HELM Soft Top Performance Fish... Coming up next the Firewire Great White Twin surfboard review 

haha, thanks. That's just bed head after I cut my hair. Flow-bee and clippers. This is how is earn money for boards, I cut my own hair, change my own oil in my car, do my own brakes, etc. The savings justify boards. haha

it's a great question. I enjoyed them equally but found the Perf Fish to surf better. But if you told me I could only keep one of them, I would pick the Weekender. Here's my logic: I have nothing like the weekender. It is 37L and can catch waves that are ankle high with no effort from me. I can still surf it and push it around the way I want. Granted, the size and shape of the board does limit my performance but when surfing this board, I'm not really looking for top end performance. I just need a bit to keep me having fun. The Perf Fish has more top end than the weekender for sure but then it bleeds into my other boards. I have my Twice Baked and a few others that would give me the performance I need. So for me, it was the Weekender. If I didn't have any other board, both would be awesome. with a good sales price, you could get both for less than one normal board. Anyways, I am also going to be looking at the Mick Fanning soft top next. Just for good comparison and options for my viewers.

@@ThomyeSurfs Appreciate the detailed and thoughtful response! Great points...I think I'm going to give the Weekender a go. Super appreciate the input, and looking forward to seeing you with +1MM subs in the not too distant future, your channel more than deserves it.

If I can get my hands on one, I'll definitely put it out. Currently got a hold of the Mick Fanning Little Marely 2.0, that one looks good too. BTW, is the mayhem RNF a soft top or a foamy. I thought it was a foamy, I'll research.

I have demo'd it 3 times now but haven't gotten any good days on it. I know my theme is to surf in bad days but the days I went out were just not surfable or didn't allow for good footage. One day was 8' plus and another day was too fast and closed out. Hard to get a sense of the board. Hoping to get another shot at it though.

@@ThomyeSurfs Have you tried the Firewire Fleet rental system? - Good review btw, the boards looks lively under your feet.

Nice, I got the 6'8. I am looking forward to taking it out later this summer. Although there is a small chance my daughter will take it to college.

no nub. I like the nub in quads with wide tails. as for my favorite 2+1, not sure I have one because it seems to change depending on the board. I love the NVS T Knox on the Mashup, hands down. I like the NVS Orcas in non swallow tails although it still worked well in the Mashup, just a tad too much hold. And right now, I am liking the NVS Krakens on my GWT. I know buying tons of fins isn't necessarily the best option but I feel like one should have a good spectrum of options otherwise you may be limiting yourself. The Orcas are like the Futures EN btw. I just choose NVS cuz they are cheaper giving me more options.

No. Borrowed it. They did give me one after my HELM review because they appreciated me reviewing their boards. But the one they gave me I have not reviewed yet. It's a mid length 6'8 quad. My list is so long I'm not sure when I'll get to it. I borrowed the mini Simmons but liked it so much I bought one. And this one was borrowed. I have it listed for review 4 boards from now. haha It is in my garage in a box. I'm stoked on it cuz I can give it to my daughter cuz she loves pink and I ordered it in pink. It's called the Opener. BTW, thanks for commenting on my hair. LOL You are the 2nd person that compliment the hair. Funny thing, it's just bed head, LOL. I guess a fresh cut makes a huge difference.

I should mention one thing, I try and live by the motto, "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it at all". Which is why I think it is very important to show how a board surfs. I can focus on the good but the viewer should be able to spot the "not so good" by comparing that board to other similar boards I have surfed. Up to now though, I have been picking boards that I think I would like and my viewer would like. If I went out and bought an H2T by Sharpeye, I might not like it because it is too performance. It would likely not do well at my beach for daily conditions, it doesn't mean it's not a good board, it just means it won't suite my needs and conditions. I'll give you a for instance. I reviewed some other soft tops, two namely. They are by Boardworks, called the Froth. They are awesome value and I mentioned what a great board it is for beginners and people wanting something after the wavestorm. I bought 3 of them, 5'0, 5'6, and the 7'. I bought the 7 and 5'6 for my daughter. The fact they are soft on top and bottom was the main reason. But because they are rigid and have a hard board in the middle, made them ideal and surf better than a foamie. But if you watch me surf them, I struggle to perform. But they aren't performance boards. I don't specifically mention that because, they aren't meant to perform, they are great value transition boards. Hope that is making sense. Anyways, I did get a free board once and the board didn't go well, at all. I did not review it but then felt bad about it. So, I now have a policy of not accepting boards for review. I'd rather demo them or borrow them from a friend. If I think I will like it, I will go as far as to buy them if my budget allows.

Thanks for the clarification, just seemed odd you'd reviewed two boards from a relatively unknown soft top brand. Appreciate the honesty. I hope eventually the channel makes enough revenue to pay for boards. Funding independent reviews via RU-vid ad revenue and non endemic sponsorships would be awesome and really set you apart. No-one else is doing it yet but you are on the way!

@@onshore1ft thanks. I am down to review any board from any shaper but I just can't afford to buy them if they are not resellable. There's a couple local guys that shape and reviewing their boards would be cool but to pay full price for a board that will get little to no views plus I can't resell the board would be just financial suicide. Cheers brotha

@@ThomyeSurfs yeah you need to stick to the latest models from global brands to get the views.

it trucks along and makes sections but I noticed that the speed I generate on top of the speed the wave gives me is slower. but as mentioned in the review, the lack of top end speed didn't affect me getting to the section to do the maneuver. very weird and hard to explain.

I think $599 to $799 for the longboard. But they have deals and I have a code you can use. After I did the first review of the Weekender, the mini simmons, they reached out to me and gave me a code for my subs. They do Holiday sales too but not guaranteed.

very close, but it is still 3L less. For me, at 145lbs, they are almost the same. This board definitely has a higher top end, similar bottom but I won't say exact. The great thing about the pink and gray is the traction, the stippling is pronounced so you don't ever need wax. The camo weekender I tested definitely required wax.

Thanks, I went with weekender as I will only use it in the smallest of waves. What fins would you recommend?

@@jewittian I've tried it with a few sets: machado quads, stretch quads, rusty quads and what I settled on was the NVS Vernor controler sets. They are split keels. A lot of different brands have their versions.

Really appreciate you taking the tome to reply. Thanks alot

The mini Simmons is pretty short unless you go with the taller version. I would also check the stock, last I checked they were pretty low on stock. So that might actually make your decision for you. I think the 5'2 has plenty of leaders, 38 which is the equivalent of a 68 seaside and beyond or 70 mid 6. The five six ads a little extra volume.

@@ThomyeSurfs I think I’ll be going with the taller version 5’6 mini Simmons. I’d rather have more volume since I’ll be new to shortboards. Thanks for the info man maybe I’ll catch you out there this summer. Peace ✌🏽

@@Tintonly If I see a 5'6 HELM Weekender, I'll know it's you. :) contact them and see if they will give you the holiday pricing. The guy is really cool, I have code but he might do better than 20% so call him and find out.

Another great review! It’s made me want to try a 5’2” weekender. I’m in talks to hopefully get one sent here to Jersey in the U.K with the potential to supply the boards locally. Fingers crossed he is able to ship it over and at a fair price.

@@77pebble oh sick. Good luck with that, I hope that works out. Good for him and good for you. Cheers

I think my brother had one, a twin fin by Mason. I could not get that board to perform. Maybe I need to surf it again.

No comparison to helm and helm goes on sale around holidays

@@tillthenextlife1983 yeah, that hard bottom makes a huge difference. At least for me, although I'm always so surprised how well Kalani surfs the pure foamy boards. crazy