Gary Hanel Twinfin Review

My birthday was a few days ago and I was lucky to get an incredible board from my family as a present. I've always liked the boards that GH makes. He's always making boards that are very practical and from reviews, seem to work great. I've ridden a few and have always had a positive experience. My wife rides a longboard that he shaped for her, and it's her favorite board ever. I saw this board on the showroom floor at Moonlight the day they finished it. I couldn't keep my hands off it. In my opinion, it's the nicest board I've seen in the showroom this year. Well, at least that fits me. Peter did an unreal job with the airbrush and I can't even fathom the amount of time it took him. Then, there are the fins. I've done alot of research on twins over the last year. This was the first time I'd ever seen this one. Something new, something different, something to try. Isn't that always the best reason to get a new board? Boredom. Plus, it was shaped to the exact dimensions that I would have ordered. 5'10 x 19 1/4" x 2 1/4." I dropped a few hints to Rebecca, and low and behold, she is now mine. Thanks family, JP, Pinliner, GH, and Marlin. Oh, and lets not forget Sally, cause whether you know it or not, she controls/takes care of em all.

REVIEW: All the elements for a good first surf on my Birthday were looking very positive. Nice weather when I woke, swell on the buoys, reasonable tide. Thats the one beauty about surfing, things can be looking good one minute, and go to hell the next, and vice versa. It leaves us constantly wanting. Well, by the time I got down to surf at around 8:30am, the wind had already started blowing out of the northwest. There was enough swell, but just not hitting the reef right. It was one of those closed out or mushy days. Head high. Really sectiony. I didn't have a great session. I would rate it average, mainly because it was summer, and there at least was some swell. Didn't really get a decent feeling for the board. The one thing that I did seem to notice is that it needed a little more drive. I had looked at the fin set-up prior to waxing it up. The fins were already in the boxes by the fine folks at Moonlight. They were pushed all the way up to the front of the boxes. Problem is, the bases of Twin fins are pretty long, so I wasn't actually able to locate the true shapers dot to set the fins too. I figured that I would just leave em all the way forward and give it a try.

Second session yesterday. I had absolutely no expectations about the surf. I actually brought my log just in case. I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived to the beach. Surf was solid headhigh to a few feet overhead and real good. I moved the fins to the middle of the boxes and paddled out. I was a little weary, as I was riding a twin fin, and the surf was not only solid, but actually dredging on a few. Plus, all lefts, meaning backside for me. So, I took off on my first wave and the board seemed to go well. Nothing special as I was just trying to get a feel for it. Next wave, little heavier top bottom combo. No sliding. Third wave was a dredger. Took off deep without much of a prayer of even making the drop. Pigdogged in the air and expected to be done. Fins grabbed, set rail, and drove for a long way. Didn't make it out, but by far the best driving view I've seen this summer. The board held so well. Next few waves was able to do some solid top turns. No spinning. This board is fast, holds well, pivots well, and overall I can say is probably one of the best boards I've had in a while. I had probably my funnest session this year. Wave after wave. I don't think it's gonna be a great groveler (course I have a fish for that) but it's gonna be a great performance board. I would highly recomend this board. I am stoked.