Step-ups are a funny thing. When the waves get bigger, you want a board that’ll do a few things: get in as early as possible, but still act like a surfboard that isn’t a log. It’s a difficult line to walk. Sure, a longboard will get you in before everyone else when things get a little bigger, but you’re not making a steep drop on one. And sure, a standard shortboard will make those steeper drops just fine, but when it’s too short you’re forced to make some kind of impossible under-the-lip drop that you probably aren’t going to make. Firewire’s newest shape is aimed at the everyman surfer who wants to test their mettle when the waves get a little bigger than they might be used to.
The LFT Hydronaut is Tomo’s first step-up design. With a strange looking torpedo nose, it carries a little more volume up front with a few of the qualities a shorter board offers—namely quicker turns. Despite that, though, it is designed to paddle like a board with more length, and thanks to Tomo’s quad inside single concave and rocker line, it feels much floatier than one might expect.
Firewire LFT Hydronaut Surfboard Review from Boardshop.co.uk on Vimeo.
