The Kelly Slater Effect! May 19, 2011 – Tags:

Otherwise known as, how the fuck do we beat him! The Kelly Slater effect, is i believe, in full swing at Bells this year!
Just watching the live cast on fuel TV over Easter and couldn’t help but notice the boards alot of the CT have been riding. Now perhaps i’m behind the 8 ball or completely off the mark, but since Slater has been riding those squashed boards with a bigger plane surface, i would say that in a ploy to try and stay in touch with the master, the rest of the crew has followed suit and quite frankly i beleive to no avail!
I noticed yesterday that guys, normally flawless on there forehand were bogging through turns all over the wave and not really looking comfortable for someone of there skill level at all! Then i noticed there boards, just like what Kelly rides or with there own variation!
Now my advice when selling boards generally remains the same, depending on skill level, foam is your friend, I also tend to shy away from recommending high performance boards unless guys are adamant that is what goes best for them. In this instance though i do believe that performance boards are what look best through a turn, sharp lines, critical turns, and enough length to complete the turn solidly, when someone is at the top of there game, turns look best on a standard performance board with enough length and refined outlines something around the 18 1/2 x 2 1/4 vicinity [length varies to suit the performance surfer obviously].
Now call me crazy but i don’t even think Kelly surfs his absolute best on these boards either, i think its experimental and maybe the king is a little bored. If it was me hunting the scalp of the king, I would be trying to go with what i know works for me and improving, not following suit into new unchartered territory in waves over two foot? I could be very wrong, something to ponder nonetheless!