the Hawaiin version. Anyways, I'm still hoping to try the FE at some point. I'm a huge fan of the Dark Twin. I almost bought one but then kept thinking with having to try new boards for this channel, it was best to save my money. Cheers

[@danysenkov9017]

@@ThomyeSurfs ​​⁠ Thanks for quick reply! After surfing FE for a while and regardless of all my concerns with higher volume I chose (I have it in 5’10 in 33.4L) I would say Wow. My previous hpsb was Pyzel 74 at 27L and I felt like lacking in volume while wearing heavy winter wetsuits. I surf FE with 2+1 fins in 3-6ft surf, the board is so easy to control despite its volume and it is super maneuverable and versatile. I wouldn’t be afraid to take it even in 5’11. LFT technology makes it super light, PU boards would be much massive and heavier at the same volume. I am wondering whether I need to add FRK+ to my quiver?! Speaking of the size FSR 6’1 has about the same volume as FE 5’10. Do you think 6’1 will be too long for surfing it in 4-6ft wave? I am intermediate-advanced surfer 43, 5’10 and 165lbs surf in 5mm wetsuit on west coast of Canada

[@ThomyeSurfs]

i don' think it would be too long and the ceiling would be much higher. if the waves ever got over 6', that board would handle it with ease. might be a good compliment to the quiver. Definitely not a replacement. @@danysenkov9017

[@congphi3757]

Bolsa ❤

[@eyalpolishook6486]

hey thomey,any chance of reviewing the hypto twin?🙏

[@ThomyeSurfs]

That board looks fun. I reached out to them a while back. I don't know if they have demo days. ☹️

[@RuRuRarRar]

Nice dude you’re ripping! Are they Large Dan Mann fins or Medium?

[@ThomyeSurfs]

I'm running the large

[@NCsurfer607]

Wow you weigh 145lbs running larges fins never would of thought that

[@jmorker]

@@ThomyeSurfs are you also running large fins for mashup?

[@ThomyeSurfs]

@@jmorker on the mash up I ran medium Toledo's but large McFannies. As a two plus one obviously the siphones are twin and I don't think they come in different sizes, at least not the Taylor Knox NVS fins. But I often do run large fins in smaller waves and medium fins in bigger waves.

[@SkipperSurfReview]

Ripping on this stick! These waves... gave me FOMO! 3:46 could end up so bad! Did you consider trying CI Happy?

[@ThomyeSurfs]

all's well that ends well. My knees definitely hurt a but for a few days after that one. :( I have not tried the happy. I'm not really into performance boards, I got the frk+ because I was headed to waco surf. I do wish though I had bought the 5'9 instead. then I could at least surf it in every day conditions. not with the 5'8, i sort of have to wait for better punchier days. I am interested in the Happy Everyday, that looks like a good daily for where I surf.

[@goodguymoore]

Hey Thomye! Curious if you are still riding enjoying this board? I've dug the videos you've put out on it. Wondering if you can help size it up for me. I'm 145lb and 5'10". Upper level intermediate. a couple clicks down from you. I usually ride boards around 26.5 - 28L. And I also have the 5'6 Dominator too, which I love. I'm thinking either 5'9 or 5'10 in FRK+. You have said he you wish you went a little bigger. I am also looking at this as my "better wave" board. given my height/weight, which size might you recommend? Thanks!

[@ThomyeSurfs]

I'm 5'8 and I would go 5'9 on the board which would put my feet in the right place in regards to rocker and the wide point. The wide point being back, similar to the Dom and D2, it is best to ride this board longer for non advanced/expert/pro. Also, the tail is very narrow. One thing I am recently realized after having surfed a 7' Mid6 (a high performance mid length), is that when the waves get bigger and better, foam is your friend. it allows you to position better, catch waves easier, and give you opportunities that you might not have had on a smaller board.... like barrels. :) At your height and level, would say be safe and go 5'10. this way if it is your "step up" for better waves, you have the extra foam giving you everything I mentioned above. if you are good about surfing the tail, it will be plenty loose and plenty performance. I just picked up a 6'2 (32L) step up, CI Happy Traveler, for those bigger days. That would be my recommendation. as a daily driver, at your weight, you could probably go with a 5'9 but just be warned, the tail is super narrow. it will feel like it is sinking and dragging in smaller waves. The reason pro and super advanced people like this is that they can push it around easier. That is a skill I'm still trying to develop.

[@goodguymoore]

Thanks for your thoughts here!@@ThomyeSurfs Funny, I too have a Happy Traveler in 6'3 for those much bigger days. So, I felt up both a 5'9 and 5'10 at Hansens. and the 5'9 felt more "right". Also, 29L on the 5'10 makes me a little concerned. You are right though, the tail is super narrow. Seems like you push around your 5'8 just fine. I may wait on this and see if a used one comes around. AND, i just watched your FT sharpie video. Holy shit, your surfing on that board is great!

[@ThomyeSurfs]

@@goodguymoore the FT is definitely my fav of all time. Because it surprised me on the groveling end. The performance I suspected but thought it was going to be crap in small waves. If you also watch the Waco video, you will see a slight difference and between us (and anyone else who reads this comment), I opted for the FT after my first hour cuz the response off the bottom was way more evident on the FT. The narrow tail of the frk+ in the punchy pocket didn't have the push back. If the FT for me is a 9.5 of 10, the FRK+ was a solid 8 in terms of overall I want to buy it again. I would likely go 5'9 on the frk+ for me or even 5'10 and make it my overhead step up.

[@goodguymoore]

oh man@@ThomyeSurfs ,this is sending me down another rabbit hole! Gonna have to check out some Inferno FTs. You mentioned in your video that you nailed the sizing on it. It looks like there stock 5'9 sizing would be great for me. Do you think you liked that board more than usual because of the Dark Arts construction, or you think it would be just as fun in PU?

[@goodguymoore]

oh, never mind, you talked about this alot in the other posting. No way to know about how the DA makes this board do its thing, unless you've tried the PU too....

[@Dill_doh]

If I love the dominator ii at 5’7 x 19 7/8” x 2 3/8” at 29.4L.. u think the 5’10 x 18 3/4” x 2 1/2” at 29L will be too narrow?

[@ThomyeSurfs]

the rocker to me felt familiar and the baords felt similar. I used to ride the 5'8 dom and 5'8 spit. I went with the 5'8 FRK+ but afterwards, I wish I had done the 5'10. Personally, in your case, since you are going 2in up, that might work for you. don't expect it to grovel the same, the narrowness of the board will make it just way more performance rail to rail, easier control, etc. but the width you lose will make it not paddle as strong or catch gutless waves as easy. having said that, I noticed lately that my narrower boards catch punchy waves better while wider boards are a tad harder. I'm trying to sort that out a bit more. guessing cuz of the wider nose on a shorter boards, the water coming up the face wants to push me out. having said that, if you realize that this board is going to be a step up to the dom2, you will likely only surf it in better waves, not necessarily bigger waves, just better (bigger too though). it should not replace the dom2, it should complement in different conditions. another reason to get it is if you are leveling up.

[@Dill_doh]

@@ThomyeSurfsya that’s what I was planning to do.. I got the mashup/ dom for up to head and frk for overhead+… thanks again!!

[@natanelkingsley3448]

So would you recommend to go slightly down in volume if getting the frk+ or up?

[@ThomyeSurfs]

depends on your skill and what you are coming off of. the board is narrow relative to it's volume. if you are going from an frk, you may want to go down 1" which would still give you a fraction more volume but more grovel features. If you are coming off a groveler or super groveler like a mashup or seaside, you may want the same volume or a bit more to make up for losing some grovel features. Hope that makes sense. In my case, I surf the 5'4 Mashup which is 19 9/16" wide and 2 7/16" thick @ 27.1L. the width and thickness and slightly flatter rocker is what makes this a good small wave board. Going to the frk+, obviously the purpose would be for bigger better waves. Although I got the 5'8" frk+, it is only 18.5" wide and comes in at 26.1L. So basically, I gave up 1L of volume and a bunch of other grovel features. This is why in the video, I said I should have gone with with 5'9 which would have given me 1L more than the mashup but still narrow enough to be a good performance step-up. I sized this board for the wave pool in waco. I should have sized it for the ocean. Anyways, if the goal is to get into bigger waves, go with the same volume as a groveler or volume up a bit. The narrow and streamlined features of this board will allow for great performance even if you do size up.

[@natanelkingsley3448]

@@ThomyeSurfs I weigh about 150 and looking for a surfboard to progress my surfing. Thinking of getting the 5'10 frk+. My previous board was a bit over 29L and carried pretty well but I want to take my surfing a step forward. So do you think it's sensible to go down a bit in the volume?

[@ThomyeSurfs]

@@natanelkingsley3448 so the liters seems negligible to me. If your previous board was a PU, the 29L iBolic will float more like a 30 to 30.5L PU board. epoxy adds a little buoyancy and some of the firewire tech add a tad more. Anyways, the concern is more the width. How much are you shedding from your current board. the 5'10 FRK+ is 18.5, which is pretty narrow. Don't drop too much. As an example, if your current board is 20" wide, you are dropping 1.5" which could make the board feel super tippy heel to toe. Just consider all things. In fact, give me your current board specs and also, the average conditions of your wave.

[@natanelkingsley3448]

@@ThomyeSurfs my current one is 29.5 liters and 19.25 in width. The waves i surf are generally more on the low end but can get head to slightly overhead but not very often at all, which is why I'm adding a mashup to my collection as well. Though I know enough about the mashup but not about the frk+ to size it correctly. So do you think a 5'10 frk+ will be the best choice? Btw thanks for helping me out bro 😁

[@ThomyeSurfs]

@@natanelkingsley3448 I think the 5'10 should be fine. you are only dropping 3/4" in width which isn't huge. the liters are the same so if you don't have issues catching waves on your current 29.5L, this board should do well to catch waves but give you the extra performance you are looking for. The only real negative variable might be the wave. If you wave is too small and soft, then either go 1" bigger to the 5'11 or consider the Dom2. unless that is too similar to what you currently y have. cheers brotha. Good luck, and don't worry too much about it, I still have issues with sizing. I bought the 5'8 and should have bought the 5'9. In ocean conditions, I'd be much happier with the bigger version for my surfing.

[@hynesct]

How did you like it compared to to the Sci Fi 2?

[@ThomyeSurfs]

SciFi2 is a much better groveler, wider tail, slightly wider in general. More volume to length. At my break, I liked the SciFi 2 better. Having said that, if it got much bigger and punchier, then the FRK+ features stand out. It also depends on how strong of a surfer you are. If you push hard, the narrower pulled in features work better. I consider myself an lower end advanced surfer but I don't push hard so for me, wider board end to work better.

[@rjcplus9]

also, those trestles shots…Ch, M, L, U, or Co?

[@ThomyeSurfs]

haha.. U (bw's)

[@SkipperSurfReview]

Great Morse code attempt :)

[@MrRobinski]

So why is yours so narrow and the 5.9 is so much wider?

[@ThomyeSurfs]

the 5'8's are 18.5 and the 5'9 is 18 11/16 and I think the 5'10 is 18 3/4s. those are the stock dims. my 5'8 is stock. I knew what I was buying but I was buying it for the main purpose of surfing it and reviewing it in the Wave Pool in Waco. Also, having surfed the Sharpeye FT at 18 3/4" wide, I thought for sure that 1/4" wasn't going to be hugely different. but it is significant.