White Tiger 5'11" 37.5 L by Pyzel

The original White Tiger started as a side project for John John Florence, who rarely rides "fun" boards. It sat in his garage for perhaps a year, while I shaped a few for his younger brother, Ivan. It was the perfect design for Ivan’s surf-skate style; he soon told us how much he loved it and sent clips of himself pulling off big turns and airs on it. Eventually, JJF took out his 5'6" and immediately had a blast on it, too. It is now one of John’s favorite boards to ride whenever he has a break from the tour and just wants to play around with something different.

It features a clean yet stubby outline, with a very full nose and a wide squash tail. There is no hip, and the widest point is 1½" forward of center. The tail measurement is just slightly wider than the nose. Thickness is also concentrated forward, with a beak-nose design that helps keep volume under the chest area for better paddling power.

It has a relatively flat deck that blends into tapered rails. This retains plenty of volume in the board while keeping it responsive in turns and easy to pump down the line, without feeling too heavy for its size. We recommend riding the White Tiger 2 to 5 inches shorter than your standard shortboard—depending on your skill level—and ½ to 1 inch wider, adding a bit more volume than you usually ride. (JJF and Ivan both ride 5'6" White Tigers, whereas their standard boards are 6'0".)