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 just wanted something that paddled easy, catches waves and surfed without too much effort”, so the Mid Strength was created. Essentially, this is a performance mid-length that should be a consideration for anyone who can competently stand and navigate along a wave.

OUTLINE: Outline has a full-ish nose to help with paddling. This flows down to an accentuated curve between your feet and into the back third of the board where the business gets done. The soft round tail intentionally creates a very forgiving and smooth turning arc for a longer board.

ROCKER: Turning and holding a rail on a bigger board must feel effortless, so Chilli combined a lower entry with a medium exit rocker out the tail. The aim here was to create a fast paddler that would pick up waves with minimal effort and still feel reactive on the turns.

CONTOURS: Slight single concave for speed up the front blending to a deep single/double concave through the side fins to loosen it up under the rear foot. An effortless combination in this mid-length model that’s sensibly related to a mid strength beer; all the fun with half the effort!

PERFORMANCE: Getting a little older, maybe not as fit, or your surf time has simply decreased? Sometimes you just need the board to do the work for you. The Mid Strength is made to paddle and catch waves easy in the top end, and once up and riding; trim, pivot and turn super easy with a little bit of release when needed. The curvy outline and rocker combo helps the board not feel long and straight like most mid-lengths, so it actually surfs like a much shorter board. Ride it, and guaranteed you’ll be converted.

Fin Recommendations: Thruster – FCS II Accelerator, Quad – FCS II Accelerator Sides + Performer Quad Rears. These all-round templates with a little extra area work perfectly for the bigger crew on this board.