Pyzel Surfboards · Board Editorial
A modern Pyzel high-performance shortboard built to carry speed through everyday waves while still delivering the response and precision needed for serious performance surfing.
The Highline
The Highline sits in an interesting part of the Pyzel range. It is a genuine high-performance shortboard, but it has been designed around the reality that most surfers don't get perfect waves every time they paddle out.
Pyzel developed the Highline from the popular 74 model, retaining its basic rocker concept while updating the outline and foil for a more modern high-performance feel. The result is a board that carries speed exceptionally well while still allowing you to surf aggressively and vertically.
Designed for good to below-average waves, with enough rocker and response for serious performance surfing.
A wide point just behind centre and pronounced hip create drive while providing a pivot point for quick, vertical turns.
Single concave runs through the board with double concave blended between the fins to create lift, speed and drive.
Thruster, quad and five-fin options give the Highline plenty of tuning potential.
The Highline is the kind of performance board that makes sense when the forecast says 'good' rather than 'perfect'.
What makes it work
The Highline's design is built around maintaining speed without making the board feel disconnected from the wave. Pyzel has combined a slightly flatter rocker profile with a refined high-performance outline, allowing the board to carry through weaker sections while retaining the response needed when the wave offers something more critical.
Compared with the more curved Radius, the Highline carries a slightly flatter nose and tail rocker. This helps it maintain speed through flatter and weaker sections without removing the rocker needed for vertical surfing.
The wide point sits just behind centre and the outline carries a defined hip through the tail. This adds drive while creating a pivot point that helps the board change direction quickly.
Single concave runs through the bottom before blending into double concave between the fins. The combination is designed to generate lift, acceleration and drive while helping the board roll naturally from rail to rail.
The shape
The Highline takes the DNA of Pyzel's 74 model and develops it into a modern high-performance shortboard. The outline is refined and performance focused, but the additional width and volume in the stock dimensions give it more carry than many conventional HPSBs.
The deck is slightly flatter than some of Pyzel's other performance models, with more volume pushed towards the rails. Those rails remain refined rather than boxy, helping the board stay sensitive and responsive when pushed through turns.
Who is the Highline for?
For an improving intermediate surfer with solid fundamentals, the Highline offers a genuine performance shape without being as demanding in weaker conditions as a more heavily rockered shortboard.
Advanced surfers can use the Highline as a daily driver when the waves are good but not firing. Its ability to maintain speed through flatter sections makes it particularly versatile.
The Highline has been ridden by Pyzel team surfers including Tyler Wright, whose 5'8" Highline helped her reach the podium at Bells Beach in consecutive years.
Sizing
Standard dimensions currently listed by Pyzel for the Highline.
| Size | Width | Thickness | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5'6" | 18 3/8" | 2 3/16" | 22.60L |
| 5'7" | 18 1/2" | 2 1/4" | 23.70L |
| 5'8" | 18 5/8" | 2 5/16" | 24.90L |
| 5'9" | 18 7/8" | 2 5/16" | 25.60L |
| 5'10" | 19" | 2 3/8" | 26.90L |
| 5'11" | 19 1/8" | 2 7/16" | 28.20L |
| 6'0" | 19 1/4" | 2 1/2" | 29.50L |
| 6'1" | 19 3/8" | 2 9/16" | 30.80L |
| 6'2" | 19 1/2" | 2 5/8" | 32.20L |
| 6'3" | 19 5/8" | 2 11/16" | 33.70L |
| 6'4" | 19 7/8" | 2 3/4" | 35.30L |
| 6'6" | 20 1/4" | 2 7/8" | 38.70L |
| 6'8" | 20 1/2" | 3" | 41.80L |
Watch the Highline
Jon describes the Highline and explains the thinking behind Pyzel's high-performance board for less-than-perfect waves.
Two useful tools
Not sure which Highline volume to start from? Our calculator gives you a recommended volume range based on your weight, surfing ability, fitness and the waves you surf most often.
Find My Volume →Choose your Highline size, work through the available options and create the board you're looking for.
Open Board Builder →Bob's Take
There's a temptation to think of a high-performance shortboard as something that only makes sense when the waves are pumping. The Highline turns that idea on its head a little.
It is still a proper performance board. The refined rails, pronounced hip, responsive outline and rocker give you plenty to work with when the wave stands up. But Pyzel has deliberately kept the rocker a little flatter than the Radius and given the stock sizes slightly more width and volume.
That combination is particularly interesting for UK surfers. We often get waves that are good enough to surf properly but lack the power and shape of a perfect reef or point break. The ability to carry speed through a flatter section can be the difference between making the section and watching it run away from you.
Pyzel recommends riding the Highline somewhere around your own height — from roughly an inch shorter to an inch longer — and around your preferred performance-board volume. We'd use the volume calculator as the starting point, then choose the size that gives you the dimensions and feel you're after.
Ready to ride one?
Start with your volume, then head into the Bob Gnarly Board Builder and create the Highline you're looking for.
Tell us a little about yourself and how you surf. We'll give you a recommended volume range to help you find your first or next board.
Use this calculator as a rough guide only. Volume isn't everything. If you're unsure, hit the 'Live Chat' below and we can help.
Choose the description that sounds most like your surfing today.
This helps us account for paddle power and how much support you may want from your board.
Think about the conditions you're most likely to encounter.
We've matched your result against the surfboards in our Volume Calculator collection.
