The most surprising ride in the Haydenshapes range, this is a different surfboard design with a cult following. The Haydenshapes Psychedelic Germ’s unique design aspects – notably the exaggerated displacement hull under the nose and side cuts through the back half of the board – produce a ride that is unlike any other board.
Smooth, responsive and forgiving, the HS Psychedelic Germ holds tight and turns on a dime in bigger, better waves but the displacement hull also helps you to cut through mushier, more average conditions.
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Pluses
+ The boat hull esque ridge under the nose slices through the water on bigger, better waves and also helps you to connect to the wave face in choppy, mushier conditions
+ Pronounced side cuts from the center point back along the rail through to a more narrow tail makes the board feel full of life – maneuverable and easy to turn
+ Width up front and more foam under the chest helps you get into waves and generate speed
+ Cool design for an innovative, progressive surfer who wants a different ride
Minuses
– I rode a demo in blown up dims. Even the largest of the standard dims are way too small for me (and many other surfers)
Benny Rides
The Haydenshapes Psychedelic Germ surfboard at 6’2 x 20 x 2 3/4 @ ~35L’s of volume (unknown – demo). I used the FCS 2 ‘Carvers’ thruster fins in this board and they really made it feel alive. Standard Haydenshapes Psychedelic Germ dimensions and volume at the bottom of this page.
Best Wave Type
Stomach/chest to well overhead. Handles bigger, better waves but can also handle mushy, choppy conditions
Features
- Displacement hull softens the flow of water, assists in taking off late and helps land critical maneuvers through choppy water
- Snowboard inspired side cuts – draws a tighter arc on the wave face during turns and transitions to the inside rail which pulls you back into the pocket with ease
- Slight to medium entry rocker, flatter through the center with a slight exit rocker
- Bottom contour – displacement hull on the ridge along the entry to a single concave with a medium contour in the center towards a double concave and slight vee double at the tail
- 3, 4, 5 fin set up, medium rails for 1-4 ft waves
Compare To
- Stacey Surfboards Roach Review: similar boat hull under nose and connected ride, love this board!
- Gary McNeill Surfboards Entity Review: a very different outline but equally precise and exciting ride
- JS Surfboards Black Box 2 Review: coming soon…
Haydenshapes Psychedelic Germ – FutureFlex Bottom
Haydenshapes Psychedelic Germ – FutureFlex Deck
Video Summary
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This is the Haydenshapes Psychedelic Germ. Now, when this board came out, I looked at it and I thought it was really cool. I’m into the small to medium size wave all-rounders like this board that are a little bit shorter and a little bit wider, but still intended to be geared, to be a little bit more performance oriented. But the larger standard size of this board was a bit too small for me so I kind of steered away from it.
Haydenshapes Psychedelic Germ – Deck
Anyways, I was in Haydenshapes (Mona Vale, NSW) the other day dealing with a lovely gentlemen over there named Alex had this larger version, which is larger than the standard 6’2 and suggested that I give it a go. It was a perfect, it was perfect timing because a very good friend of mine, Alan, from California, had also just asked me about this board for his son. I am very glad that Alan asked me about this board and that Alex had this larger version for me to try because this board is really fun and playful and lively. Playful I think is the word that I would use the most.
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Now, there are a couple of design aspects that are unique to this board that kind of separate it, make it different than a lot of the other small to medium size wave all-rounders that you see out on or made by all the major manufacturers. The first is this big pronounced displacement hull in the nose. If you look at that there, there’s a big ridge that runs right under the nose here and that displacement hull serves two different, distinct purposes.
“The displacement hull helps to cut through water when you take off on a bigger, better wave so you drop in and it sits nicely in a steeper, better wave face.”
Very similar, actually, design feature to one of my favorite boards of all time, the Stacey Surfboards Roach [See the review…]. If you want to see the Stacy Roach review I’ll put a link to it right there.
The displacement hull helps you to kind of sit and connect to the wave face when it’s a little bit steeper, worth a takeoff a little bit later, but it also helps to chop through mushy conditions. For a board that’s intended to be surfed in more average conditions, it needs to be able to handle steeper face but it also needs to be able to handle those mushy, more average days. That displacement hull, I think, serves that purpose beautifully and it is a little bit different. It’s a cooler, kind of different design.
Haydenshapes Psychedelic Germ – Bottom
The second aspect about this board that I think is quite interesting is you can see that Hayden has put these pronounced side cuts from the center of the board back along the rail through to the tail. A standard all-rounder outline would kind of come down and often just taper, normally until it hits the back of the tail. Then you might see a wing or even a double wing like you see on the Lost V3 Rocket. There are a couple of wings here that pull the tail in even more, but you can see that there is more pronounced side cut coming from the center of the board that draws back into a more narrow tail.
You’ve got a lot of that width up front and more foam under the chest. This helps you get into waves and generate speed but then this back half, I think, is what gives it that kind of lively, playful feeling. The board comes down like this and then kind of cuts back and that leaves a tail in the back that is very maneuverable and very easy to turn.
Haydenshapes Psychedelic Germ – Rocker, deck
I was making some great turns on this board. My wife actually saw me surfing and she’s like, “I haven’t seen you do turns like that in some time.” So far, really enjoying the HS Psych Germ, it is a little bit different of a design. I think great for that kind of innovative, progressive surfing. I’m not necessarily an innovative, progressive surfer and I really enjoyed it too, so if you just want something that’s going to be really fun and lively and again, playful, is the word I’d use, this Haydenshapes Psychedelic Germ is a great option. Kind of standard, small to medium size wave all-rounder. A little bit of rocker in the nose, flatter through the center here, and then a little bit more kick in the tail.
Haydenshapes Psychedelic Germ – Rocker, bottom
That is my review of the Haydenshapes Psychedelic Germ. Of course, as always, if you’ve had a go, please let me know what you think. We actually have these boards for sale now in the shop if you go to shop.comparesurfboards.com. You can order a custom through the site there.
Hope you’re well and take care.
OUTRO: Hey man, let’s get all trippy and go surf on the Psychedelic germ.
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Stock Standard Dimensions & Volume
Haydenshapes Surfboards Psychedelic Germ Standard Dimensions and Volumes
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