The Depth Test The Camel Toe by Cory Surfboards
In: The Depth Test 34 Comments Tue 21st Feb '12
Tags: cory russell , cory surfboards , camel toe , surfboard design
"Just surf it like a normal board. Don't think about the design." So said the designer of the Camel Toe, Cory Russell, before I took his new creation for a ride. And if 'ignoring the design' sounds simple in theory it's a hell of a lot harder when you lay your eyes on the critter.
From a front end that resembles a standard full-volumed fish, the Camel Toe takes a sudden unexpected turn around the midpoint. It's there that the rail outline bends toward the stringer and then back out again creating an inverted rail curve. This is the predominant feature of the Camel Toe although there's many other surprises lurking in its curves. I tried to take Cory's advice and put them all of them out of mind when I took it for a surf.
Although the model I rode was only 5'8" long most of the volume is in the front end so paddling and catching waves isn't particularly difficult. In fact it was easier than my standard 6'0" shorty. Because of the front loaded volume, which is mixed with a low rocker, the board generates a lot of front foot speed. Not surprisingly the deepest concave is found under the front foot. The board, therefore, gets a lot of lift and performs very fast horizontally.
The kicker comes when turning off the bottom. Unlike many fish-type shapes, which want to stay on a horizontal plain, the Camel Toe has a fierce inclination to go vertical when back foot pressure is applied. Exaggerated tail lift in the final twelve inches of the board is one of the curves I mentioned earlier and it allows the board to change from the X to Y axis in a flash.
The overwhelming feeling is a board of two halves - low rockered and full-volume at the front for down the line speed, while the tail is drawn, concaved and lifted so it's loose and twitchy in the pocket. In that regard it's like a 'cut and shut' auto job - front and back halves welded together. The trick is to transition from front to back foot at the right time to get maximum effect out of each half.
But what about the inverted rail? After I'd ridden it a few times I asked Cory and he explained it as a way to "reduce the width and water that can be trapped between the riders feet." Isolating single design attributes is difficult but the unusual rail curve appears to serve its intended purpose. Once the Camel Toe is in the pocket it's an amazingly slippery little sucker – lightning fast and loose as you like. But it's also around this aspect that some of its shortcomings become apparent. The shorter turning arc doesn't allow for long, driving or extended turns. Granted they're not the type of turns you'd be doing in the waves the Toe is suited for, but it's worth noting even if only to understand how the board rides.
While testing I swapped fins from FCS M5's to a larger base G-AM to add more drive. The change was immediately noticeable. A fin template featuring more area would ramp it up another notch. Reducing the tail lift - something Cory said may happen in future models - would also add more drive, though it would stiffen the ride. A happy (happier?) medium may yet be found.
As it stands the Camel Toe responds well to short, stomping snaps and backfoot jams. Turns that pivot and throw the tail rather than turns that follow an arc. The trick, as mentioned earlier, is to transition the board from front to back foot while tight in the pocket. The pronounced tail lift also gives the board a lot of 'pop' off the lip or foam, something that younger surfers could take advantage of more than older surfers looking for glide. This is a hi-performance board after all.
It's hard to imagine that the Camel Toe will ever become a popular design without a celebrity push or endorsement. It's too unconventional looking, ugly even. But that's the way it had to be according to Cory. While formulating the design in his head he shunned all aesthetics and focussed only on function and performance. If the end product turned out to be an ugly duckling then the thing had better fly. Fortunately for Cory the Camel Toe does just that.
PS: Here's a short vid of one of the first sessions on a Camel Toe down in Jan Juc.
PPS: The fella with the red-tailed Camel Toe in the photos above is Cahill Bell-Warren.
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