Surfboard test, board talk and a lot of intel on CI's best selling shapes.

One of the highlights in our day to day routine is meeting with inspiring people. Britt Merrick (who is pretty much at the cusp of inspiring people for us) gifted us with a bunch of days that tasted like passion and looked like legit surfing spirit. 

It took a bunch of new Dumpster Diver 2's and a few calls to reunite the CI Europe gang and part of our Pukas Surf Shop team in Zarautz for a test drive of the just dropped DD2.

Many boards were tested, a lot of fun was shared and great connections were made. Was there a way to make the day even better? Yes there was.

After a surfing session that was equally enjoyed from inside the water than by the crowd outside of it, the whole crew went to CI Europe's operation centre, where Britt owerlooked the manufacturing process and the whole team got some closer insights on how and where their boards are actually made.

Not only board-talk and interesting details and insight about surfboard building where shared but also having the opportunity to get to know the amazing workers behind each and every single CI surfboard surfed around Europe was a hell of an experience.

Last but not least, before leaving, Britt gave the whole team one of the best CI quiver breakdowns to date. 

CHANNEL ISLANDS QUIVER BREAKDOWN

About the CI PRO & CI 2.PRO

"The CI 2.Pro is the refined version of the CI Pro, which was the one that won STAB in the Dark with Jack Robinson. I developed that with Parker Coffin and the idea was just to get the highest performance but making it easy to ride. Sometimes high performance boards can be really demanding, they can be difficult do ride and if everything isn't right, you don't have your edges engaged perfectly all the time, you don't put it exactly in the pocket then it can be a bit finicky. Historically the Rook15 was like that. Super high performance, but it would be challenging and picky in the water. So the idea with the CI PRO was to make it more user-friendly, easier riding, flow rail to rail, not so finicky but also high performance. That comes with a rocker that has a continuous curve, placed between your feet so that it rolls rail to rail easily and comes off the top easily." -Britt Merrick.

 

The difference between the CI PRO/2.PRO & the Happy Everyday

"Opposed to the CI PRO & CI 2.PRO the Happy Everyday has a straighter section in the middle of the board. So, a board like de CI PRO & CI 2.PRO require some wave to get them going. They don't have their own speed necessarily. They're not about creating speed, they are about controlling speed. If you need to create speed you should move to a different rocker profile."

"Another really important thing to understand the difference between these two boards is that you don't want to put somebody on the CI PRO/2.PRO who's surfing bad waves. While the Happy Everyday is built to work in all kinds of conditions, the PRO series is not for bad waves. It's for good waves. So if you got somebody on these boards that say "argh, there's not enough speed" the first question should be "what waves are you riding?". It's a board made specifically for good waves." -Britt Berrick

About the Happy Everyday

The Happy Everyday has a flatter section in the middle and that's what we call the engine of the board, between your feet. Because when you're going to drive a board you'r going to ride it off that centre rail that between your feet, you're putting pressure on the fins. So that's the engine of the board right there.

"A lot of boards historically for Channel Islands have had a long flat spot in this area, like the Flyer for instance. A long straight spot that then breaks pretty hard with some curve off the tail. All of that creates a release point, a pivot point for the board. So the idea behind something like the happy everyday is speed and then quick manouverability. I also developed a fin for it, that  is the CI Upright, which is different from our normal AM, which is a raked control fin. It's a more upright template that's all about pivot. I've also been riding this board as a quad a lot lately."

"So that's the whole idea bout the Happy Everyday. It's just a board you can ride everyday, and be happy."

-Britt Merrick

 About the Dumpster Diver

Differences between the Dumpster Diver 2 and the Dumpster Diver 1: Not a ton of difference, though some significant differences. It's the same rocker with just slight slight tweaks on each end but mostly it's the same rocker as the DD1 because that one was perfect, it was good. So we didn't want to change it. But the first Dumpster Diver had a really narrow nose, and that's because Dane at his finals at Lower Trestles against Kelly in the finals was trying to hide the fact that he was surfing a alternative shape because he thought the judges wouldn't be happy about that when giving the score. So he put a really narrow nose on the first one to make it look like a shortboards but then in the end it was really functional nor was it modern. It would look weird these days as noses tend to be wider. So we winded up the nose to have a more modern look and more functionality and then also we added this hip as a pivot point. Kinda like the Happy Everday.  It's not extreme of a hip and it has a slightly different shape , it's a straighter hip that kinda looks like the old MBM. And again, that creates that pivot point that makes the board a little easier to surf in transitions and gives you the chance not to be so precise when doing a manouver as it is way more forgiving. Which is what Dane wants to be riding regarding his skills and physical complection. You can surf it more relaxed and still get that quickness and reaction out of it. This is what makes the Dumpster Diver 2 more user friendly than the Dumpster Diver 1.

The difference between the DD2 and the Happy Everyday.

The DD2 has less of a refined rail. With it's fuller rail and a little bit more beaf all over it, specially around the tail it is way easier to surf, more forgiving and provides a "get up and go" feeling while the Happy Everyday might have a bit more versatility. The happy everyday is a bit more refined, a bit more down-railed and sensitive, which will translate better in good waves. The Happy Everyday works in good waves, specially as a thruster and the DD2 is a bit more grovelly than the Happy Everyday.