Humm, haven’t been around Ciao much recently mainly due to the fact I’ve been spending as much time as possible in Newquay, in the surf. Seeing as Newquay’s a 6-hour drive from my computer, it’s kind of understandable. Anyway where is this leading, a review on Newquay, um no, I can’t be bothered to discuss the pros and cons of an entire town, at least not today. So I’ll share my thoughts on my board, a 7 foot 6 Hawaiian Island Creations Mini-mal.
Now bear with me, this is new ground in reviewing as there are no surfboard reviews up here yet (just a couple of body board reviews), so I have nothing to work with.
Lets start with the basics, what’s a Mini-mal. Loosely interpreted it’s a board between about 7 and 8.5 feet long, anything bigger is a Mal, and anything smaller is a Short Board. There’s a whole load of historical stuff on why, but I can’t remember it.
So what’s the advantage of this kind of board? In British waters the Mini-mal probably rules supreme as it’s a good all round board. Due to it’s length you can catch smaller waves (that are all too common here), the shorter the board, the more power it needs to get lift in the water and subsequently it’s harder to get moving in smaller swells on a 6 foot board. (Should there be any swell at all).
The longer the board the less the manoeuvrability of it, hence if you want to curse in style on the waves, you buy a Mal. The other disadvantage of a long board is it doesn’t fit in the car.
Now we’ve discussed the condensed history of surfboards, let talk about Hawaiian Island Creations (HIC). There are no prizes for guessing where this company has their roots. Established 30 years ago in Kailua, this enviable location stands them in good stead for designing boards. But a board designed in Hawaii is not going to perform that well in Britain. That’s why all HICs British boards are hand made in Newquay. As far as I’m aware they have two shapers working there.
But why buy HIC? My decision was simple, after a long hunt for a board of this kind I came across one, brand new going for a song, after a bit of haggling (compulsory when buying kit like this), the deal was done. In the end I paid about £100 less than the same model in the official dealership, Boardwalk, 17 Cliff Road, Newquay. You can guess I didn’t buy mine from Broardwalk, but if you looking for a HIC board this is the place to go. They normally have 25 or more on display. Prices start from about £300. Fairly pricey I know, but as I say the tag is normally open to negotiation.
Now if 25 isn’t a big enough selection for you, rumour has it a purpose built HIC show room is on it’s way. There will be something like 2500 sq ft of boards and gear arriving soon.
So what’s good about the boards? They are built for British waters, This has to be my main point. Buying a board in OZ may work out cheaper, but it just won’t feel the same when you get it home. UK HICs in the main feature wide rails giving stability and a nice curve for control and speed.
Secondly they all have FCS (Fin Control System), this allows you to change the fins depending on the conditions, and remove them completely for transit and repair work. To be honest this is what pushes the price up and many won’t consider it necessary. (I just like toys!!)
Other things about HIC. They do a nice range in surf ware, check out the baseball caps.
For more info see http://www.hicsurfshop.com This is their American site, as of yet I don’t think they have a UK one.
Final point, for anyone starting out, don’t buy anything shorter than 7’6’’, you won’t be able to handle it. Just a bit of friendly advice.
More details
Price
about £300
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