Bella Eberz is a bit of an expert when it comes to hanging toes. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
If you ride a longboard — and in my opinion, every surfer should be at least a little versed on a log — then there are a few things you will certainly be attempting on a regular basis. The first is the cross-step, possibly the longboarder’s most functional maneuver. The second is the hang five. The third is the hang 10, but you’re not hanging 10 before you’re hanging five. Bella Eberz knows a bit about how to ride a longboard, so T&C Surf decided she’d be a good instructor.
Although the hang five is certainly a stylish thing to do on a longboard, it’s rooted in necessity. “The reason why you do a hang five is because it allows you to be in a critical section of the wave while doing an advanced maneuver,” Eberz explained. “It also allows you to have lots of style and be cool, of course, but it also feels amazing. When you’re on the nose, it kind of feels like you’re flying.”
Ideally, the hang five is just a way to get to the hang 10, but dangling all 10 piggies off the nose is not an easy thing to do. With a hang five (hence the “cheater five” moniker), the surfer is able to keep a bit more weight off the very tip of the longboard and maintain a bit more balance than with a true hang 10.
“When hanging five,” Eberz continued, “your stance can be really wide… it just allows for a longer set up for the hang 10. But you can also be in a closer hang five while standing upright.”
That closer stance is just a step away from a true hang 10, and although you don’t need as quite a steep of a wave as you do for a hang 10, you still need to pick the right wave with the right kind of section.
“You want to see the wave be more upright,” Eberz said. “Not quite critical, but still upright and not slopey like when you first catch the wave in order for the board to lock in and hold your tail.”
It’ll take a while, but once you’re up there, you’ll have more fun and be well on your way to the hang 10… and that’s where you want to be.
