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FIREWIRE Hydroshort
Sizes Available: 5’4” x 18 1/6” x 22.8L, 5’6” x 18 9/16” x 25.5L, 5’8” x 19 1/16” x 28.3L
Sizes Tested: 5’4” x 18 1/6” x 22.8L

Firewire Says:

Continuing in the successful line of Tomo designed kiteboards (often copied, never duplicated)”¦this is the Hydroshort. Tomo’s trademark Q.I.S.C. (Quad Inside Single Concave) bottom generates incredible speed and lift enabling the board to plane with little wind and giving it amazing upwind abilities.

The outline of the board, combined with the volume distribution, gives you the feeling of riding a much smaller board. Instead of a bigger kite, you can easily ride a Hydroshort with a larger volume and have the same fun in smaller days.

The ultra-modern ”˜torpedo nose’ will help lock down airs, while the bottom profile will generate great pop. At the same time, the pulled in squash tail will make the board super snappy and tight in bottom turns. It’s the perfect combination for both freestyle and wave riding!

Visit for more info: www.firewiresurfboards.com/products/hydroshort-kiteboard

Tkb Says:

While Firewire is forging ahead as one of the high-tech board producers in the surfing industry, they have continued to offer a niche product line for kitesurfing and new to that line (think Vader and Evo) they now offer the Hydroshort in kite construction. The Hydroshort continues with the basic concepts behind Tomo’s short boards with a hybrid outline that gives you a little bit more surface area in the nose to harness the wind during strapless freestyle. The Hydroshort comes with a 5-fin configuration with your choice of Future or FCS fin boxes and ours was decked out with aftermarket traction pads.

We rode the Hydroshort in a thruster configuration with medium-sized fins. The bottom shape features a double channel down the center of the board plus a little bit of single concave and mates with some meaty rails that have some extra volume. From the first tack out we could feel the Hydroshort’s efficient fast bottom and extra volume that gives you way more light wind range than you would expect from a board of this size. Its flatter rocker accelerates really well but doesn’t slow the board’s ability to turn and carve. The Hydroshort feels really active and turny under foot, requiring minimal effort to induce turns and snap tight turns in the pocket. With the medium fins, the tail feels super positive with a solid amount of grip that required a bit more back foot aggression to release on slashes. This makes the Hydroshort feel a bit more dependable and locked in. In terms of strapless airs, the Hydroshort features a good light weight that balances durability against the lower weight that translates to levitation during bigger airs. The additional nose area gives you a bit more wind pressure to hold the board together longer. The construction feels like it could take a beating. Overall, the Hydroshort is a poppy little board that gave us more wind range than anticipated and works in small to medium plus-sized surf while giving you the load and pop to become a strapless freestyle Jedi master.


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