Some surfboards are made for great surfers, some surfboards are for people that can not admit to themselves they are not the best surfers out there and some surfboards are for those that can admit that and want to catch a lot of waves. Webber Fatburner Surfboard is definitely one of them.
Fatburner has the width and template of a modern fish, its thick and has minimum rocker. Add all this and you have a surfboard that will catch a wave even before you start paddling. Fatburner is super buoyant wave catching machine but it is still maneuverable for its size.
Some Fatburner Shaping Details
Webber Fatburner is a chunky version Webber Afterburner . It has less rocker, it has extra thickness and width. That means more volume. A single-to-double-concave bottom counteracts the extra thickness and provides better tracking on the face of the wave, so it also works in wider range of waves than you would expect from a fish. It is still a small wave surfboard, but you can easily use it in bigger waves. If you are a bigger surfer this is your all-round surfboard!
Webber Fatburner surfboard is shaped using Webbers new SLX technology (super lightweight epoxy) – high density EPS core with strong and lightweight Epoxy glass job.
This is a board for beginners who are tempted into buying a china board at a low price. These boards have poor rockers and glass jobs. They market these boards for beginners because they are not board savy and are the only ones who would buy them. They will be good if you plan to surf a few times and quit surfing. They add a lot of thickness to make up for their poor design. For those interested in progressing and surfing for awhile, find a local shaper and buy a board from them. You’ll be surprised that a board is not that much more expensive, especially if you’re not buying it off the rack in a shop which adds more to the cost of the board.
@kmak: sure, support your local shaper, I’m all for it. But that does not mean this board sucks. Poor design? Why would webber mass produce a poor design stick? btw..you would not believe all the crap people start surfing on anyway… :D and they don’t quit.
Like all the labor intensive industries, either you move your factory to china or you disappear. Sad but true.
@kmak: are you kidding me? This is a beginning board? I’ve been surfing for three years, jumping from eps to epoxy shortboards and now i have this board in 6’0″. This board can be for beginners and advanced riders. I drop into 6′ waves at Black’s in san diego all the time with this board and its fast as a bullet. It’s an awesome board for all types of surfers. Take that stick out of your ass and go surfing.
You can get a local surfboard for about $500.00, and
you will pay for this board for $325.00. it’s a bit different, but you are helping out a local shaper, and
should be proud of it.
This Webber Fatburner is not bad, because I did ride it
and have fun. I got pay to ride new boards and give honest
and straight up answer.
STAY COOL AND PEACE ON EARTH.
Aaron Vu
i just started surfing and i can always get up on funboards, would this board be right for me?
I rode a demo 6’10” Fatburner in 2-3 ft. waves (Hawaiian scale) at three of the better reef breaks in Waikiki. The board was absolutely amazing! I did maneuvers that I haven’t done since surfing in my twenties. It was so easy to paddle, so easy to catch waves, and for it’s size, it was loose, responsive and felt like a much shorter board. The rails were perfectly shaped and the board felt really good when carrying it under my arm. A couple of surfers that I walked pass on the way to the surf were stoked to see a Fatburner. True to Greg’s comment in his Fatburner video, the board “has a really broad sweet spot”–very helpful to me as a front-foot surfer, yet, I found that it was easy and quite natural to be riding more off the tail/fins. The single-to-deep double-concaves, along with the vee in the tail, provided instant speed and drive right from take-off and all through the rest of the wave ride. Making it through flat spots to connect to the next wave section was nearly effortless. I caught so many waves in that surf session that by the end of 4 hours of surfing, I was totally exhausted. This really is a “magic” short board for older/bigger surfers (I’m 51 years old, 5’9″ tall and weigh 200 lbs.). So, for older/bigger surfers looking for a short board to recapture the joy and enthusiasm in surfing that was left behind with your youth, go get the Fatburner. It won’t let you down! Greg once wrote, “The more you have to nurse a board the less instinctively you surf. You surf the board and not the wave, and to me that’s just wasting joy.” This was true for me for the past 4 years of getting back into paddle/surf shape, after 6 years of hiatus from surfing. The Fatburner changed that for me. The joy is back and the instinctive surfer in me has returned. There is a saying, “You can never go back home.” Well, with the Fatburner, you can…and I did! Keep surfing!
Picked-up the 2009 6’6″ Fatburner SLX with the 5-fin system yesterday and surfed it on 1′-3′ slightly blown-out conditions and the board was even better than the 6’10” that I demoed (see my 08/28/09 comment above)! The 6’6″ was the perfect size and dimensions that I needed as a magic board. Surfed it as thruster and I couldn’t believe the buckets I was throwing in my round-house cutbacks. In all the critical parts of the wave, the board had unbelievable grip and it was if the board was asking me to do more. This board was such a confidence-booster and it took me to the next level of surfing that I have been trying to achieve for so long. I couldn’t keep myself from smiling after every wave ride. Looking forward to riding it in primo surf. Aloha, and keep surfing!
It’s me, MKB, again. Got to surf the 6’6″ Fatburner in solid and clean 1’-3′ reef-break rights. Man, the board was so fast that I had to consciously slow down to keep from out-running the waves (especially when setting-up to get shacked), and yes, as before, buckets were flyin’ off my roundhouse cutbacks. It was really interesting how the board felt in good surf, as opposed to my previous session in slightly blow-out conditions. The board was really loose, yet very controllable, and I could really bury the rails to crank hard off the bottom turns. I still need a few sessions to get comfortable with the board, before attempting to push it to vertical and beyond. For now, it’s cool with me to just play around with those lip smacks and small floaters. Duck-diving was no problem and one thing’s for sure – the glassing is really strong! I already dropped it on one rail when it slipped as I was removing it from my board bag. It fell from about two feet and lo’ and behold, not a single scratch, ding or shatter! Try that with a regular PU board and you’ll definitely shed a tear or two. Looking forward to surfing it in glassy, roping 3’+ surf…YEE-HAH! Aloha, and keep surfing!
R u serious. I’m 13 and I just got the fatburner I’m 5″4 130 pounds and the fatburner is the best board I’ve ever ridden.ha everyone says that all uv the old guys should try It and it would be perfect for them!wow 8)
This is Nate again I ment to say that the fatburner is not just for old guys and amatuers it’s also for smaller people and pro’s:P
I just got this board today it’s so sick!!!!:)
Hi,
I’ve had my 6’6 Fatburner for about 3 years, coming down from a 7’6 fun board…… I’m 5’11 and about 89kg and early 40’s……
I’ve had many fun days on my Fatburner, its great throughout summers mushy waves into winter off shore…. I have multiple boards and I use this 80% of the time, out of my quiver she is the “old faithful”
I ride it from 2 to 10 foot faces, if the waves crumble at take off its fantastic, then take yourself into the hollow sections, however if its a hollow takeoff its a little sketchy, it tends to slide out on the drop (FCS 5 fins).
Once moving I find it turns well, Its easy to paddle, duck dive, catch waves, turn, little barrels, floaters, cutbacks, re-entries, yet forgiving enough to get through the fat sections and carry on through onto the reform and do it all again :-) …. I’ve found this a very confidence inspiring board.
I think the construction is very good, mine has had an absolute beating! I surf 2 to 3 times a week all year round, I’ve had heavy old school Mals fin chop it, but im the major culprit, I’ve slammed it with my elbows, knees, crouch (that hurt the most). I’m hard on shoes and i’m hard on boards, the repairs she’s had have been from very heavy impacts if I hit a car that hard, it would have to go to the shop, with whats its been through it should have snapped by now, but it doesn’t even have a stress fracture ….. My board has stood the test of time….
When I bought it, I wanted something that was durable, I could turn, while still easy to catch waves this has lived up to what I was after….
Pat… ;D
I picked up my 6.3 fat burner 5 fin set up two years ago and to cut a long story short it rips in everything from mushy slop to reeling head high shore break. I have to agree with MKB the quad set-up is insane for this board and i’ve been riding it as a quad since day one. It’s the perfect all-around board for the married-with-children land-locked types who only get a week of surf in a year. I’ve just come back from a week in morocco surfing consistent 2 meter beach and reef break like it was my trusty thruster. I would give this board five stars but it’s on the fragile side, so I’ll give it four and a half stars. ;)
Kmak is dick. Don’t believe what he says as he has obviously never even riden or even picked one up. I’ve been surfing for 20 yrs and this board is well up there with best. I’m now on my fourth one.
BenV I’m with you. I’ve had a 6’5” FB 7 years now during which time other boards have lived and died. Keep thinking I should ‘update it’ but I just can’t let it go. Happened on some surprise swell recently and had the FB in the car… Got some of the waves of my life at a very busy city beachie… Some of you will know the feeling – wind rush, hiss, power turns on hard vertical face, more speed than you can use! Can’t say many boards have given me that. 47, 80kg.