It was one of the very few times of my life when I have walked into Storm Surf Shop with a wad of cash to buy a surfboard. It’s a great feeling let me tell you. I have always stuck to the traditional 3 fin thrusters in my surfing life but I have also tried riding old school fishes and single fin's to keep the body guessing.

When I laid my eyes on the Stretch/Christian Fletcher I knew it was the one. I needed something refreshing in my life. It has rails with a channel up both sides (for grip), a bat-winged tail and 4 fins. It being a 6'1 I had my worries. I am 6'3 and almost 200 pounds heavy. The staff insured me that because it was made from epoxy it would have more cork to it. I laid down the cash, it was the most money I have spent on a board.

When I brought it back to Japan I started riding it. I was totally out of shape. On top of that I hurt both wrists skateboarding making each take off very painful. Two months down the road my wrists healed and I was jogging each day and doing push-ups. I got back on the board. The board is very refreshing to use, it's very loose compared to your average short board thruster. It will slide on your take off if you drop in too much on an angle with force on the fins, and if you snap a turn in the pocket with too much leg force on your tail it's going to slide.

Once I realized what the Stretch/Christian Fletcher does, it has become the most exciting surfboard I have ever used. The looseness is awesome for waves head high and under. It allows you to do snapping turns with a little tail slide on almost every wave. It works just like a normal surfboard but each turn feels like turning on the wave with a little butter smeared on top of the wave as well.

The dimensions of the stretch are 6'1 X 19.125 X 2.5. I am no expert on shaping although I notice there isn’t a lot of rocker on this board. There is a fair amount of foam and the rails aren’t sharp, adding to its looseness. If there could be one thing I wish for, it would be trying a 6'3 version of this board but unfortunately the next size up is a 6'5. Epoxy boards are great because they are stronger. If I was to scrape the wax off you wouldn’t see one foot or knee indent. The only ding on it was from the airplane ride from Air Canada, Assholes!

Dave Higgins, grinder

Stretch Boards