From the mind of iconic shaper, Chris Christenson, this is the Christenson Surfboards Fish surfboard review. Christenson reckons this is the most versatile design of all his craft.
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The iconic Christenson Surfboards Fish. Chris Christenson is one of the few surfboard shapers in the world capable of mastering all manner of craft from alternative, stubby fishes to 12-foot gun surfboards. If you haven’t ridden a surfboard by Chris Christenson, you’re missing out.
This twin keel fish model is exceptional. It defies the physics of a traditional fish surfboard but somehow maintains all of the fun.
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” If you were stranded on an island for the next 10 years and were only allowed one board this would be my recommendation.” – Chris Christenson
I hope you missed us and hope you dig this Christenson Surfboards Fish Review!
All the best,
Benny
Have a question? Wondering if the Christenson Surfboards Fish is the right board for you? Let’s talk about it in the comments…
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Pluses
+ A super versatile and refined twin keel fish twin fin surfboard that you’ll love to surf all the time in just about every condition
+ Great for novice through experienced surfers who want a capable all rounder that is a blast to ride
+ Surprisingly capable in bigger (overhead), better conditions but can be surfed down to about stomach high
Minuses
– Christenson keeps his rails low and sharp rails so they are really bitey and sensitive. I’ve heard that this takes some getting used to for some surfers
Benny Rides
I ride the Christenson Surfboards Fish at 6’0″ x 21 1/2 x 2 3/4. Christenson doesn’t write volume down intentionally because I think he doesn’t want to get into that trap of somebody thinking that they have too little or too much volume in a board. The volume is just about perfect. It was more than enough to float me. I estimate the volume to be in the 39-42L range.
Standard Christenson Surfboards Fish dimensions and volumes may be found at the bottom of this page.
Best Wave Type
Unlike a lot of twin fin keel fish surfboards that you see that are best suited to smaller or more cruisy waves, this Christenson Fish easily handles better, hollower and steeper waves. It has no problem in smaller, mushier conditions but it really lights up when the waves are a little bit better.
Features
- At first glance, this looks like a simple twin fin but this is a specialised board that is super refined – you can just tell by looking at it closely AND riding it that it has been tried and tested and evolved over a long period of time
- Wider fish outline with wide point forward
- Really sharp, low, sensitive rails – this is not a mushy wave board like many other twin keel fish designs
- Twin pin tail with a hugely deep concave cutting it through the middle – this, I think, is the key to making this board so versatile despite it’s wide fish outline and twin fin setup
Compare To
- Gary McNeill Concepts Rasta Torus Twin Surfboard Review: in our opinion, the undisputed king of modern twin fins!
- Eye Symmetry Elmore Surfboard Review: an old school twin fin design modernised for the new school
- Channel Islands MTF Twin Fin Surfboard Review: purpose built to be fast and loose, with a very tight swallow tail and heaps of hidden forward volume. Great for more mushy, average surf
Video Summary
Hey, we’re back! My name is Ben and this is Benny’s Boardroom. This is the Christenson Surfboards Fish. Christenson’s reckons this is the most versatile of all of his surfboard designs.
In fact, I think he said something to the effect that if you went on an island for 10 years and you’re stranded and you had one board that you were going to surf all the time in every condition, this would be the board.
I looked at it and I love the look of the board. I love the look of a nice twin keel Fish surfboard, but I looked at it and I was like how could this thing be so versatile?
At first glance, the Christenson Surfboards Fish simply looks like a twin fin fish surfboard that you would surf in smaller, mushier waves. This is actually a super refined surfboard which excels in a variety of conditions.
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The Board
I think this has been developed and refined over about 10 years and there are some very subtle tweaks to this board that does make it a lot more versatile than the outline and the plan shape, I guess, otherwise suggests.
The Christenson Fish has the wider Fish outline and it has a wide point forward, so that looks fairly standard to a Fish but the magic, I guess, on this board – the thing that makes it much more versatile than you might expect it to be are a few things:
1.) Christenson always keeps this really kind of low, sharp rails so the rails are really kind of bitey and sensitive.
I’ve heard feedback that they take a little bit of time to get used to. I had another Christenson a long time ago and I did actually take a little bit of time to get used to that board, but not this one. I didn’t actually mind the nice low rails. Again, they make the board a lot more bitey and manoeuvrable than it otherwise might be.
2.) I think the real magic of the board comes back to the tail end here and what Chris Christenson has done with this, what he calls his ‘twin pin tail’.
Through this tail, there’s a massive concave, I don’t know if you can see that there, but there’s a big concave that runs through the middle of the board here and it cuts right through to the tail end of the board here.
Experience in the Surf
I think that concave channels the water right through these big keel fins that he’s shaped for this board and out to these little twin pins.
Again, the tail is not so much like a Fish surfboard but rather you have these two pivot points that you can push off of. It’s a really interesting feel in the water and pulls this wider outline back to this refined, thin, sensitive tail. This gives the Christenson Fish Surfboard a great deal of hold.
When you ride twin fin surfboards often, you’ll find they’re great, they’re super fun. They’re fast, they have great flow down the line but often times when you push them too hard they spin out or are otherwise limited in terms of performance.
This board is not that way. I’ve never been able to break it out of a turn. It always holds and it always feels great through turns.
Then, you still have a lot of benefits of the traditional fish design. You’ve got a wider point at the front and you’ve got a lot of foam that is carried through the middle of the board here, which makes it a great paddler. Then pulling back into this twin pin tail with this really deep concave, that combination, I think, is what gives this Christenson Fish twin keel surfboard such a versatile ride. I feel it is much more versatile than most twin fin surfboards that you’ll ride or any twin fin that I’ve ever ridden.
My Christenson Surfboards Fish is 6’0″ x 21 1/2 x 2 3/4, which is a little bit different than the standard 6’0″ (I think). Christenson doesn’t write volume down intentionally because I think he doesn’t want to get into that trap of somebody thinking that they have too little or too much volume on a board.
The volume of this Christenson Surfboards Fish is just about perfect. It was more than enough to float me.
I’ve ridden it in suckier, trickier conditions, I’ve ridden it in smaller, flatter face conditions. I will say, unlike a lot of twin fin Fishes that you see that are maybe intended just to be surfed in smaller, more cruisey waves, this really can handle a better wave.
Christenson Surfboards Fish Summary
The Christenson Surfboards twin keel fish surfboard handles the smaller, mushier waves just fine, but it really lights up when the waves are a little bit better.
This Christenson Surfboards Fish is an absolute pleasure to ride and I think if you’re looking for a great all-rounder to add to your quiver, something that can handle just about anything or if you get stuck on an island for 10 years and you only have one board to ride, try this Christenson Surfboards Fish. It’s an absolute pleasure to ride.
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Stock Standard Dimensions & Volume
Standard Christenson Surfboards Fish Dimensions & Volumes available at the Christenson Surfboards website:
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