Quadraflex by Firewire

The Board

Dimensions & Material

We tested the 6'0"H x 19 1/8"W x 2 1/4"T Future Shapes Technology (FST) model. The FST consists of a parabolic balsa rail. The outside material consists of high-density composite material with 1 lb EPS foam in the center. The overall design makes for a durable yet lightweight board. The board has no stringer; the parabolic balsa rail provides the reinforcement and framework needed to keep the board together. This design allows for more flex in the board and makes the board more responsive after each move.

Another item worth noting, is the vent on the deck of the Quadraflex. All of Firewire's FST models come with a vent to allow air to flow in and out of the board in extreme temperature changes. This prolongs the life of the board by allowing the foam to breathe which prevents material warping.

Bottom

The bottom is a single concave to a vee at the tail. The vee improves turning while the single concave complements rail-to-rail surfing.

Tail

The Quadraflex has a seriously, thinned out swallow tail with moderate rocker. This reduced volume design provides plenty of turning power, a requirement for performance quads. The tail does run a little fuller to accommodate the quad fins and allow for improved stability.

Nose

The slightly fuller nose has a low-mid rocker. This nose improves forgiveness, while accommodating the quad design. However, the nose like the tail runs thin as to not bog you down on big moves.

Rails

The rails are down-turned with soft edges, fading to hard edges at the tail. The rails provide a nice blend of performance and forgiveness.

Fins

We tested this board in 4 fin FCS with polycarbonate fins.

Paddling

The FST design improves the buoyancy of the board. This makes the Quadraflex paddle slightly faster than a performance shortboard. This should add a few more waves to your session.

Catching

The Quadraflex catches moderate speed, waist to head high point breaks with ease, as long as they are clean conditions. Textured conditions really cause a problem for the board. In these conditions, water easier flows over the deck while paddling for a wave, which makes locking into the wave very difficult. The Quadraflex is adamant about catching only clean breaks. So if you notice less than ideal conditions, you'll have to take out another board. However, in clean conditions the board easily locks into the wave and is even forgiving with foot placement on pop-up. Once up the board immediately flys down the line of the wave.

Overhead sets are a little beyond this board. The quad design provides too much drive, which leads to an unsteady drop. The waves are still catchable but again, not ideal. Same goes for waist- waves.

Riding

In good conditions Quadraflex rides very aggressively for a quad. The board has plenty of natural drive to fly down the line with enough turning power to hit turns, snaps, and airs. From take off the board accelerates quickly and naturally without any pumping or carving needed. You'll be able to fly past quick sections, which will allow you to sit deeper in the lineup. If you have to use a floater, the Quadraflex's lightweight design easily hops on the break and cruises through. The drive also floats the board through soft sections, which will allow you to squeeze the most out of your ride.

The improved maneuverability is what makes the Quadraflex stand out in front of other quads. The Quadraflex can pull big turns and quickly recover any lost momentum. You'll be able to cram in more moves into a single wave than ever before. This is the result of the parabolic balsa rail design, which creates a springy feel for the board. Unfortunately, the board's maneuverability is slightly dampened compared to a thruster, but this is the closest match we've tested to a thruster. Surprisingly the board is also forgiving on turns and snaps. This gives you the comfort of going for bigger moves without losing control.

In overhead conditions, the Quadraflex drive overpowers the ride. If you like to fly down the line, this shouldn't cause a problem. But adding big snaps to the ride comes with plenty of resistance and loss of control. In waist- conditions the board can stay afloat but with little to no performance surfing.

The Quadraflex makes adding airs to your arsenal easy. The board's lightweight design and high speed allows for airs with minimal effort. We had no complications with straight airs, sans hands. However, rail grabs are a little trickier, as the rails feel slippery. Luckily, you be able to land less than perfect airs as the Quadraflex allows for controlled landings.

The Quadraflex is a workhorse surfboard for the advanced surfer. The board provides plenty of drive and performance to pull off big moves. Unfortunately the Quadraflex is limited to clean conditions. Another concern is price. The Firewire boards come at a premium, compared to other high performance boards on the market. But the added cost is justified by the boards' durability. By durability we're talking about board's performance durability by minimizing foam warping over extended use. We didn't do a durability test so we can't attest to this claim. However, most surfers we talked to who owned this board, vouched for the claim. So if you want to push your quad surfing in waist to head high waves, try out the Quadraflex.