The Fourth Surfboards, Summer Series is here. Inspired by the long hot summer of 2018 we took three of our top models and added ice cream inspired tints to our ESE tech to create three unique models. With only 18 of these boards made and all of them exclusive to Surfdome you’ll have to be quick to get your hands on these tasty treats. Shop the full range here.
Starting with the outline, this board has the look of a fish; a wider nose and pulled in swallow tail, but when you really dissect the Weekend Rockstar’s outline you start to see the secrets. The parallel rails give this fish heaps of forward trajectory and the bullet like tail curves offer great pivot when needed through turns. The nose, although wide, has a fast curve for the overall length of the board to make sure there are no issues with bogging rails and bigger turns in weaker waves. The rocker is medium throughout with a slight kick in the tail to keep it lively, and the foil is that of a high-performance all-rounder – which in this case was based on the shank.
This combo gives you the extra stability and control of a fish with the sensitivity of a more high-performance board so when longboarders are cruising the line-up you are up and about too shredding the face like you have a rocket in your pocket.
The single concaves offer lift and control and the rail shape is that of a performance shortboard. All in all, you have an incredibly fast board that burns through weaker waves and utilises any sections you get with performance lines. It’s easy to catch waves on, it works in anything from knee high to overhead waves and makes general everyday surfing easy.
This design is kept simple. The volume is the starting point of the design; as much as possible is needed for an easy to move, faster more manoeuvrable surfboard. New for 2018, the Reload 2.0 is now faster, with added sensitivity and better hold on the rail to hone your progressive surfing style whilst keeping the wave count high. Not to mention the carbon insets through the engaged part of the surfboard to free tail flex and give you a bit more twist and torque through your turns.
The Reload’s outline has been adapted from previous years to make sure that pocket surfing is achievable in both weak waves and better juicier waves. This design element really makes this board versatile, not only for the number of conditions it can be ridden in but in terms of surfer ability too.
The rockers have been raised to offer a bit more hold and mobility when the board gets its speed up, something that comes as a given when riding a shape like this at higher volumes. In a nutshell, this means it’s very easy to catch the wave, and very easy to get instant speed. Now, with the increased rockers, this board has more control than anything else out there with similar volume.
The concaves are a double through the fins and centre of the board with a light single running throughout to provide life and drive which again helps garner speed. The rail shape is brought down to a 60/40 performance shape, with a little boxiness to keep the board high in the water, with a slight decrease in foam through the tail area of the rail to ensure bite when back foot surfing. The nose shape and lifted rockers help this board to be really fruity off the top without bogging rail, so anyone looking to perfect their top turn without compromising wave count is going to have a blast on this thing.
The Chilli Bean is built for any surfer who understands that if you’re not afraid of slightly more foam you can go shorter than you’d imagined possible. For 2018, Fourth have taken some foam off the rail to add an element of ease to turning the board as well as carbon support through the engaged part of the board when surfing down the line, freeing some flex up in the tail to give a bit more torque through your turns.
The Chilli Bean is designed to absolutely maximise the fun to be had in average, everyday surf by catching almost as many waves as a longboard, gliding over the flat sections whilst being super responsive underfoot. The curvaceous outline, rounded tail and more relaxed rocker means that the board is designed to cruise, carve. When set-up as a quad the Chilli Bean will fly down the line with just a little encouragement.
In terms of design, this board is essentially a reload for intermediate surfers or surfers of a bigger build. With single to double concaves, relaxed entry and exit rockers and foam distributed to give the best balance between float and control it is ideal as a first shortboard or intermediate all-rounder.