The NANO is one of the latest offerings from Firewire, what designer Daniel ‘Tomo’ Thompson refers to as the latest incantation of his ‘Modern Planing Hull’ designs. Tomo’s goal for these hull designs “have always been to improve upon current equipment, making the high performance surfing experience faster, easier and more intuitive for any rider.”
According to Tomo, the advantage of these planing hull designs is that they “effortlessly gain and maintain speed, linking sections with acceleration and ease. The drive and precision of the parallel rail line working to draw both powerful carves and radical tight hacks with a subtle shift in weight. The control of the Modern Planing Hulls are that they sit perfectly centered beneath the riders feet with no swing weight up front and no drag through the rear.” (see http://dantomo.blogspot.com.au/ for more)
The Nano combines radical performance with free flowing speed in a very natural controlled ride that is both user friendly & cutting edge. Effortlessly fast and loose, yet predictable and drivey.
The NANO has a clean outline with its wide point forward of center, the nose has been trimmed back and rounded so there are less points and area to catch up front. There is a relatively wide chopped square tail for speed and glide with the corners rounded for smoother turns. The rail line through back third of the board is relatively straight which gives you increased control through turns. Despite its size, the Nano has a surprisingly good wave range with excellent ability to hold its rail in bigger punchy waves without feeling too loose or twitchy.
Tomo suggests riding this design in the middle to lower end of your preferred volume range for intermediate to advanced surfers.
Check out Tomo testing out a prototype of the Nano in the clip below 😉