Tag: kona surf company

Board Review – The Lemon Head is Born!

Anyone who’s ever surfed more than once knows that the chase for the perfect wave is never ending. The next part of that statement is once you’ve found the wave, the quest for the perfect surfboard shape is also never ending. That’s why Kona Surf Company is here. Surfers surfing in the surf are three variables constantly changing. Kona is shaping the boards to keep up with the changes. The Lemon Head is a product of an exploration that started as something then became something totally different yet stands alone as it’s own entirely unique surfboard.

We call this the Lemon Head because the wide, round nose creates a large sweet spot. This shape started as a Fish surfboard. Fish boards are traditionally fast and loose in small waves. We thought what do you have to do to give this shape more stability and control? First, we took the Fish and gave it a full, round nose. This definitely made the board more stable but the fish tail was still very loose so we thought what do we have to do to get some more bite out of this tail? Keeping the width of the tail – a big feature of the Fish – we inverted the channel of the split tail and gave it a bat tail! The Lemon Head is born. The wide platform nose is nice and stable and the center point on that bat tail gives you some great hold on the wave. That’s the first part but there’s quite a bit more that went into creating this shape. We are pretty proud of it and we think it’s worthwhile to break it down so you can get excited about it also.

Steve Lis' original Fish surfboard

The Lemon Head is great for smaller breaks. You want to surf this in two to six foot waves. If you don’t want to lug your longboard around yet still want to get out there and have some fun on a small day, this shortboard is a perfect alternative. This is a really cool looking shape. It’s an excellent introduction to shortboards that can be ridden by entry level or intermediate surfers.

The Lemon Head (with Josh for scale)

I mentioned that wide, round nose that provides added stability but it also has a nice amount of kick to it which is going to give you some nice lift on drop ins. The nose rocker is low, not as low as a nose rider but low enough to make paddling really easy. Also, traditional Fish surfboards have a pretty flat entry on the bottom. There’s a honking single concave running under the front of this that is going to push a lot of water fast.

The nose rocker curves quickly into a wide point pushed forward. This again adds stability to the front of the board. It’s great for shifting your weight to your front foot. Additional volume is packed into the dome there under your front foot. That volume tapers off into the rails. With this technique, the 60/40 rails are sensitive all the way through the board. You don’t get that hard edge and it helps dig the rails into the face of the wave and turn smoothly. Meanwhile that heavy concave under the nose transforms into a deep double concave under your feet creating a lot of drive forward.


Dimensions

Length Width Thickness Volume
5ft 6in 20.65in 2.45in 32.31L
5ft 8in 20.84in 2.45in 33.59L
5ft 10in 20.98in 2.50in 35.49L
6ft 21.06in 2.58in 37.86L

That taper on the profile from the center of the board to the tip of the tail is probably the only line left that is close to the Fish. The bat tail keeps additional width on the rear of the board for stability. A little tail rocker, endless options for fins, the center point of that bat tail and a big vee waterflow that is pushing water from the double concave through the fins has got some fangs biting the face of that wave. Based on our research from our surf team, there seems to be two preferred fin set-ups. The combination of the single fin and the bat tail gives you that balance of stability and control. The waterflow blasting out of the double concave through a quad fin set-up also gives you a great balance of stability and control. Single fin is better for smaller surf. Quad fin is better for medium days.

The five finned bat tail.

So there is it, the Lemon Head. You’re going to want this under your feet on weak days where the surf is maybe knee to head high. That low rocker is going to get you into a lot of waves and make it real easy to paddle. The additional width and volume give this board plenty of stability. The waterflow and the fin set up balance that stability with a nice push forward down the line. This board is a lot of fun for all skill levels and we know once you pick this one off the tree, it’ll be your favorite.

Surfrider Foundation Fundraiser Party on January 26th

Kona Surf Company and Mudhen Brewing Company are partnering with the Surfrider Foundation South Jersey and throwing a party at our house! By any means necessary, get to Mudhen Brewing Company on January 26th for live bands, new merch, your good friends here at Kona Board House and our friends from the Surfrider Foundation South Jersey. Doors open at 5pm so call all your friends and help us make this a blowout for the ages. There’s a bunch of things we’re doing to make this an awesome event so here’s all the deets.

First, let me tell you a little bit about The South Jersey Surfrider Foundation. This organization is out there protecting our beaches and oceans in every way imaginable. On the shore and in the court rooms, they are fighting the good fight to preserve our coastlines. The Foundation has many active campaigns and programs to protect our oceans that focus on keeping plastics and pesticides out of our oceans. More information about the South Jersey Chapter of The Surfrider Foundation South Jersey can be found on their website, click here.

As you know, the ocean is the playground for the surfer. To quote straight from the Surfrider Foundation South Jersey Mission Statement, “We have an appetite for adventure and we all share a common passion – we love and appreciate our ocean, waves and beaches.” Kona Surf Company feels exactly the same way and we are stoked to celebrate this passion with a wingding of a shindig. Lucky for you, you don’t have to love our beaches and oceans as much as we do to be a member of the Surfrider Foundation. As a bonus for new members there are a few perks that we have up our sleeve for becoming a member at this event.

Kona Surf Company are currently in the process of cranking out a swanky new shirt design for the party. 50% of the proceeds from the sale of this shirt will benefit the Surfrider Foundation South Jersey because we love them. Plus, somebody told me it would be really cool if everybody at the party was wearing the same shirt so we are going to have that shirt available for pre-order. So here’s what you want to do. Preorder that shirt here. It will be available for you when you walk in the door at the Mudhen party. Once everyone has their shirts on, we’ll take a group photo.


Click here to order your Kona X Surfrider Foundation Shirt

Oh… and music. Right? What’s a party without some tunes? Crowd favorites Old Diamond Faces will be in the house to rock your faces. Old Diamond Faces are three bands (Old School, The Cape May Diamonds and Facedown) all rolled into one! They play the songs you love to sing and they will be bringing a variety of musical genres in the form of electric guitars!

Currently there is also an open call for artists. In honor of beer can appreciation day, you can enter the Mudhen Beer Can Art Contest! Win a chance to have your artwork featured on a limited edition Earth Day crowler to be released in April. The winner of the contest will be announced at this event. More information about the contest is available on the Mudhen website. Click here for the contest page.

So there you have it, folks. Good times, good friends, good tunes and good beer to strengthen our local surfing community secretly disguised as creating awareness for our local eco-system. It can’t get much better. Oh wait, did I mention there is no cover charge? Boom. It just did.