Rob Machado "Seaside" Surfboard Review by Noel Salas Ep.73 

This guy is so competent in how he explains the board its amazing

Never clicked on a RU-vid video so quick. Loves these reviews

Thanks for the review. I have this board set up as a QUAD and it is super super fast , light and just an amazing board. Welldone ROB. Its a WINNER !!!

Watching Noel surf is straight up inspiring and gets me psyched to go surfing!!!

I really appreciate this review, by far the highest quality info available. The technical breakdown with the footage of your observations in the field. Just amazing.

Just picked-up my 5'8". I'm 6' 170lbs and sizing is just right. Live in NYC and surf at Rockaway most days. And this little board is perfect for the spot and subway commute. Love it. Thanks for this review - it was spot on.

The Stretch Quad Fin Set goes amazing with the seaside , adds a bit of drive and control and extands the range towards better waves. It made me rediscover the board

Great review, Noel, as usual. Ordered one last week after I watched it (it was the push I needed). Got the board yesterday and tested it today in 2-4 feet range with clean conditions. You were right on the money: it's one of the best small wave boards I've ridden and by far the most fun. Keep up the amazing reviews, you're changing the game for us average Joe's.

I wish board wars was still on, Rocket Wide vs Dominator 2, seaside vs glazer just to name a few

I just got my Seaside. Its the best shortboard I have ever ridden. I'm 50 yo and I feel like I'm young with this magic under my feet!

I just tried this board as a twin fin with the machado keels in 4 ft waves. Such a fun board. Thanks for the review Noel.

Noel you've done it again!😀 Past 4 years I got the Pod Mod, loved it, got the Sampler, loved it, got the Phantom, loved it! Now last week brought the Seaside, for my surfing style this is the best of them all by far! Thanks again for your insight and honesty in your reviews. Keep up the good work champ....

Absolutely love this board, got it after looking for a grovelling board with a bit of performance and finding this video. Heaps of speed, but holds rail really well. I slightly oversized it I think at 5'5 stock, I'm 6'0 and 83kgs, but the extra foam helps on the small days and I ride a monsta box when the surf gets better (4-5ft+) anyway. Struggles a tiny bit in choppy surf and wind (the extra volume relative to my usual defintely doesn't help) but on clean days this board is absolutely unreal. I use it with the quad machado fins, but have recently been trying it with the machado twins and had an absolute blast on the twins as well. Had it for 9 months and loving it, really durable!

Would love to see you on a shape like the seaside and beyond! Amazing surf, keep it up!!

You sold this board to me and I have a 5'8 on the way this week. Can't wait. Your surfing is full of flow and a pleasure to watch. Just subscribed too 🤙

I’m a mediocre kook on my best day. Hands down best board I’ve ridden, so fast and handles head high waves no prob. I’ve had the best waves of my life on this thing, hitting the lip hard and doing some solid carves. I’m 5’11 155 and use a 5’4.

Noel... this review totally convinced me to go out and try one, and after two rides I was sold! I love my 5'8" Seaside, had a great fall getting some Jersey Shore Beach-break Barrels on it, thanks for the recommendation!

Hi Noel I have a 5' 6'' seaside and love it's speed and drive. After riding it a few times with the original Rob Machado fins I bought some Dave Rastavich Quad fins and find they give more drive and hold in bigger waves especially. The Machado fins slide a bit on solid waves which is fun but I prefer the Rasta fins overall. I haven't tried it as a twin fin yet but will eventually. Great video on the seaside and fins

Great review, Noel, thank you! Just snagged at 5’11. Feels like a dream, just effortless. At 6’5 200 lbs, I have never realized just how hard I have been making it on my self by using an under volumed board. Duck diving in heavy, overhead, short period, beach breaks is a bit of a chore, but I wanted to maximize fun in shoulder high and below ( big waves scare me haha). Couldn’t be happier. The drive out of the first pump is insane, I watched back a video of my first session with it, and it was incredible the amount of projection the board gave on just one mediocre pump. Cheers!

I wish you’d said it was rubbish, now I, really, really want one 🤟

Killer review and riding Noel. This one you have the Machado mojo going, speed power flow looks sooo smooth.Thanks for all your help and advice Noel your a star in the community we all look forward to these reviews... Legendary stoke giver :-)

Great review! Love the surfing with the board review. Just wish I could surf as good as you.

Highest quality surfboard reviews out there! What google are for search engines, surf n show are for surfboard reviews!

Hi Noel, I want to let you know that it was this video that really got me enamored by the Seaside. I have watched this video over and over and over countless times (is that crazy?!) and I finally picked up a 5’2” model with Rob’s quad fin set! Thank you for your attention to detail and your honest impressions. No matter what board you’re reviewing, I am amazed with the work you do. I can’t wait to try the board out tomorrow! Aloha!

I really like your reviews! I was waiting this one as much as the one for the RNF RETRO! Now I know what fish I'll buy for this summer jaja regards from El Salvador!

Thank you so much for your explanation. After it I was sure and confident to buy this board. One of the best board ever. 🤙🏽🙏🏽💪🏽

This guy is good. Always great and informative reviews

Great review as always man! I dont buy a new board until I see one of your reviews on it! I'll see yall next summer at lowers

Great review Noel, it's always a real pleasure to see your Show. The way you go deep with the sequence of waves analysis is really a plus. great review. as always Noel, you are the best. Cheers !

Hey Noel - Great Shows! I'm 41, 5'10", 155/165 lbs (Summer/Winter weight) and am looking to get a Seaside, Glazer, and a Mashup. I've always loved Rob's surfing, and have a very similar build albeit with some more lean muscle on my frame. I've recently had a right hip resurfacing and surf goofy. Level before surgery was strong intermediate->advanced, and the shortest board I'd ridden to date was my custom Rusty Piranha which was 5'10" (Clark foam). My fitness level other than recovering from hip surgery is exceptional, as teaching martial arts and wilderness survival is part of my profession. My other boards are 6'1" and 6'3" custom Rusty "Pro-Jects" (also Clark foam) from 2003 for getting back into some muddy, brown, thick-lipped barrels during nor'easter season, should my hip allow for that again. I surfed the 6'3" in some deep winter barrels wearing a 6/4, hood, gloves and booties back when I weighted 167 back in my 20s. Now I'm looking to purchase some new boards to aspire to surf once back in the water and have some fun on in milder conditions. These "new" materials and shapes seem to allow boards to be ridden significantly shorter these days. That appeals to me, as I used to Skateboard professionally and was sponsored by Supreme back in the 90's-> early '00s, and would love a skateboard type feel in the water. I'll mainly be surfing Rockaway and Long Island on the east coast, and already have my high-performance shortboards dialed in. Since they were made before things were measured in liters, I don't have a reference point concerning that metric. What sizes would you recommend for me in the Seaside, Glazer and Mashup that would offer a more skateboard-type feel, paddle well and need to be pushed less than than my Rustys to cover surfing sloppy mush->just overhead and barreling in the summer/fall season? Looking for this new quiver to be as compact as I can go, and still have fun without going nuts (down the line, carves and turns, top to bottom and some laid-back barrels). From listening to you and researching this for the last couple of weeks, I'm thinking a 5'4" in each board would make sense, but I wanted to see what you'd have to say about that. Thanks for your time - I am really learning a lot from your presentations despite having surfed since I was 8 years old. You've got a great format and clearly love what you do! -Adam.

just ordered the new one. Cant firggin wait ive wanted one since you released this video in 2018

5’8” 165 lbs on the 5’5” Seaside (31L) as an intermediate surfer… fell in love all over again as a twinnie! The machado twin keels on this board are magic… I added in the 6’8” Seaside & Beyond and I feel like thats a nearly complete quiver. So much fun!

Awesome review Noel as always!.....I'm super keen on this Seaside, looks like a fun addition to anyone's board collection.

Hi Noel, you are the reference in review now for a lot of people, just keep going helping us. I've been surfing an EVO 30.5L and a BPotato 33L for summer-weaker waves last years and there where insane. Now I spent less time surfing and I acquired a MOONBEAM 6.0 35L that is incredible. Now is my only surfboard for 1-5 foot and very happy with it. I was thinking of buying new one. Looking at the SEASIDE 5.7, what I don't know is if the SEASIDE 5.8 or 5.7 will be very wide for me, but with the extra volume in the MB i am very happy. I live 400km away from the sea. WEEKEND warrior in the Cantabrico in Northern Spain (Normally beachbreaks), 43 years old, 67kg 1.70m. Intermediate surfer. What is your recommendation for me, and how HELIUM works in windy choppy conditions (i've been using FW Surfboards since 4-5 years ago LFT & TT)? Thanks for the help, i rally apreciate your work!!!

This show is very good! Congratulations for the great content!

Bought the 5'8 and couldn't be happier. Demoed the 5'7 and 5'9 (5'8 wasn't available). I'm 6'5 195lbs intermediate surfer. Quiver = seaside & fever

Just got my seaside. After trying a normal quad and finding it feeling really hard to turn, I put in the actual Machado quad and it works great. This board isn't a quad. It's a 2+2.

Noel - First, I love your reviews. They are the most in depth and professional I have found, regardless of topic. I am looking at the Seaside as my daily driver to progress my surfing. My current daily driver is a 5'8" x 2 5/8 x 21 1/4" Becker LC3 fun shape/egg that I ride Quad South of the Pier in Manhattan Beach year round. I also have a 6' Monsta Box hi fi 33 L that I have only been able to ride well in 4-5' Barbed Wires. I am 56 , 170LBs and 5'9" and surf 3-5 times a week. I consider myself an intermediate surfer looking to improve . I am thinking 5'8" or 5'9" Seaside as a daily driver and keep the JS as a step up.. wanted to get your take..? Your opinion is much appreciated!! Thank you and Keep on Ripping!

Amazing review - but man you're making me want to buy everything single one! Also viewers, be aware if you try to surf Trestles, you won't catch bc the place is swarming with pros like Noel! Trust me I've tried. But it's beautiful to watch for sure. I've been surfing only 3 years but pretty consistently (age 45 - weight 160 lb). Here's been my sequence of boards: 1) Wavestorm, 2) Torq 6.10 Fish (big epoxy log nearly cracked my skull open on second ride - never ridden again) 3) Liquid Shredder (went to softtop after Torq accident): 9.0 Longboard, 6'10" Mini-Mal, 5'8" Fish (Love them all still esp. the Fish with keel fins), 4) Firewire EVO 5.7 (way too much epoxy chatter on my messy local porto beachbreak, and broke into 3 pieces after one year) 5) Firewire Greedy Beaver 5.8 Timbertek - enjoying it - still trying to figure out how to ride such a narrow tail. NOW time for number 6! I'm trying to decide between Neckbeard 2 PU, Pyzel Phantom PU, and now thanks to your review, the Seaside. I'm looking to buy my first "real" performance board to challenge myself, but I do really love surfing my LS keel fin fish and your review made the Seaside look sooooo good (does Helium chatter like EPS boards?). Dammit. High class problems.

Noel, absolutely love your reviews. So knowledgeable and candid and full of information. No one else does it better. Kudos!!! I just bought a 5’8” seaside and was wondering how you feel your Momentum Series (MS-N and MS-QDP) would work in the seaside.

Love this board! Watched this review a few weeks back and ended up opting for the 5’5 (I’m 6’0, 80kgs and intermediate to advanced). It paddles well, it’s so fast down the line and turns well in the pocket for a fish. Thanks for the excellent reviews!

Guys I planned on trying the AMK but ended up purchasing the Rasta’s 2 1/2 and put in the twins with the Rob M’s side bites and the board was super lively. I ended up replacing my favorite quad sets which were the Jack Freestone’s sides with the HS quad rears

Man I love your reviews. Love the fact that you show videos of you surfing the board instead of just babbling about how they surf. Too bad I don't surf shortboards anymore. Can someone do this with midrange and longboards?

I ride mine with FCS II MATT BIOLOS SPLIT KEEL QUAD FINS and goes insanely well. 🤙

Best surfboard reviews ever. And consistent. Also, salas is a very good surfer. Many thanks! Did you ever do a review on the Firewire Taj model? I'd like the link...

Yeeww! Good vibes and awesome info, I really enjoy these videos.

Killing those lefts! Your backhand game might just be stronger than your forehand! Looks like this board has nice flow and squirtiness!

Aloha Noel. Just wanted to add that I rode the Seaside with both the Machado Quads and the Controllers (Futures) For me as a bigger guy (200 lbs) i found the Controllers really helped settle the board down and give more drive. For me the Machado quads when its small and when its better( shoulder high and above) the controllers are a great option. Going to try other setups like the AM 2 Quads like you recommended. Keep up the great reviews!!!

Please do a 'Too Fish' review!! You're vids are rad 🤙

Your reviews are on point, even though you are way better than I am I am able to see what each board is capable of. I purchased a Seaside yesterday and through in fins I owned and had a blast. I can't wait to get some of the AM quads or the Machado quads to test out. Maybe I'll see you at Trestles some day. :)

Sick board, great in depth review. You're killing it man. I'm 5'7" and 165lbs, picking up a 5'3" for gulf coast pitchy beach break. You definately talked me into it, not that I needed haha.

thanks Noel for the review, its definitely the best board for small 1-6ft waves.. Hope Santa will drop this quiver for this christmas

Must-get-one-immediately!

Stuck between 5’3” and 5’4”. I weigh 68.18 KG/150 lbs. Advanced intermediate surfer 2+ years experience surf almost daily

Thank you Noel. What an awesome review. I think this board ROCKS:) "If you're looking at donating it to some one I'd gladly take it" ☺🤣 Fire wire is a great design. Once more epic information & opening up the in's & out's of the seaside.

Awesome review, loved that you tried so many fin options, thank you!

Noel! I Bought the seaside a while back after seeing this review several times - it’s now become my Favorite board, I’m obsessed with it! I need another board, If you had to choose one daily driver, nb2 or phantom? Or something else? 🤔

I've been using a 5'2 Seaside now for a few months. it's probably the fastest groveler i've had - ever. (after testing almost 50 different board models over the last few years) . confirming what Noel said: the flow and sensation of speed in small waves is unmatched. no effort needed at all. just a super fast, fun, easy glide . it's definitely more high performance than most fish types, but with the glide and flow of a classic flat bottom twin. it can do some nice rail turns and it will go vertical (nothing crazy radical), if it's not pushed too hard. it can get skatey at times, but it's part of the fun . this board makes me actually hope for waist-high surf. I'd definitely recommend it for whoever needs to get the stoke back on those groveling days..

figured i would add some input on this board. i am 5'10 and weigh around 195-200lbs - depends on the day lol. anyhow i purchased thw 5'8''@ 35 liters and i think it floats me very well. i think i could even have gone down to the 5'7''without any issues. i purchased the machado quads with the board and have been riding these fins with the board since i got it - maybe a year or so now? the machado fins work with the board - but the board felt like it was just a little too loose at times especially on steeper waves. yesterday and today in HB the waves were around 4-6ft and i slapped the Al merrick keel fins in with the machado quads. gotta say - i really like this combination. i didnt feel like i would slip out on turns, and it wasn't stiff at all. the board settled down a tad, and i could push really hard on the board without it feeling like it would slip out under me. would recommend anyone who is around my weight to try the merrick keels with the machado quads. i think with our weight the machado quads dont dig in as well as the merrick keels as they are a tad larger in area, height and length. the combo works well.

Seen the video, fell in love with the board, bougth the board, caugth the corona without testing it. Going crazy! I just need now to know what music is that of the video. Greetings from Portugal! Thanks for your asewome reviews and instructional videos!

Seaside or Hydra? Or? Oh what pad did you use on both? Thanks always for getting back, I really dig you answering! Awesome as always!!

Wish they did these boards in bigger longer dims and volume for us big guys 7x23x3 would b perfect as always another great review noel keep it up

Great channel! Love the in-depth explainations. Looking at picking up a seaside and stuck between a 5’9 or 5’10. I am replacing my Podmod at 35L and I already have a groveler so I want to use this when I have clean-ish 3-4’ conditions (In Florida where it doesn’t get powerful too often). I’m 6’3 185 and speed means more to me than going vertical. Thanks for any input! Cheers

You were absolutely slaying those waves. Trust your reviews!

Noel while this does HP better, I might be imagining it but I reckon between your review on the go fish and the seaside you've developed a lot more flow in your surfing. Maybe the Board meeting you in the middle let you flow better even though you prefer snappy HP styling.

Hi Noel, thank you for the great review! I picked up a 5'6 Seaside from my local shop a few days ago, but after reading your reviews I think I may have oversized it. I am about 5'8 and 175lbs and an intermediate. Learning to do cutbacks and turns at the moment. I live in Florida where we basically only surf 1-3ft mush. Just want to see what you thought about it before I gave it go to potentially swap it out. Thanks again!

As always, great review from a great surfer!

Great review!! Really appreciated that you tried the twin fin set up. I have the CI keels on my CI fish and I m gonna buy a seaside… let s see if I can get the same feeling 🤙

Can't get this board or this song out of my head!

I appreciate you. Great review. I got a Seaside. It rips!!!

Hey Noel I am 5'11" and 170lbs. I have a lost PJ 5.5 -- 31.44CL (PU) that I love, and I am looking at the Seaside at 5'4" 29.8 L or 5'5" 31.5L. Because of the EPS, i am thinking the 5.4 as the extra float gets me up more around the feel of a 30ish CL board. I am in good shape and surf often. I surf local around here Pink House, Creek mostly, and sometimes Barbed Wires, Cottons or Uppers. What do you think? Thanks for all of the great info and reviews! Keep it up!

Sick review Noel! You shred🏄🏻‍♂️🏄🏻‍♂️

How does the seaside handle in crappy everyday beach break? Most days in so cal are windy and choppy by the time I get off work. So need a groveler that I can get the most out of. Any board will go great at points I stay away from point breaks only because I choose not to deal with the overwhelming crowds. So 1 to 4 foot , sectiony, one maneuver, beach breaks are my reality. I hear that this board won't handle the chop. Anyone have any knowledge on this matter? Any help would be appreciated.

Hey Noel good review, I went with a 5”9 I’m 86 kg , bought a Machado futures keel twin, only surfed once incredibly go fun . Keen to grad Machado quad set . Next level. Can’t wait to get back in the water

Another informative review, I own a rocket wide, Holy Grail, and a pod mod thanks to your reviews. My question is how does the seaside compare to the mod pod. I ask because I don’t want double up on boards which are too similar. Thanking you Clint

Thank you Noel, great review!

Hi Noel, awesome videos and great surfing! Love how you actually surf the boards and comment on how a board performance on a specific wave or section and why, that makes all the difference! Quick question. Love the look of this board, but I already have a Pyzel Phantom in slightly higher volume than my hpsb (about 0.5L more) which works great in waist / shoulder high and up. My local is a pretty hollow beach break, even when small. In your opinion, would a board like the Seaside add anything to my quiver?

Thanks for you review. I’m looking at getting a Seaside. I’m 183 cm, about 78 kg, fit inter+ surfer. Ride a 6’0 39L DGS Compact Disc (wider outline). Contemplating whether to go for 5’8. I surf in Israel where waves are mostly mushy and weak with the occasional quality swell in the Med. Thoughts appreciated.

I like this board, I wish it was a thruster tho. Great review Noel.

Noel , great review. Always enjoy them. Looking at buying this board myself.

Wow, thank you Noel once again. Trully expert and wise. Just a quick question for you. As an everyday board for one to four foot waves, sometimes mushy and windy, sometimes clean would you rather go with a seaside or the CI rocket wide? I had a go fish but sold it right away cause i just wasn`t dialing with it! Seeing you surf with the seaside after seeing you surf with the go fish you can tell the diference between boards. Anyway Sea side or rocket wide? Thank you in advance and keep up with this amazing channel ;)

This is a good channel. Great discription of boards. And great surfing. I can see the diffrence in. The surfing on different boards.

Thanks Noel. Great review. I surfed mine this weekend in about chest to head high huntington pier, on shore slop. Could not believe how well it turns in the pocket. Truly amazing how the Machado Fins work with it. I have the K3 twins and the EN Fins. Which do you think would work better as a twin? The only twin I’ve ever ridden is the GoFish

Have been riding the 5’8 model and love it to bits! But want the 5’6 now

Just a quick question mate rocket wide or seaside in 1-4 beaches?

Thank you, your reviews are fantastic

i love watching you surf

Got this board two weeks ago don’t know why it took so long but rob knows what he’s doing riding it 5’2 feels so drivey and fast but it’ll release when u want it too next board on my watch list is the glazer!

Great review as always! Would love a review of the black baron by JS ;)

Yeah buddy. Looks fun time!!!!🤙. Greg⭐

Love my seaside. So fast down the line and loose off the top. It does sometimes feel a bit too loose on the cutbacks. Using Machado quads futures. Any suggestions for a quad set that has a little more hold. I heard some guys like the split keel controllers to settle the board down Keep up the great reviews 🤙🏾

Thanks Noel. Excited and definitely leaning towards your Momentum Series (MS-N and MS-QDP) fins vs. the Machado quads but I'm thinking I probably can't go wrong with either set in the Seaside. If I can only get one, would you lean towards your fins?

Hi Noel, thank you for your advice ..I have taken a psycho killer in 5.11 20 1/4 2/56 33.5l and a bonzer biscuit in 5.8 20 1/4 2 3/4 in 35.9 l and it's perfect! ! the sizes that you advised me are perfect .... I would like to order seaside firewire ... but I hesitate between ĺa 5.7 and 5.8? I am 84 kilos and 1m86 ... again thanks and any beautiful video ..bravo

Hi Noel. I never saw you riding a mid length...would you review the Seaside and beyond 7’0”? It looks fun!

I watched your reviews on the lost hydra and seaside and loved both of them! I ended up with the Seaside as I couldn’t get hold of a hydra and like you i was fooled by the crusiy fish outline. 1st surf was in total onshore 2ft mush and it just shone! Was so surprised how fast it is, how performance it is and yet paddles in so easy and flys over the flat sections! Nuts. Totally happy with the seaside and cannot imagine that the Hydra would have been any better. I imagine when it gets bigger though that it wouldn’t be the best. Whats the biggest size surf have you taken it out in?

Great review! Gieven that this is now a 5 year old review, would you recommend this over maybe the Great White, mashup or too fish?

Hi Noel, really great review. I’m a bit of a difficult fit for boards. • 5’ 7” in height, 175 lb, intermediate ability and 30 years of surfing experience. In pretty decent physical shape (exercise daily), but I’m a very stocky build so quite heavy for my height. Due to stockiness, I’m kind of a weaker paddler. Lately, I’ve been riding a Xanadu Pig 6’0 at 32 liters. It paddles great, but feels a bit large for my height. What length would you recommend? I was thinking 5’ 7” which is same height as myself? Or is that too long for this type of shape?

Noel, I surf at the east coast of Northland, New Zealand. We aren't privileged with point breaks but we do have the odd estuary bar break and beach breaks. The waves are generally in the 2-4' range and not often hollow. I am 62years young, 88-90kg of intermediate ability, advanced in my young years. I love the look of the Machado Seaside. I need decent volume, stability and the plan shape looks almost retro but very advanced in every other way. Do you think the 6'1" would be too small for me. I have surfed a short board of 6'6" with very similar volume. During the 70's my best surfing was done on a 6'4" twin fin made in NZ and then purchased a 6'2" MR twin fin which I loved.

Great show and review mate!!!! I recently purchased this board, and I was wondering if this board can perform in very crappy surf during the summer or I will be better of by getting a proper Grover like a baked potato?? Thanks so much!!!!!!

i m 5.9 171 intermede and surf I mostly n Italy I'm undecided between 5.6 and 5.7 for the small day ,I use a quiver killer 5.11 31.7 lt and a lost puddle jumper 5.7 32.7 l thanks