Slater Designs LFT No Brainer Surfboard Review

Ian reviews the Slater Designs No Brainer in LFT: https://www.boardshop.co.uk/brands/sl...

We're very excited about the latest offering from Slater Designs, the LFT No Brainer surfboard is a true collaboration between Kelly Slater and the genius that is Dan Mann. The LFT No Brainer is Kelly's version of a versatile 'groveller' which can really perform in small and weak conditions and still react and 'fit' into waves with a bit more size, quality and curl.

"Kelly and I have been going back-and-forth on four or five variations of the No Brainer and we’ve landed on something I think is really magic; the kind of board that an advanced and talented surfer can grovel and shred on, but at the same time something that all other levels of surfer can ride in small to decent sized surf." - Dan Mann

The No Brainer can trace it's lineage and DNA back to the 'Potato' family; it has an almost identical rocker to the Baked Potato except for a slightly flipped nose and tail. Essentially that's it, a Baked Potato rocker with the rest of the tweaks to the outline and profile designed for Kelly's high performance ripping in weak and mushy waves.

Dan has foiled the deck line a lot (almost like a traditional 'S' line deck), this allowed him to thin-out the nose and tail equipping the No Brainer with the tools to execute the tight turns and angles that Kelly puts his boards through in small weak waves.

We think it's pushing it a bit to call it an out-and-out groveller especially as it obviously goes pretty well in what we'd call average to decent waves here in the UK and Europe. This really is an exciting little board which would probably make a great go-to board for 90% of the waves you're likely to encounter here in the UK and Europe especially through a summer season. Watching the video of Dan surfing The No Brainer at Kelly's wave pool has really whet our appetite; it looks super fun, and a board which average and decent surfers can both enjoy.

LFT replaces the Rapidfire internal carbon rods with an 18mm wide composite Springer HD Suspension System that runs from nose to tail and includes a top-deck sheet to improve compression resistance. This high density insert creates additional strength through the centre with increased flex through the tail. The EPS top sheet buffer above the HD Springer allows for some compression but without the raised ridge and cracking that can occur with traditional wooden stringer surfboards. LFT delivers plenty of 'TWANG' in and out of your turns and creates the fast-twitch flex response that gives the surfer the feedback and return desired. LFT at last brings the perfect blend of a brand-new traditional PU 'board feel' with the added durability of modern sandwich construction.

The staff here have surfed pretty much every surfboard in the Firewire range at some time or another and we speak to surfers from all over the world and get their feedback on how the boards perform in all sorts of conditions so we're well placed to talk about all aspects of Firewire surfboards. We're happy to consider trading in your old board against a new Firewire, so If you have any questions about this we'd be delighted to answer them and advise on any potential board choices or enquiries you might have, just drop us an email to [email protected] or call us on 0044 (0) 1243 674250.