Kelly Slater Is Jumping on the Midlength Train

Midlength surfboards are seriously having a moment right now. It appears that people have realized that not everyone is cut out for a performance thruster when surfing mediocre everyday waves, and coming to grips with the fact that, in the end, surfing is all about fun. Kelly Slater, a man who likely caused a whole lot of surfers to ride boards wholly unsuited to them, has hopped on the train and designed a midlength.

I am not ashamed to admit that I love midlengths. I love longboarding, too. When the waves permit, I’ll certainly ride a standard thruster, but I find that I just have a whole lot more fun when I’ve got a bit more foam under my feet. I don’t enjoy struggling in weak waves on a pencil thin, heavily rockered sled built for an Indonesian reef break if I’m surfing a sloppy, weak beachbreak. Midlengths make those conditions a million times more fun.

Slater’s newest offering to the quiver-hungry masses is touted as a “performance mid-length.” It’s modeled after his recent design, the S Boss.

“The Boss Up is the bigger brother of the S Boss,” the description reads. “This utility midlength is the most well-rounded and versatile shape in the Slater Designs range, designed by Dan Mann. The shape was designed to work well in both weak waves as well as heavier conditions – it can cruise across flat wave faces while also shoot through cavernous overhead tubes.”

Although I certainly don’t believe in the concept of a one-board quiver, I do believe that almost any surfboard with a bit more fat on it can be more fun in a variety of conditions than a tiny little thing designed solely for performance surfing. As board technology progresses, shapers are figuring out how to balance performance and ease of use, and that looks to be what the Boss Up is going for.

“Our crew has really been enjoying this midlength when keeping it mellow and cruising is top-of-mind (or the need to be more mobile to battle crowds),” Firewire wrote. “That said, Dan Mann’s also been putting it in punchier surf with an open face – as it’s perfect for carving. Michel Bourez has ridden well-overhead barrels at home in Tahiti, and loved it equally in those conditions.”

The Boss Up has a relatively long rail line and a pretty neutral template, and for the everyday surfer where a liter or two of volume either way might not be too noticeable, surfboards like the Boss Up offer a wide range of sizes. Dan Mann, for example, has been surfing the 6’8″ and the 7’0″ versions, while Kelly, Shane Dorian and Kevin Schulz have stayed on the 6’8″. Michel Bourez prefers a 6’10”, and it’s interesting to see surfers who generally have very particular dimensions depending on the waves getting on a midlength.

“This is for who ever wants to just cruise, catch waves, and have fun,” Slater said. “Usually when it’s just a bit mushier wave… This is fast becoming the go-to board for small days when you have to work too hard on a small board. This is something that allows you to just kind of cruise and have fun.”

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