The THING v2 round pin with Darshan Gooch from Stretch Boards on Vimeo.

 

Height/weight:

6’4″ 185 lbs

Thing v2 round pin 6’2″ x 19.25″ x 2.375″ vol. 31.4L

Construction type:

CFT std with uni-directional carbon tail strips and duplicate CFT std glassing substituted with Varial foam for testing performance differences between foam types.

Fins used:

Futures AM2 thruster set:

fronts: 4.73” deep by 4.64” base – flat foil

center: 4.49” deep x 4.63” base – symmetrical foil

Fins Unlimited custom Stretch Generation 2 quad set:

Fronts: 4.75” deep by 4.625” base – custom stretch inside foil

Quad rears: 4.25” deep by 4.25” base – symmetrical foil

Conditions tested:

I’ve taken this board through a wide assortment of waves and conditions from average 3-5 ft beachbreaks, to pumping sand / cobblestone points, and even hollow barreling waves.

What wave types do you imagine surfing when viewing this design? (full spectrum and size range):

One of the great strengths about this board is how it can handle the large variety of the wave types and conditions.  I would ride the THINGv2 in an assortment of 4-6ft waves as a tri fin. When the surf gets into the excellent range or you may be considering a step up for additional down the line speed, riding the THINGv2 will give you the extra boost of confidence you may be looking for.

Ride experience:

Considering that these boards showed up right as we were trending into an active El Niño season, there was no shortage of days to get well acquainted with these two boards. Initially, I had these boards set up as tri fins. As soon as I jumped onto these boards there was a sense of comfort, flow, and control. Considering there wasn’t much of an adaptation process, I immediately felt that the THING would be my trusty new companion for the season ahead.

In good to excellent waves I found the quad fin setup to be the icing on the cake. It was like having another gear that allowed me to unlock some previously unseen potentials in a board that I was already very happy with.

Likes/Dislikes:

All likes here. The only dislikes worth listing would be trying to ride the THINGv2 as a quad in mediocre surf after having great success in good waves as a quad. I’m very curious to ride the 2X4 now and compare the differences and concaves in these two models.

Summary (synopsis, recommendations or overall feeling you would tell a friend):

The THING is your best bet for getting the most “bang for your buck!” and the most versatile shortboard that will allow you adaptability in a range of average to an excellent waves.

 

Thing v2 explained from Stretch Boards on Vimeo.

The Thing v2 can be custom ordered to excel in small wave conditions, used as a step up board, tuned for aggressive performance surfing or ordered with our stock configuration for all around daily driver duties.

 

Check out the Thing models in stock on our webstore or contact info@stretchboards.com to get dialed in on a new custom!