I picked up a firewire TJ Pro 9' just over a year ago and have not been at all disappointed. I've got a firewire timbertek spitfire which is over 6 years old and has no compressions in the deck and I accidentally dropped it of the roof of the car onto concrete with barely a scratch, so super happy with durability.
The TJ is light enough that you can still duck dive small waves. Once up it ride really well and is super loose. I've very happy so definitely can't complain. I was tempted to go Sunova as I know they make good boards, but they are that little bit harder on the wallet whereas my local firewire dealer always has a spring sale so managed to pick up the TJ for $1100 minus fins.
I've seen a fair few locals on the Tollhurst and they all seem happy. I think Firewire, Sunova and Tollhurst are all pretty good boards for durability, it just comes down to your budget and specs.
Select to expand quoterusty-pie said..515 said..
Yes great post but please enlighten us with size and tail shape and photo would ne awesome ??????????
firewiresurfboards.com/products/flexflight
I went for the 9'0" x 23" x 3"
piccy of the the actual board will follow.
Nice board, enjoy 
Select to expand quotestuk said..
Just to add another annecdote about the Tolhurst carbon boards. We had a guy at the local snap one just duckdiving under a falling lip and it broke.
I just looked at a snapped tolhurst diamond drive, current model, no carbon in the layup and no t shaped stringer down the middle. Just eps foam, and 4 or 5mm higher density PVC foam outer layer. They must be cheaping out on the construction. Nothing like the thunderbolt technology layup diagram..
Select to expand quotebeachandbush said..
Snapped Tolhurst. Doesn't look like there's a stringer
They are nowhere near as strong as the old surftechs,looking forward to a response!!! If we get one
Select to expand quotebeachandbush said..
Snapped Tolhurst. Doesn't look like there's a stringer
People in Pic appear to be a couple of chicks in contest attire...could be they went for a lighter construction hoping for improved performance. My tufflites still going strong 2 years later in WA conditions. Almost bought another recently but chasing other quiver fillers atm.
Select to expand quotebeachandbush said..
Snapped Tolhurst. Doesn't look like there's a stringer
Haven't heard one good thing about the construction, so many snapped
Select to expand quoteMacaha said..beachandbush said..
Snapped Tolhurst. Doesn't look like there's a stringer
Haven't heard one good thing about the construction, so many snapped
Mac you will be interested in this conversation I had with Bob at the factory,they /surftech and Bob were working on the fireball/ thunderbolt tech,I was curious so he took me aside and showed me the board,given it was a prototype,and a work in progress it looked ok ,but after surfing the board he said the construction was lacking,something was missing. The rest they say is history.!missing !To this day I still wonder what he meant construction/ or soul.
Select to expand quotejustaddwater said..Macaha said..beachandbush said..
Snapped Tolhurst. Doesn't look like there's a stringer
Haven't heard one good thing about the construction, so many snapped
Mac you will be interested in this conversation I had with Bob at the factory,they /surftech and Bob were working on the fireball/ thunderbolt tech,I was curious so he took me aside and showed me the board,given it was a prototype,and a work in progress it looked ok ,but after surfing the board he said the construction was lacking,something was missing. The rest they say is history.!missing !To this day I still wonder what he meant construction/ or soul.
Yes they made a couple of models prototype, I know a couple of the team surfed them and they pulled the pin real quick.I don't know what happened.
Select to expand quoteMickPC said..beachandbush said..
Snapped Tolhurst. Doesn't look like there's a stringer
People in Pic appear to be a couple of chicks in contest attire...could be they went for a lighter construction hoping for improved performance. My tufflites still going strong 2 years later in WA conditions. Almost bought another recently but chasing other quiver fillers atm.
That's a standard hihp board, available in thunderbolt blue or red construction, red is the lightest, with fiberglass 6oz deck, 6oz bottom and rail, blue is supposed to be the same but with rail and deck in carbon 6oz. The thunderbolt carbon construction is heavier, but all are supposed to have a t stringer down the middle.
Select to expand quotejustaddwater said..Macaha said..beachandbush said..
Snapped Tolhurst. Doesn't look like there's a stringer
Haven't heard one good thing about the construction, so many snapped
Mac you will be interested in this conversation I had with Bob at the factory,they /surftech and Bob were working on the fireball/ thunderbolt tech,I was curious so he took me aside and showed me the board,given it was a prototype,and a work in progress it looked ok ,but after surfing the board he said the construction was lacking,something was missing. The rest they say is history.!missing !To this day I still wonder what he meant construction/ or soul.
I wonder if they tried glassing a crystal in it to give it some soul
Select to expand quoteSP said..justaddwater said..Macaha said..beachandbush said..
Snapped Tolhurst. Doesn't look like there's a stringer
Haven't heard one good thing about the construction, so many snapped
Mac you will be interested in this conversation I had with Bob at the factory,they /surftech and Bob were working on the fireball/ thunderbolt tech,I was curious so he took me aside and showed me the board,given it was a prototype,and a work in progress it looked ok ,but after surfing the board he said the construction was lacking,something was missing. The rest they say is history.!missing !To this day I still wonder what he meant construction/ or soul.
I wonder if they tried glassing a crystal in it to give it some soul
AH ! The crystal Voyager! Has that been done before?
Select to expand quoteAklbob said..MickPC said..beachandbush said..
Snapped Tolhurst. Doesn't look like there's a stringer
People in Pic appear to be a couple of chicks in contest attire...could be they went for a lighter construction hoping for improved performance. My tufflites still going strong 2 years later in WA conditions. Almost bought another recently but chasing other quiver fillers atm.
That's a standard hihp board, available in thunderbolt blue or red construction, red is the lightest, with fiberglass 6oz deck, 6oz bottom and rail, blue is supposed to be the same but with rail and deck in carbon 6oz. The thunderbolt carbon construction is heavier, but all are supposed to have a t stringer down the middle.
Upon reviewing several layup diagrams of the different thunderbolt constructions, it appears that the 'thunderbolt' construction has been changed between 2016 and 2018, the cheaper non carbon layups are heavier compared to the early ones..the thunderbolt carbon ones are unchanged.
Select to expand quoteAklbob said..Aklbob said..MickPC said..beachandbush said..
Snapped Tolhurst. Doesn't look like there's a stringer
People in Pic appear to be a couple of chicks in contest attire...could be they went for a lighter construction hoping for improved performance. My tufflites still going strong 2 years later in WA conditions. Almost bought another recently but chasing other quiver fillers atm.
That's a standard hihp board, available in thunderbolt blue or red construction, red is the lightest, with fiberglass 6oz deck, 6oz bottom and rail, blue is supposed to be the same but with rail and deck in carbon 6oz. The thunderbolt carbon construction is heavier, but all are supposed to have a t stringer down the middle.
Upon reviewing several layup diagrams of the different thunderbolt constructions, it appears that the 'thunderbolt' construction has been changed between 2016 and 2018, the cheaper non carbon layups are heavier compared to the early ones..the thunderbolt carbon ones are unchanged.
Aklbob,great research/info thanks!
I'd be looking at something like this - www.yahoosurfboards.com.au/yallingup-longboard.html
Select to expand quotethedrip said..
I'd be looking at something like this - www.yahoosurfboards.com.au/yallingup-longboard.html
He makes some absolutely beautiful boards
12'0 x 26.5 x 4.5 194L
Probably ok at Wikiki beach where its already located on the beach as a rental or to use as a downwinder SUP. But definately not suited to the average Australian surfer of any level & over $1000au excluding postage. Australian surfers have far better options.
A learner does not need that much length, width & certainly not those huge chunky rails. Sure paddling will be great until you get smashed by a wave paddling back out. Turning is going to be overly complicated with that thickness, standing right on the tail with all that board flopping around the front...not to mention transporting the damn thing to the beach & back. What a nightmare 
Its a thumbs down from me.
If the rocker is continuous i think turning would be ok.
Small gold coast point waves we've been getting lately.would be fun .
Yeah . A bit of beef and it would be trouble. But aren't most 10 ft plus boards in that category!
Select to expand quoteMacaha said..
Vanders needs one to ad to his collection of dust catchers.
Dust!!!.
Hes probably got 2 cubic metres of dirt on all of them!!!!!
Select to expand quotechrispy said..bazz61 said..
Get a mctav with a triple stringer , My Fire ball single stringer snapped on a 3 ft day recently , on a shallow bank , Seen a snapped Tolhurst pop out , Thera not much inside them , multiple stringers is the way to go .
Multiple stringers isn't going to help with bangs and dings which op is concerned about compared to a fw or sunova,and three stringers will definitely not be a benefit when it comes to wanting a light board
I have seen at least 6 snapped firewire longboards in some pretty weak surf which would have me concerned.
The couple of sunova boards i have seen were super nice boards,and I also believe you can get them as a custom
Me im not concerned about the appearance compared to how it surfs
Yep I had a FireWire FlexFlight which was such a sweet ride then it snapped in a white wash wall at bells when I bailed it to dive under. Wasn't even that big. Now looking at the Notox flax bioresin longboards. They are vacuum bagged and are reputed to be far more snap resistant than traditional glass boards. They do have more weight tho but haven't been able to verify just how heavy they are. Also haven't seen any reviews...
Select to expand quotelaceys lane said..Macaha said..
Vanders needs one to ad to his collection of dust catchers.
Dust!!!.
Hes probably got 2 cubic metres of dirt on all of them!!!!!
No mate, I take them out every couple of weeks, polish them, ya never know when you might need them in an emergency.
Select to expand quoteRazzonater said..
Bert is a master craftsman
when I bought the tolhurst it was a close call between the two.....
various opinions ons aside I have been told by very very respected longboarders that
tolhurst is likely the lightest and most hp ( which is why I selected it sorry to the purists)
sunova is a really close second however is far more durable
in saying that there is a looot to be said for mctavish who makes what many call the pinnacle of longboards,,, if I lived over east it would be blasphemy not to own and ride one regularly..
I also have a Boyd Perty from yallingup surf co which is a pretty special weapon,,, apparently bob monkman had a bit of input into design shape it's a special special board but 9,4 and is more a nose rider which I suck at but will keep practicing until they remove my legs...
I really really liked the old mctavish fireball the one from early 90,s mate had one I was permitted to ride on smaller days I loved everything about it.
Its a hard question to get a response on from longboarders , generally the local guy making boards for the local waves makes the best board in that hood...
If I surfed the east coast points every week it would probably be on a mctavish
surfing down south west oz is normally the tolhurst and sometimes me Boyd.....
Im sure guys in southern nsw will argue the point as there is a couple of quality quality local guys through that region.
If I was a wealthy man I would order a 9,1 and a 9,4 off everyone suggested in this thread, than in my million dollar 4 wd drive around oz and surf every board at its local break with variations between prior ones...
upon arriving back home I would see which ones had made the full trip in best condition than weigh up which ones rode better...
With all this learned information I would than be more indesicive than ever and repeat the process until either I ran out of money, my car broke down, and the shapers got sick of my repeat orders..
It is solely for this reason that I will never achieve "financial freedom"
Love my Tolhurst, only longboard I need at the moment. Great high performance board, although mines a tuflight which Billy has said in the past is his favourite coz he can't do the rails the same in other builds. Nice n knifey : )
Keen to give Sunova's a go too, been watching for awhile only seen good deals on glassed on fin boards so far which is a good sign people tend to hang onto them for eon's haha & I don't buy new...
I've ridden a few Mc'tavish's they're ok.....but prefer SDR's for their sexy bottom HP contours (concaves) & rails.
Ridden a couple of Boyd Purdy longboards, one was one of the best longboards I've ever ridden...have a 6'6 BP indo stepup, its an absolute keeper : )
At the end of the day I just want something with a nice mix of durability & performance. Doesn't need to be a tank, but I want to be able to figure 8 without too much swing weight on turns but also not be too light in bigger waves with a strong offshore like Yallingup.
Select to expand quoteMickPC said..Razzonater said..
Bert is a master craftsman
when I bought the tolhurst it was a close call between the two.....
various opinions ons aside I have been told by very very respected longboarders that
tolhurst is likely the lightest and most hp ( which is why I selected it sorry to the purists)
sunova is a really close second however is far more durable
in saying that there is a looot to be said for mctavish who makes what many call the pinnacle of longboards,,, if I lived over east it would be blasphemy not to own and ride one regularly..
I also have a Boyd Perty from yallingup surf co which is a pretty special weapon,,, apparently bob monkman had a bit of input into design shape it's a special special board but 9,4 and is more a nose rider which I suck at but will keep practicing until they remove my legs...
I really really liked the old mctavish fireball the one from early 90,s mate had one I was permitted to ride on smaller days I loved everything about it.
Its a hard question to get a response on from longboarders , generally the local guy making boards for the local waves makes the best board in that hood...
If I surfed the east coast points every week it would probably be on a mctavish
surfing down south west oz is normally the tolhurst and sometimes me Boyd.....
Im sure guys in southern nsw will argue the point as there is a couple of quality quality local guys through that region.
If I was a wealthy man I would order a 9,1 and a 9,4 off everyone suggested in this thread, than in my million dollar 4 wd drive around oz and surf every board at its local break with variations between prior ones...
upon arriving back home I would see which ones had made the full trip in best condition than weigh up which ones rode better...
With all this learned information I would than be more indesicive than ever and repeat the process until either I ran out of money, my car broke down, and the shapers got sick of my repeat orders..
It is solely for this reason that I will never achieve "financial freedom"
Love my Tolhurst, only longboard I need at the moment. Great high performance board, although mines a tuflight which Billy has said in the past is his favourite coz he can't do the rails the same in other builds. Nice n knifey : )
Keen to give Sunova's a go too, been watching for awhile only seen good deals on glassed on fin boards so far which is a good sign people tend to hang onto them for eon's haha & I don't buy new...
I've ridden a few Mc'tavish's they're ok.....but prefer SDR's for their sexy bottom HP contours (concaves) & rails.
Ridden a couple of Boyd Purdy longboards, one was one of the best longboards I've ever ridden...have a 6'6 BP indo stepup, its an absolute keeper : )
At the end of the day I just want something with a nice mix of durability & performance. Doesn't need to be a tank, but I want to be able to figure 8 without too much swing weight on turns but also not be too light in bigger waves with a strong offshore like Yallingup.
So you want a tough board with decent weight that paddles into solid waves and is superb through turns?
Let me know when you find it....
theres a bunch of second handles in Yahoo at the moment that may fit the bill.
Select to expand quoteMickPC said..Razzonater said..
Bert is a master craftsman
when I bought the tolhurst it was a close call between the two.....
various opinions ons aside I have been told by very very respected longboarders that
tolhurst is likely the lightest and most hp ( which is why I selected it sorry to the purists)
sunova is a really close second however is far more durable
in saying that there is a looot to be said for mctavish who makes what many call the pinnacle of longboards,,, if I lived over east it would be blasphemy not to own and ride one regularly..
I also have a Boyd Perty from yallingup surf co which is a pretty special weapon,,, apparently bob monkman had a bit of input into design shape it's a special special board but 9,4 and is more a nose rider which I suck at but will keep practicing until they remove my legs...
I really really liked the old mctavish fireball the one from early 90,s mate had one I was permitted to ride on smaller days I loved everything about it.
Its a hard question to get a response on from longboarders , generally the local guy making boards for the local waves makes the best board in that hood...
If I surfed the east coast points every week it would probably be on a mctavish
surfing down south west oz is normally the tolhurst and sometimes me Boyd.....
Im sure guys in southern nsw will argue the point as there is a couple of quality quality local guys through that region.
If I was a wealthy man I would order a 9,1 and a 9,4 off everyone suggested in this thread, than in my million dollar 4 wd drive around oz and surf every board at its local break with variations between prior ones...
upon arriving back home I would see which ones had made the full trip in best condition than weigh up which ones rode better...
With all this learned information I would than be more indesicive than ever and repeat the process until either I ran out of money, my car broke down, and the shapers got sick of my repeat orders..
It is solely for this reason that I will never achieve "financial freedom"
Love my Tolhurst, only longboard I need at the moment. Great high performance board, although mines a tuflight which Billy has said in the past is his favourite coz he can't do the rails the same in other builds. Nice n knifey : )
Keen to give Sunova's a go too, been watching for awhile only seen good deals on glassed on fin boards so far which is a good sign people tend to hang onto them for eon's haha & I don't buy new...
I've ridden a few Mc'tavish's they're ok.....but prefer SDR's for their sexy bottom HP contours (concaves) & rails.
Ridden a couple of Boyd Purdy longboards, one was one of the best longboards I've ever ridden...have a 6'6 BP indo stepup, its an absolute keeper : )
At the end of the day I just want something with a nice mix of durability & performance. Doesn't need to be a tank, but I want to be able to figure 8 without too much swing weight on turns but also not be too light in bigger waves with a strong offshore like Yallingup.
Surprised Tolhurst said he cant do the rails the same in this day and age?
How big a wave are you ridding in Indo?
Have you ever had SDR make you a custom longboard,this could be the gem your seeking he knows your waves like the back of his hand.
Sorry boys that was poorly written. Final paragraph should of contained my opening statement regarding longboards. It describes what I have found with the Tolly & why I like it so much
Only on the lookout for HP shortboards about 30L - 32L atm Something to slip in between a 6'0 Hypto & a 6'4 DHD Ducks Nutz
Drip I've eyed off a couple of Zac Ogram's selling locally lately. Good chance a Z shape will be my next board.
Mac not sure how old the interview I read was, but I read that somewhere 2 years ago when I was considering purchasing the Tolhurst Tuflight & googling it.
Select to expand quoteMickPC said..
Sorry boys that was poorly written. Final paragraph should of contained my opening statement regarding longboards. It describes what I have found with the Tolly & why I like it so much
Only on the lookout for HP shortboards about 30L - 32L atm Something to slip in between a 6'0 Hypto & a 6'4 DHD Ducks Nutz
Drip I've eyed off a couple of Zac Ogram's selling locally lately. Good chance a Z shape will be my next board.
Mac not sure how old the interview I read was, but I read that somewhere 2 years ago when I was considering purchasing the Tolhurst Tuflight & googling it.
Sweet be worth revisiting mate it's 2019
Select to expand quoteMickPC said..
Sorry boys that was poorly written. Final paragraph should of contained my opening statement regarding longboards. It describes what I have found with the Tolly & why I like it so much
Only on the lookout for HP shortboards about 30L - 32L atm Something to slip in between a 6'0 Hypto & a 6'4 DHD Ducks Nutz
Drip I've eyed off a couple of Zac Ogram's selling locally lately. Good chance a Z shape will be my next board.
Mac not sure how old the interview I read was, but I read that somewhere 2 years ago when I was considering purchasing the Tolhurst Tuflight & googling it.
I got 7'2" Linchpin off him last year for 6'+ up north barrels. Awesome board. He glasses his own boards too and the finish is superb. I'm looking at a Denzel next.
Saw a 8' Linchpin get surfed in the 3.5m contest a month ago. Yewwww! Zac's boards are sick.
