Update:
Well finially I got hold of my 6'2" rapid fire. the rapid fire is a slightly lighter construction and a bit whippier which is what I wanted in my small board. It took no getting used to from the big sister, I was surfing confidently immediately and the speed and floation is great. You can see on the video that the board just turns with no effort, and I have it set on a fast stable thruster set of fins, in actual fact it does not need anything else as the rounded tail allows for easy back foot pressure and instant quick response. It paddles great, has that bit of flaot but holds a rail tight in the critical section of the wave and turns rail to rail without concern over foot placement. I was concerned that it was still quite wide and going rail to rail on wider fish boards can be problematic, this board does not require any shifting of feet to move rail to rail, its plant them and go. the Dominator will change your life.
I still ride the 6'8" and my quiver needs nothing else:
6'8"
The Firewire Dominator was not a board that I would have bought off the rack. In actual fact I remember looking at it in at Onboard and in the brochure and thinking its too full and round in the tail and is a big guys fun board.
When we are at the 2009 Wave Nationals at Robe my buddy Dr. Syco let me use it at Long Beach as I wanted to have a surf with the crew but 3ft Long Beach was too weak for any real fun on a short board.
Well I was totally amaized, the board was so light and loose and full with power in the tail that I thought perhaps this day at Long Beach was more powerful than normal, I paddled out with a smaller board to test this the next day and clearly it was the board, back on the Dominator.
the first session that I rode it i was absolutely loving it, so light, loose and able to be flicked around at will. The sensation of power on a weak to moderate strength wave is great. It really makes surfing fun and brings something that bigger boards that are heavier cannot, a sense of riding a short board but in surf that just does not quite have it.
the interesting thing is that I thought it would be the board for weaker waves only, now I have ridden it in heavier waves with a thurster set up and quad and actualy found it very nice. The only waves I have been riding on shorter boards like the JS Luke Eagan and my old Gravelle Gunn is solid reef break where you really need a board that will slow up a bit as the Dominator is a bit floatie for such waves.
Other than that its Dominator fun time, most waves are carved up with this board.
After months of badgering Syco he finally sold it to me, thanks buddy :-)
Dazza
