Chilli Faded 2.0 Review

Right between a regular shorty and a step up, the Chilli Faded 2.0 has a nice pulled in pin with a little girth left in the front. That width and volume up front makes it an absolute paddle machine, easy to scratch into slabs on and throw yourself over ledges.

The rounded pin gives you great rail-to-rail carve transitions, and the rocker is more ladyfinger than regular banana (some curve but not too much). That flatter bottom and smoother tail lift means it flies down the line like a vampire on moonshine. However, that bottom line can make it stiff unless you stomp down on the tail, or the waves get hollower. Considering this is billed for better waves with push, it’s a spot-on shape to keep things ripping.

I surfed the Chilli Faded 2.0 in 2ft+ lefts, 6ft+ rights, beachies, reef passes and everything in between. It held up okay in small lefts, which was surprising because that combo is pretty much this superdad’s Kryptonite. The thing truly starts to squirt as the juice starts pumping though. 4ft+ it’s another board entirely. In bigger lefts, I rode it as a quad and the extra drive was a huge bonus, with the slight drift you get off the top during turns feeling epic and in control.

On rights, it was all about the thruster set up though. The quad was too drifty off the top, while the tri-fin was a lot more forgiving and easier all round. Snaps, carves, laybacks, lookbacks, it held up through it all. In fatter waves you really need to jam on the back tail to avoid the slightly wider nose profile digging in as you carve. When things got hollower it ate up those liquid donuts like a cop on night shift. Definitely a highlight and, I imagine, this would be the perfect board to have in sizey Indo or fun waves in Hawaii.

Overall Best Conditions:
The Chilli Faded 2.0’s dream conditions are 4-6ft hollow waves. So, pretty much every surfer’s dream conditions. It holds in on the bigger sets without even a second thought, but also stays loose enough to whip around if you want to sneak a smaller nugget. An epic board for epic waves.

Stats were:
17 sessions
165 waves
Top speed of mid to high 30s (Yardie Creek)

Speed, power, flow. Put the WSL’s judging criteria over this contender and you’re getting close to 10s. Unless you’re Jay Davies, it’s doubtful you’re throwing airs on this thing, but it’s ideal for carving shit up like an aquatic butcher in slaughter mode.

The extra volume gives you extra confidence to throw things up into the lip as well, knowing it will respond rather than crumble to dust under your feet. It can definitely be stiff at times, especially if you’re expecting ‘shortboard’ performance, but by using the extra speed the board gives you and going a little heavier-footed rectifies that issue more times than not.

Think of it like a V8 muscle car instead of a go-cart. Give it some grunt and it’ll power on back, but don’t think you’re zipping through hair-pins and spinning on dimes (unless you’re an ultra-talented driver).

The Chilli Faded 2.0 rises to the challenge of head high+ surf like it was made for it (spoiler: it was).

In hollow waves especially this thing is amazing, with plenty of drive and the confidence of extra volume. Where it does slip up at times is in fatter or smaller waves where it can feel stiff and catch rail unless you’re in the sweet spot. To offset some of those challenges, either surf it right off the tail, or use a fin set up you’re most comfortable with. For me, that was a thruster. I probably preferred it as a quad in lefts, with the off the top drift suiting the more up and down surfing you can do on your backhand. But, let’s face it, I hunt out lefts about as often as Joe Rogans asks for the vegan menu.

Given I generally can’t be arsed changing fins at the best of times either, I’d just chuck some FCS II AM Mids in it and be done. If you’re happy to swap stuff around, carry a dual set up in the car though for when you want to go a different way. When travel opens up again, I’d be excited to slide this into a limited Indo quiver and see how it runs on some freight trains. 

Something to keep for special occasions when it’s offshore, pumping and you want something you know will not only hold up, but push back with the best of them. A great board for good surfers who want something for epic waves. 

The Wins:
*Versatile in head high to double overhead conditions.
*Paddles like a freight-liner
*Inspires confidence for big turns on chunky sections

The Challenges:
*Can be stiff in fatter or smaller waves
*It can be a challenge to ride if you’re used to ‘fun boards’

If you’re not quite sold on the Chilli Faded 2.0 but are interested in getting a chunky slab hunters some alternatives include the The Sweet Spot from DHD, the Almond from DMS, the Mid-Strength from Chill or spice it up with the Step-Up Twin from Morning of the Earth.