Pyzel Red Tiger Update

[@TH-nc1gj]

your take on advanced versus intermediate is spot on

[@tui_ruwhiu_wavecomms]

Thanks.

[@MarcKingNutrition]

As an aging surfer, I totally agree with the idea that we regress back to intermediate level as we age. If you are still looking for a daily driver that is a bit more forgiving, it's hard to go past a Pyzalien 2. Amazing board in a really wide range of conditions.

[@tui_ruwhiu_wavecomms]

I had the orginal Pyzalien and essentially hated it, offloading it for a Phantom and then offloading that because it was still inhibiting my surfing. Ended up with the Shadow, which I'm extremely happy with. I've got an RNF96 for grovelling and the Shadow for 4'+. Got the RT for something in between. The Pyzalien 2 is a very popular board at my local beach, and might be worth reconsideration.

[@MarcKingNutrition]

@@tui_ruwhiu_wavecomms I have been riding a White Tiger as a groveller and think I have the same issues you have with the Red Tiger, unless you're right over the back of the tailpad, it gets a bit bogged down. The RNF96 sounds like a great board, most people seem to love it. Anyway, thanks for the reviews, very enjoyable.

[@tui_ruwhiu_wavecomms]

@@MarcKingNutrition Thanks for watching.

[@foxgd88]

Just ordered mine I’m stoked

[@tui_ruwhiu_wavecomms]

Had it for quite a while now. Still really of two minds about it, but I've had some good surfs on it so likely to hang on. I just have to remember to keep stepping back onto the very back of the board.

[@foxgd88]

@@tui_ruwhiu_wavecomms I’ve had it for 3 months now and it’s crazy, maybe not the best at vertical surfing but it can still jam a good turn in the pocket and recently it’s been flying in like shoulder high punchy surf. Thing is super fun but it definitely struggles to hold a long rail turn at any point break due to the shorter rail line and wide tail wanting to slide out. Definitely only works if you surf it with the back foot

[@tui_ruwhiu_wavecomms]

@@foxgd88 Had a lot of conversations over the months with the board shop owner where I bought it from,. He ordered it in a round tail and loves it. Considering doing the same.

[@foxgd88]

@@tui_ruwhiu_wavecomms sounds good. My mate Rory dace is sponsored by pyzel at 16, he rides his mainly with swallow tails. Round tail red tiger for jbay and swallow or squash at the beach breaks around. Nice to experiment

[@donteatmarlins]

Just got this board. As a lower intermediate, I need to say, that this board turned into magic for me! Its so alive and drops into the wave so easily. Maybe, its because I am more backfooted, I dont know 🤷‍♂️ Really good board!

[@tui_ruwhiu_wavecomms]

Glad to hear.

[@WiZoRD_C45]

Yes this board is sik if ya can surf predominantly backfoot. I love it, though get why a lot don't as heaps of common boards now days have wide point forward of centre..RT is an epic board

[@jarrodwalker696]

kia ora! Piha is my local as well. I ride pyzel boards (Phantom, Short Cut, Gremlin and Red Tiger). I have found back foot positioning is important on all of boards. I found the Gremlin to be a different board once you reposition your back foot on the tail pad. My mate has said similar comments to you re: the Red Tiger liking better waves. I have have not had the Red Tiger long. So have still have to give it a good work out, but i was wanting a Daily driver as well (to replace my Phantom). Nga mihi bro!

[@tui_ruwhiu_wavecomms]

Kia ora, bro. I'm sure back foot positioning is important for all boards. I've just never had to think about it like I've had to with the RT. That said, I've had a couple of early morning surfs this week and rode the RT on one of the days. It was clean and 2 - 4ft. Went well.

[@onshore1ft]

You are trying to ride it too long to make up the volume you need which is causing these problems, it makes the board impossible to surf off the tail in the way there are designed. These sorts of short boards are meant to be ridden at a specific length relative to rider's height. The tail rocker profile will not work properly when the board is over sized. This is a common problem all older surfers encounter trying to ride high performance boards at excessive lengths in order to get enough volume. If you are going to insist on a short board then get one with as little tail rocker as possible, the Lost Puddle Jumper series works well. Otherwise just get a performance mid length around 6'8 and enjoy yourself way more.

[@tui_ruwhiu_wavecomms]

That's good food for thought. I've got a 6'00" Lost RNF96 and a 6'2" Pyzel Shadow XL, which is a true hpsb, and they are both easier to surf than my Red Tiger. And I love my Shadow, having just replaced my old one with a new one of exactly the same dims. If I follow the Pyzel recommendations for the RT based on my Shadow being my other hpsb, then I end up with with the 6'1" although I did play with the width and thickness a touch to get the volume. Your suggestion based on my height I'm guessing would give me a shorter board, but would it behave differently to that which I'm experiencing with the one I've got? Pyzel on their site does say that the outline does keep the emphasis on surfing it off the mid to back half of the board. That suggests to me I'd get essentially the same result, although I won't know for sure if I don't try. I'm unlikely to buy another one though to find out, but I will persevere with this one and see where it leads because it does work better than the Shadow in smaller good waves.

[@onshore1ft]

The issue is you need the tail rocker curve to be between your feet on a smaller wave performance board. If you go too long the rocker curve extends too far infront of your stance. You then either get the feeling the board is bogging when you have your back foot over the fins (almost like you hit the brakes or are doing a wheelie) so you move forward to gain speed but then the board feels stiff because your feet are in front of the fins. Flat tail rocker helps reduce this because you get a larger sweet spot at the back of the board. Of course there is a trade off in that it will be harder to make tight arcs. My advice is accept aging gracefully and get a board designed to work relative to your height and the volume you need rather than adapting something meant for a pro with 20 fewer years and kilos.

[@onshore1ft]

The issue is you need the tail rocker curve to be between your feet on a smaller wave performance board. If you go too long the rocker curve extends too far infront of your stance. You then either get the feeling the board is bogging when you have your back foot over the fins (almost like you hit the brakes or are doing a wheelie) so you move forward to gain speed but then the board feels stiff because your feet are in front of the fins. Flat tail rocker helps reduce this because you get a larger sweet spot at the back of the board. Of course there is a trade off in that it will be harder to make tight arcs. My advice is accept aging gracefully and get a board designed to work relative to your height and the volume you need rather than adapting something meant for a pro with 20 fewer years and kilos.

[@tui_ruwhiu_wavecomms]

@@onshore1ft That's a good technical explanation of what's going on and seems to validate my thoughts that its for advanced surfers who surf off their back foot, although from your comments it would seem absolutely critical to have the specs of the board right for your height (JJF is only two kgs lighter than me although we are obviously miles apart in ability). Putting aside my age at the moment, what would you then suggest for my height and weight are the stock dims of the RT that would suit, as Pyzel's website description says the board's good for beginner to pro? It might help others reading this as a guide from your thinking.

[@rog86]

100% agree with the back foot placement theory and having to long a board. I have a pyzalien 2, I'm 6 ft and ride a 6ft P2. I've always had trouble finding the sweet spot for back foot placement. I am pretty sure it is because I am riding the board 2 inches too long, as many people say it should be ridden shorter than height. Maybe the red tiger has a similar issue. The shadow being of the ghost family ( I have ridden ghost, not shadow) doesn't have the same tail flick and has a lot less rocker under the back foot, making it wayyy more stable and probably easier to surf. So I'm agreeing with that comment.

[@guzzitwin]

I agree with your assessment 90%, i think the upper end of the range is 6,'

[@tui_ruwhiu_wavecomms]

Thanks for the comment. Everybody is going to feel differently about what it will work in and what it doesn't. Glad you find it works for you in bigger surf.

[@piring.2735]

helpful video. I agree. I surf kinda average beachrbeak. not a very steep wave and I think there's better options than the red tiger. fr example his pyzalien...I feel the sweet spot is small on the red tiger and if my feet are not in the exact correct spot , board feel weird. I think it went better when I widened my stance, but that doesn't feel natural to me.

[@tui_ruwhiu_wavecomms]

Cheers. Yes, it's very idiosyncratic, and therefore not for everyone. I'm still of two minds about it ,but I've had some great surfs on it, and some not so great. If you've got your foot right at the back in as you say a wide stance, it becomes very loose and twitchy, which is where it works best in my view. Very different though to just standing up and plonking your feet down like you can do with a lot of boards.

[@edawg654]

An experiment for you. Try your RNF as a pure twin sometime. I would be interested to understand if your foot placement as a twin was perfect as it is. Twins seem to allow you to drive from further up the board!

[@tui_ruwhiu_wavecomms]

Thanks. I'm not much of a Twin Fin fan but have a set of AM Keel Twins that I like. I've used them on the RNF96 and like them when the waves are small. I'm going to try the 2 +1 on the Red Tiger first, but will give the twins a go when I get a chance,

[@soulsurfer3102]

can you do review of the shadow xl please?

[@tui_ruwhiu_wavecomms]

Will do.

[@tui_ruwhiu_wavecomms]

Just uploaded my review of the Shadow XL.

[@foxgd88]

I tried one before smaller than I would from a friend, it was really easy to surf, easier than the shadow and I must disagree I think intermediate surfers can ride this. I think you can only be classed intermediate when you learn that when your foot is on the kick, you can actually do proper turns. It also should be 1/2 to 1 liter more than a normal board for small waves but the biggest misconception I’ve seen on this board is that it’s a daily driver, It is literally in the HPSB category as user friendly. your average joe will struggle with any board anyways in weak conditions but personally I rode my proper HPSBs in small waves and got really good at it and comparing it to this board, the red tiger definitely grovels 1-2 foot even better from something like Al merrick rook15. Although to take in consideration I surf jbay and Bruce’s beauties which are powerful points even when mushy at 1 foot. So I think if the waves are good enough where you surf it is user friendly but if you surf bad waves and get this board and you can’t generate speed on your own it will struggle and will be seen as not user friendly. Excuse me writing this at night I don’t even know what I’ve mentioned I’m so tired

[@edawg654]

Point break gives you more time to adjust your feet. Punchy beach breaks with fast take offs are harder, but I agree the moving foot back is probably the most effective thing to improve your surfing as an intermediate

[@tui_ruwhiu_wavecomms]

Thanks for the feedback. I've got a Chilli RNF96 for grovelling and prefer to use that than the Red Tiger. The RT certainly is a fast board, though, from the get go.

[@WiZoRD_C45]

...try twin + 1. Might be the sauce ya need to wake up your RT. Also, i personally stay away from XL/easy rider dims, as it isnt really the same board and will never perform as the OG. I had a terrible experience on a JS easy rider xero. And part of why i got the RT was knowing heaps of locals that hated the RT, though they all surf off the front. So if they hated it, it will be the go for me. End of it all, we are all unique and if you find what works for you and helps happiness then go for glory.

[@tui_ruwhiu_wavecomms]

It's been an interesting ride with that board. Just came back from Fiji and it went great in 6' Wilkes Pass, and small Swimming Pools and Cloudbreak. Was good to have the speed at Wilkes. Beginning to wonder if Pyzel should narrow the tail for stock RT boards like he's done for JJF.

[@WiZoRD_C45]

@tui_ruwhiu_wavecomms the stock boards are pretty good in my opinion. You got the XL dimensions I thought. Why I commented that I stay away from XL/easy rider dims, even as a Fat man scoop dad of 2. The mechanics of the board are designed specifically. As soon as ya widen and thicken, it's not the same board.