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Almond Surfboards Guide to:

FISHES & SMALL BOARDS

This is part 3 of our guide to helping you make more informed decisions about your
surfboard quiver. We’ll discuss the thoughts and intentions that go into designing our range
of fishes and smaller boards.

After browsing the next several pages, our hope is that you will have a better understanding
of:
● Surfing
● Surfboards
● the nuances between different models
● which board(s) are best suited for your needs

You’re interested in a short, generously-volumed surfboard. I avoid the word shortboard

here, because that conjures images of something entirely different.

Before we dive into a model by model breakdown, an introduction on surfing smaller

boards: If you want to start surfing a smaller board, the difference between success and
getting tossed over the falls will rely heavily on your ability to make that smaller surfboard
paddle fast.

The wave isn't slowing down for you, so it's up to you to match the speed of the wave you
wish to catch. We talk regularly about the importance of catching waves earlier.
Equipment is one way to help ensure the best odds of consistent success, but the other
factor is FREE, and you can put it into practice tomorrow—dig deeper and paddle faster.

You'll be amazed at how much your surfing will improve if you really make it a point to
paddle powerfully and efficiently into waves.

Learn to match the speed of the wave you wish to catch, and you'll be catching waves
earlier, even on a small board.

Here is Drew Meseck enjoying the fruits of

paddling his 5'2 (29L) Special Recipe Fish into a
left-hander in Newport (even with offshore winds
blowing in his face). Drew’s paddling technique
is efficient, and he likely doesn’t even have to
think about it anymore, it’s second nature.

Even on smaller boards like Drew’s fish, we try to

ensure enough foam under the rider’s chest while
paddling, to help give that board some extra float and glide.

The Key Benefit of a Smaller Board

The primary aim of riding a smaller board is to put yourself on equipment that can explore
more parts of a wave. The added agility of a small board opens up possibilities that are
difficult or impossible on larger equipment.

You want the mobility and responsiveness to open up new parts of the wave, without
cratering your wave-count in the process. Half the battle is matching the best surfboard for
the conditions at hand—while keeping your own preferences and tendencies in mind.

As we stated in the introduction to surfboards, everything in surfboard design is give and

take. So, let’s take a look at a few scenarios to help you start matching your surfboard
quiver with where you are trying to take your surfing…

The first thing to consider when stepping down to a smaller board is what kind of waves
are we trying to match our board to? What are the days when your current quiver leaves
you wanting for a bit more?

We are going to break up our small board options into two categories: full, wide outlines
and more narrow outlines (bonus category for the in-betweeners)

Full & Wide:

● Secret Menu
● Sea Kitten
● Special Recipe Fish

Narrow & Streamlined:

● Sandia Fish
● Kookumber / Quadkumber
● Survey

In-Between:
● Pleasant Pheasant
● BBF (Big Bueno Fish)

Full & Wide:

Full, wide outlines excel when the waves are softer. Think rolling take-offs, mushier waves,
and speed generating through gutless sections. The planing surface of full-bodied boards
allows them to glide across the surface of the water better, particularly when you can find
the sweet spot for acceleration—the right mix of loading the fins and the rail line with
pressure to make your board really fly.

Because boards like these pack a good amount of volume into a small frame, they allow the
surfer to ride a board that is overall much shorter than what they might otherwise be
accustomed to. This new-found mix of generous foam and lively feel underfoot is what
makes this classification of small board so popular with longboarders. The inherent speed
harnessing ability of these boards will feel familiar to those who have spent most of their
time on longer and larger boards. The thing to be aware of is that these boards are better
for bigger, arcing turns. Wide outlines equate to bigger turning radiuses, and more
drawn-out, flowy surfing.

The Secret Menu:

Because of the added foam under your chest, it catches waves early and often—think of it
as a longboarder's favorite small-board. It packs a lot of volume, so it can be ridden shorter
than you might expect. The wide tail is fantastic for speed-generating, even in smaller surf.
When the waves are 3-4 feet and peaky, it’s about as much fun as you are going to have in
the water. Your back foot sits right on top of the fins, giving you ease-of-control over where
the board goes. The added foam and fuller rail ensures that you can catch up to the section
if you fall a bit behind exploring your new-found mobility.

The Sea Kitten:

As wide and full as any board in our lineup, the Sea Kitten squeezes the most potential out
of small or soft waves. It’s unbelievably fast across the surface of the water. This board
carries a lot more volume than you realize, so it is meant to be ridden incredibly short.
The Special Recipe Fish:
Our more middle-of-the-road fish outline, with
some slightly more progressive foils (Thickness
flow, rail, and bottom contour). A Chevy Bel Air
with a Ferrari engine—This board looks like a
classic from afar, but has some power under the
hood.

The SRF is a deceivingly lively small board for the

surfer who wants to explore the wave-face in its
entirety, while maintaining the drive and
inherent speed to do turns up, down, left, and
right.

Narrow, Streamlined Outlines:

When the waves get more powerful, the equipment needs to be more nimble and
responsive. Speed is no longer a problem when the waves start pumping. The key objective
with these boards is the ability to make quick adjustments and tighter turns.

The Sandia Fish:

The Sandia is our most pulled-in fish template. The narrower nose fits into steeper waves,
and the more pulled in tail (compared to the Sea Kitten or Special Recipe) allows for tighter,
more responsive turns. Twin fin fishes have
a distinct flowy feeling under-foot that is a
bit of an acquired taste. You will regularly
hear pro surfers sing the praises of twin fin
fishes as a compelling change of pace from
the high-performance equipment they have
spent thousands of hours perfecting their
approach on. The Sandia is a great addition
to the quiver for any surfer looking for a
versatile addition in the 5’8 to 6’2 range.
The Kookumber / Quadkumber:
If you’ve ever looked at a shortboard and a fish, and wish you could mush them together
into one shape, this would be it. Same outline, two very different fin set-ups. It’s a board we
have been building since the earliest days of Almond Surfboards, and it has stuck around
because of its versatility and usefulness. A comfortable transition board for surfers of
various backgrounds, looking for a little more juice.

The single fin version (the Kookumber) is better for down-the line minded surfing. The
quad setup (the aptly named Quadkumber) is better for a wider variety of conditions and
more top-to-bottom surfing. Either one will put enough foam under your chest to feel like
you’re riding your favorite fish, and a narrow-ish tail that will hold when you need it to
most.

The Survey:
The round tail of the Survey allows the
board to have the tightest turning
radius, for the surfer who wants the
most control. We have deemed the
Survey to be our “good wave small
board” for this very reason. Round
tails are not the best for generating
planing speed in softer waves, but they
are really great for allowing control
and direction-changes.

Ride it as either a quad or a thruster.

The In-Betweeners:
We saved these models for the end of our small board guide, because they are kind of
cheating their way onto this list. These boards bridge the gap between our small boards
and our mid-lengths, but since they are offered in a wide variety of lengths, and since they
address many of the same wants and needs as the small boards we’ve discussed, they are
worth mentioning here.

Gone are the days of distinct lines between “longboards” and “shortboards”. As it turns out,
they’re all just surfboards and they’re all just meant for accessing the waves that we find
ourselves faced with— and making for the most enjoyment possible.

The BBF (Big Bueno Fish):

Possibly the most blatant cheat code you can add to your quiver. The oldest trope in
surfboard building is “I want a board that paddles like a longboard, and turns like a
shortboard”. It’s so cliche that I can feel my eyes roll just typing those words now. But
cliches exist for a reason, because there is generally a lot of truth to them.

At the end of the day, as surfboard builders, we are trying to find the right combination of
elements to give you, the surfer, the appropriate blend of paddle-ability and whatever else it
is you’re looking to do on your surfboard. Enter the BBF.

The BBF has a full-bodied outline

and rounded nose, that pulls wayyy
in to a narrow swallow tail. You
plant your back foot directly on top
of those quad fins, which gives you
ample control over the direction of
the board. It’s a relatively new
model in our range, dating back to
2018, but it was developed as the
Dad Board—the generous wave
catcher that can still bust a move on
the dancefloor at the niece’s
wedding when the right song
comes on.

If you want to stack the deck in

your favor this year, take a long look
at the BBF.
Pleasant Pheasant:
I recently wrote that if I had to ride
only one board for the rest of my life,
it would more than likely be the
Pleasant Pheasant. It does everything
I ask for, out of a surfboard. I can’t
think of a time when I paddled out on
my Pheasant and wished that I had
brought a different board.

The tail on the Pheasant is round, to

tighten the turning radius. Think:
full-wrapping, lateral turns. This is
made possible by the assistance of the side-bit, the narrower template, and the round tail.

If you are looking for a board that will allow you to explore all parts of a wave face, without
sacrificing wave-count, the Pheasant may very well be the board you've been looking for.

I am not alone in my love of the Pheasant, fellow Almond team member Cole Latham had
this to say about his love of Pheasants:

“[They are] like the porridge that Goldilocks was

searching for; not too big, not too small, just right. They
marry the glide and early entry of classic longboards
with the responsiveness and ability to fit in critical
sections that is typically found in shorter boards. This is
what makes them such great travel boards. Not only are
they easy to fit in a board bag, on a plane, on the the side
of your rented Vespa; but they can be surfed in
conditions that range from 2 foot mush to overhead
slabs. This means you’re always prepared, even with
only one board at your disposal.”
How Do You Decide What Length is Best for YOU?

We get a ton of questions from customers who are trying to determine the correct length
board to get, so we wanted to make a quick guide to lend some advice in making wise
decisions for your quiver.

Surfboards are not entirely sized in relation to your height / weight, like some might think
of skis or a wetsuit. Surfboards are much more subjective because they come in a variety of
shapes, volumes, and intended purposes.

If you are relatively new to surfing and just want to get something that is going to help build
confidence in the water, read this article.

If you are looking at our surfboard model offerings and wanting to determine which length
is appropriate, here are a few things to consider.

1. I'm about to lay out the most popular lengths of each of our surfboard models.
Consider these lengths fairly middle-of-the-road for that respective model.
2. If you are a little larger, or want a little more wave-catching ability size up from the
average.
3. If you are a little smaller or want a slightly more nimble feel, size down slightly from
the average.
4. We offer ranges with volume measurements on each board model page, so you can
compare the volume (in Liters) to other boards in your quiver. Liters are a great
equalizing measurement to get a feel for how much foam is under your chest and
under your feet.

Without further delay, here are the most popular length of each of our surfboard models:

● Sea Kitten: 5'2

● Secret Menu: 5'4
● Special Recipe Fish: 5'6
● Sandia Fish: 5'8
● Survey: 5'9
● Quadkumber/Kookumber: 5'10
● Big Bueno Fish: 6'4
● Pleasant Pheasant: 6'6
● Beach Chicken: 7'2
● Joy: 7'6
● Cash-Yew II: 8'8
● Pinwheel: 9'0
● Surf Thump: 9'2
 ● Lumberjack: 9'4
● Sano Special: 9'6
● Logistic: 9'6
● Walks on Water: 9'8

Like I mentioned earlier, use these lengths as a starting point to determine whether you'd
like a little extra foam or a little more nimble feel under foot. When you are ready to order
a custom board, here is our Guide to Ordering A Custom Surfboard

Why We Chose the 5’4 Secret Menu as the first R-Series Model

In 2018, we first introduced the R-Series construction. The 5’4” Secret Menu quad was the
first model we unveiled in this exciting new surfboard construction. When looking at
introducing something brand new, that was unlike anything our customers had ever seen
before, we wanted to choose a familiar model from our range that would serve a wide
number of surfers, while also giving us the feedback to learn how to continue to improve
upon the platform.

The 5’4” Secret Menu packs a lot of

wave-catching into a small frame. The wide
tail is ideal for generating speed, and getting
the rider’s back foot right on top of those fins
for control.

This is a board model we have been building

since 2010 and have enjoyed surfing,
building, and refining for more than a
decade. If you are looking for a small,
packable surfboard for hauling to the
beach—take a spin on the Menu.

Other Surfboard Resources:

● Almond’s Guide to Surfboards (Introduction)
● Almond’s Guide to Longboards
● Almond’s Complete Guide to Ordering A Custom Surfboard
● The First-Time Surfer’s Cheat Sheet
● Read More Articles & Surf Tips...