The Shadow is our new high-performance shortboard addition to the Ghost family and has quickly become a favorite among our team riders and friendFor the 2018 Stab in the Dark project they asked for a 510 ½ board for a surfer who was 510 x 165 lbs (turned out to be Mick Fanning) for waves that were good, but werent overly powerful. Jon wanted to make something fresh and new, but to start off with something that was tried and true. Knowing that the Phantom is a great board for those types of conditions he decided to start there and redesign it as a more refined, high performance shortboard, while still keeping the added flow and glide that defines the Phantom.The Shadow is designed to give you the advantages of a wider, forward outlined type of board but in a sleek, modern package. It features our version of a high performance outline, but with the wide point at center not behind. We pulled in the nose by almost a ½ inch and added some extra rocker through the last 12 in the nose to keep it free through critical turns. It has a gentle hip for looseness and the squash tail is pulled in to help tighten the turning radius and improve its vertical capabilities. The tail rocker and bottom concave remain nearly identical to the Phantom, which has proven to work really well in everyday conditions in waves around the world.The thickness flow, or foil, is different from most other HPSBs, keeping the volume a little bit in front of the center, but not overly exaggerated. This added foam under the chest area not only helps add paddle power, but it also gives you extra float under your front foot in slower sections which translates to more speed and flow.We recommend riding the Shadow about your height or an inch over, and in your favorite high performance dimensions.
Jon Pyzel grew up in Santa Barbara, California, started surfing in junior high and quickly found himself deep into it. Matt Moore started shaping his boards and put him on his team. Matt always helped explain the ideas and principles of surfboard design and let Jon watch him shape all his boards. After traveling for surf, Jon realized he wanted better waves, warmer water, making a permanent move to Oahu’s North Shore in 1992. There he found work fixing dings at Country Surfboards, and Jon quickly learned the ins and outs of the craft, working as a hot coater and laminator. He soon connected with master shaper Jeff Bushman, who gave him guidance, input, and encouragement. Eventually, Jeff gave Jon a job as his back-shaper and that was the beginning of his shaping career.
A defining moment came a few years later, in 1998. Alex Florence approached Jon about making a board for her oldest son John John, who was 5 at the time. From there forward, Jon and John John worked together to redefine what was possible for Grom surfng. Fast forward almost 20 years and John John Florence is the 2016 World Champ, widely considered the best surfer alive, all while riding Pyzel surfboards.
Today Pyzel Surfboards has grown to be an international business, but is still run by the family. Jon and his wife Dali live on the beach in Hawaii with their 2 daughters, and help run the Pyzel Surfboards factories on the North Shore and in Oceanside, CA. We take great pride in every board we build, and have do our very best to make sure that our customers are getting exactly the right board for what they want to do. We have licensees in 7 countries around the globe, and Jon shapes in Australia, Europe, Brazil, Japan, Indonesia, South America and California.
John John Florence, Kelly Slater, Mark Healey, Jack Freestone, Michel Bourez, Jadson Andre, Nathan Florence, Koa Rothman, Koa Smith, Fredrico Morais, Matt Archbold, Billy Kemper and many more. Stu Kennedy, Alex and Koa Smith, Ryan Calinan, Rizal Tanjung, Frederico Morais, Mason Ho, Ross Williams, Fred Pattachia, Sally Fitzgibons, Jay "Bottle" Thompson, Nathan Hedge, Sebastian Williams, Raoni MonteIro, Willain Cardoso, Ryan Hipwood, Billy Kemper, Shane Beschen, Punker Pat Towersy, Timmy Reyes, Matt Archbold, Chris Ward and many other pro surfers and stand-outs from around the globe.
THERE ARE MANY ASPECTS TO SURFBOARD SELECTION THESE ARE THE POINTS TO CONSIDER
LENGTH
Typically surfboards are measured in inches. The length is measured from the nose to the tail. Choosing the length of the surfboard is dependant on your size (weight, height), board type and waves conditions you wish to use the board for.
WIDTH
The widest point of the surfboard is measured from rail to rail. Generally the wider the surfboard the more stable the board, while a board with smaller width maintains better speed and performance.
BOARD THICKNESS
Surfboard thickness is measured from the top deck to the bottom. The thickness again has a bearing on the board’s performance. Professional surfers will tend to go for the thinner boards as they are lighter and offer better performance.The thicker boards are stronger and because there is more foam under the surfer the boards are more stable.
ROCKER
The bottom curve of a surfboard. Generally the more rocker the surfboard has the more loose (manoeuvrable) the surfboard will be. Where the flatter rocker surfboards will be faster, although they will lack the looseness. The nose is the tip of the surfboard, the nose can vary in shapes and size. Basically the thinner the nose the more response the board will perform, while wider noses are better for stabilization.
STRINGER
Used to increase the strength of a surfboard, a stringer (normally made from wood) runs down the length of a surfboards (typically in the centre of the board from the tip of the nose to the tail).
Boards built with Epoxy, Carbon Fibre and soft boards generally don’t have stringers.
FINS
Generally heavier surfers require larger fins to hold the waves better. Although if you prefer to ride a looser (less hold in the waves), smaller fins would be a better option.
FIN CONSIDERATIONS
Fin configurations have an effect on the ways your surfboards perform.
The following are some of the more common fin configurations.
SINGLE FIN
The single fin was the original fin configuration for surfboards. Based on the idea of the sailboat keel. Single fins are added stabilization and control on the powerful, larger waves, although lack manoeuvrability
TWIN FIN
Are great for small waves, being fast and manoeuvrable, but when put into tight spots on larger waves, they become hard to control. Popular with Fish surfboards.
THRUSTER 3 FIN
Widely recognized as the standard fin configuration, the thruster answers the shortcomings of the single fin and the twin fins configurations.
The thrusters give you stabilization, control and manoeuvrability in all types of surfing conditions.
This concept was the brainchild of Australia’s Simon Anderson
QUADS 4 FINS
With four fins in the water, Quads boasts an extraordinary amount of holding power in larger surf.
You may think that having four fins would sacrifice speed by creating more drag, but this is not the case.
The both sets of fins are working together on the rail, which makers believe they creates less drag than a board with a centre fin.
The manoeuvrability isn’t sacrificed either, with fins directly under your back foot, the quads are very responsive.
KEEL
Similar setup to the Twin Fin, although smaller (low profile) fins are generally placed wider (closer to the rails) on the surfboard.
Popular with Fish and Egg / Retro surfboards.
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