Mid Length Surfboards Buyers Guide

“Essentially, this is a performance mid-length that should be a consideration for anyone who can competently stand and navigate along a wave. James (Chilli) designed this surfboard over the summer of 2018/19 whilst he had a niggling knee injury and couldn’t surf to his full ability on his standard shortboard.”

I haven’t ridden this model from Chilli, but have held it quite a number of times and almost walked out the door from The Board Lab with one. They feel nice and forgiving (if you can say that) under the arm. Like it’ll be a nice cruise down the coast on a Spring morning. Ahhhhh…

A great mid length surfboard.

“The Mid Length Glider has been the latest addition to Craig Anderson’s quiver. Tuned to bring a balanced gliding feel to any conditions, it has refined neutral rails with a rolled entry flowing into a slight double vee out the tail. Addictive in nature, the speed and lines you can draw will keep you entertained in 1 to 6ft conditions.”

It wouldn’t be a new Haydenshapes model if it didn’t come looking gorgeous, and out of all the ones in this list this is probably the most eye-catching. I haven’t ridden it, held it, or heard anything about it. I’m going off (like all Buyers Guides) the information I can find online either via multi-brand stores or DTC Haydenshapes site. And this is one of the better looking Mid Length Surfboards out there…

“I’ve really been wanting to play around with some longer fishy kind of boards for a while now… Ever since I spent some time with skip frye and he showed me some of his fishes in the 7 foot range It’s been on my mind.  I first stretched out the GO FISH and made a 7 footer.  It worked great and really got my mind spinning. Then I made a 7’0 seaside and it became one of my favorite boards in my quiver.”

This thing look fun! Like go so fast, glide so effortlessly type of fun that just leaves a huge smile on the dial. Watching Rob surf it is one thing, but he’s cut from a different cloth than you and I so I asked a mate who has one to give one line about the Seaside & Beyond, he said ::

“It’s as light as your 6’0, paddles like a 10’0 and turns like it shouldn’t. You catch 400% more waves and glide like you’ve got a beard”

To be honest, I know three fifths of sweet nothing about Gato Heroi. I got the following from their IG bio:

“Gato Heroi?
An atelier of handmade surf fruits.”

They make really nice looking boards, and seem to have quite a cult following. This board in particular I found on the Wild Things site (a site you really should some time on, full of brands you might not find elsewhere. I did find the below which is a nice description about the Space Roach :

“The space roach is a relatively conventional board in comparison to most from Gato Heroi, but it still maintains a Gato aesthetic and performance. Built for guys transitioning from a shortboard into the single fin feel, this board has a subtle roll under the chest allowing for ease of paddling and nice trim when toward the front. The double concave in the back 1/4 of the board gives drive when the surfer is coming off the bottom or out of turns.”

“A scaled up version of the classic original CC Fish. The longer, straighter rail line provides you with more down the line speed, and the set back keel twin fin stiffens the whole feel. Built for big open face turns, and extreme speed.”

If the CC Fish is anything to go by (review here) then sign me up for one of these! The CC Fish is easily in my top three boards at the moment, it’s such a fun board to ride in any conditions up to about 4ft. This tho, the CC Long Phish, gives me the feeling it’d be for the older gentleman who likes to cruise and can’t ride the short fish anymore, or the young buck who is all into that long twin fin shredding that’s happening these days. Either way, hard to go wrong with a Christenson

“The Sea Gypsy is a mid-length single fin surfboard that can also be surfed with a versatile side bite fin option.  The area pintail and high-speed single to double barrel concave bottom in the Sea Gypsy are two of the main reasons why this board is widely regarded as one of the fastest paddling and versatile single fins in the world.”

To be completely honest, I wasn’t aware that Joel Fitz was shaping boards. It’s great that he is but if it wasn’t for the crowd sourced answers I’d probably still have my head in the sand. This, the Sea Gypsy, is one that showed up a couple of times in the IG question box a while back. I’ve only ridden one Mid Length Surfboard, and it had those nice little side fins in it (CI Mid) and I loved it. Haven’t ridden a straight single fin one yet so can’t really comment…

I can’t say enough good things about this midlength, seriously. If you read the review I did on it, you’ll see how much I fell in love with it. But that doesn’t mean its the best mid length surfboard out there, but it’s pretty damn epic.

The Channel Islands Mid flows easily, it does most of the work and will help clean up your surfing if you let it. It’s not for the person who wants to get out there and ‘Hulk Smash’ every wave, it’s for the person who enjoys the glide, the challenge of something different (that can be hard or easy to ride) or maybe is just getting a touch older, coming back from injury etc. You’ll get into waves earlier, enjoy the high-lines and even get a renewed energy for smaller waves.

“The Twin Tracker outline creates glide and flow; with the pronounced bottom curves that boosts response and speed between rails. The Twin allows faster speed off the mark, with the water running through the middle of the board. A refined rail allows for drive and hold.”

Two Christenson Mid Length Surfboards in the Buyers Guide!? Yep. Can’t not, I have a big crush on Christenson Surfboards at the moment and need more in my quiver that I don’t surf, this will most likely be the next addition. It looks like a lot of fun and is quite nice in that red shade. Will it go? I imagine so, all his boards do. Again, I’m biased right now, so best do more of your own research before dropping 1300$

“Not your run-of-the-mill mid length board, these things can handle some serious juice, while still being amazing in the knee to chest high range that so many people love riding mid length style boards in. Paddle in early and still be able to rip the absolute shit out of the wave with speed, power and flow…”

Vouch is another surfboard brand that popped up a lot in the IG Question area for Mid Length Surfboards. I’ve been a fan of his fishes for a hot minute (thanks Milledge) and even got another mate to give me the run down on this model…

“I had a 6’6 … just flicked it, fun board but I wasn’t really getting the kinda waves it goes good in regularly enough to warrant keeping it”

“The Sumo model is a high-volume mid-length with speed to burn. The wide point is way forward, and the tail is pulled into a tight pin. With all the volume under your chest the board is easy to paddle, and once you’re up and riding that narrow tail really comes into play. The board comes with a 2+1 fin set-up, but can also be ridden as a single fin if preferred.”

My first custom board was a McTavish, my mum used to do the books there and swindled me one of Bob. It was some weird veneer wood thing (kind alike firewire, but in the early 90’s). Thing went mental until I snapped doing silly stuff. Bob is rad, and everyone should have a McTavish in their quiver.

This one, the Sumo, looks pretty damn good. And my friend Panel Beta tells me it sells quite well too. Go on, press the button and buy one.

“It legitimately is a board like no other; Photos cannot capture the three-dimensionality of the design – from the thickest part of the board, in every direction the foil refines all the way out to the edges creating a very well defined point just behind the center of the board that provides an unmatched feeling over any other mid-length in the world.”

Never seen one, just follow his IG with a lot of intent to buy one one day. Ryan is out of Santa Barbara so you know he’s got the trim down pat and can make boards to suit those perfect Mid Length Surfboards conditions (3ft forehand peelers, IMO). Beyond that, if you know more, lemme know while I spend time on his site learning more. I’m definitely keen on getting one to review.

“The One Bad Egg by Phipps is a Hipsters delight. Clean lines of a performance egg with low rails and slight concave to V bottom. This board is amazing in big overhead surf with incredible paddle power and drive. Perfect in waist high waves when looking for comfort and turning power. Undoubtedly the BEST egg on the market in the world today.”

I didn’t know Phippsy shaped any mid length surfboards until I sparked up about the CI Mid and had a few people tell that the Bad Egg was the CI Mid before the CI Mid. So if that’s the case, I’m going to say you should really get one of these. One because Phippsy is a lord of a shaper, and Two, it’s going to go mental if my time on the CI Mid is anything to go off. Not sure about availability in Australia tho..