Fuller, with the focus moved back
The outline is slightly plumper than a conventional HPSB, with the wide point sitting around an inch behind centre. This keeps the emphasis on surfing the board from the mid to back half.
Pyzel Red Tiger Surfboard
PYZEL SURFBOARDS · DAILY DRIVER
The Red Tiger
A flat-rockered High Performance Shortboard built to generate easy speed in weaker waves without giving up performance when the surf turns on.
High Performance 1–6FT Thruster · Quad · 5-Fin
The Red Tiger
High-performance speed for the everyday wave.
The Red Tiger was developed from John John Florence's experience riding alternative-style boards during a break from competition. After finding the flat-rockered White Tiger particularly effective in weaker surf, he asked Jon Pyzel to turn that idea into something he could take back on tour.
The result is a High Performance Shortboard with a slightly fuller outline than a traditional HPSB. The wide point sits around an inch behind centre, keeping the emphasis towards the middle and back of the board, while the wider squash tail provides lift, drive and pop.
The Red Tiger is Pyzel's flattest HPSB so far. That flatter rocker creates easy, consistent speed from the moment you stand up, through flatter sections and even in super-weak small waves, while the bottom contour and tail vee keep the board responsive and easy to turn.
Wave Range 1–6FT
Pyzel lists the Red Tiger for waves from around 1ft through 6ft.
Rocker Medium High
The Red Tiger uses a notably flat rocker for an HPSB, helping generate consistent speed.
Bottom Single → Double → Deep Vee
Single-to-double concave through the front two-thirds blends into significant double concave and deep vee through the fins and tail.
Fin Setup Thruster · Quad · 5-Fin
The Red Tiger is supplied with options for thruster, quad and five-fin configurations.
“
Flat rocker for speed. Vee through the tail for turning. A performance board designed to make average waves feel much better.
Bob Gnarly The Red Tiger · Editorial Take
What makes it work
Flat and fast. But far from flat in the turns.
The Red Tiger's biggest point of difference is its rocker. Pyzel describes it as the flattest HPSB they have produced, using that flatter curve to generate speed in weaker surf.
Area, lift and release
The wider squash tail maintains area in the tail for lift and drive, while also helping create pop when going to the air. A moderate hip ahead of the fins creates a pivot point for tighter turns and release in the lip.
Speed without the sticky feeling
Single-to-double concave through the front two-thirds helps prevent the flatter rocker from feeling sticky, before blending into significant double concave and deep vee through the fins and tail.
The Shape
A flatter HPSB with serious turning response.
Pyzel balances the Red Tiger's flatter rocker with carefully worked bottom contours, a slightly fuller outline and a tail designed to maintain lift and release.
The front of the board is slightly thinner than the back, while the flat-ish deck keeps more foam towards the rails. The rails themselves are full just in from the outline but taper towards the edge to retain sensitivity and bite.
Category High Performance Shortboard
Wide Point Approximately 1" behind centre
Rocker Very flat / lowest HPSB rocker in the range
Bottom Single → Double → Deep Vee
Deck Flat-ish with volume carried towards the rails
Rails Full just inside the outline, tapered for sensitivity
Tail Wider squash with moderate hip
Fin Options Thruster, Quad and 5-Fin
Why the Red Tiger?
Performance speed without needing perfect waves.
The Red Tiger was created specifically to give John John Florence a high-performance board for waves that are less than pumping or on the weaker side.
Its flatter rocker gives the board easy, consistent speed from the moment you stand up, while the single-to-double concave and deep vee allow it to roll from rail to rail and turn vertically without feeling sticky.
That combination makes the Red Tiger unusual: it is designed around average and weaker waves, but its geometry is still aimed squarely at high-performance surfing.
Who is the Red Tiger for?
A daily-performance board for waves that aren't always pumping.
Keep your HPSB speed in weaker waves
The Red Tiger is designed to maintain high-performance characteristics while making speed easier to generate in smaller and weaker conditions.
Built to get moving quickly
The unusually flat rocker is the key to the Red Tiger's speed, helping it accelerate from take-off and continue carrying speed through flatter sections.
Still ready when the waves turn on
The bottom contour, tail vee and tapered rails keep the board responsive enough for tighter turns, vertical surfing and short-arc carves.
Sizing
Red Tiger dimensions.
These are the current standard Red Tiger dimensions published on Pyzel's Red Tiger model page. The separate Red Tiger XL dimension set is deliberately not included.
| Size | Width | Thickness | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5'4" | 18.38" | 2.06" | 22.2L |
| 5'5" | 18.50" | 2.13" | 23.3L |
| 5'6" | 18.63" | 2.13" | 23.9L |
| 5'7" | 18.88" | 2.19" | 25.1L |
| 5'8" | 19.00" | 2.25" | 26.3L |
| 5'9" | 19.13" | 2.31" | 27.5L |
| 5'10" | 19.25" | 2.38" | 28.7L |
| 5'11" | 19.38" | 2.44" | 30.0L |
| 6'0" | 19.50" | 2.50" | 31.3L |
| 6'1" | 19.63" | 2.56" | 32.7L |
| 6'2" | 19.75" | 2.63" | 34.2L |
| 6'3" | 19.88" | 2.75" | 36.2L |
| 6'4" | 20.00" | 2.75" | 36.9L |
Inside the Red Tiger
The Red Tiger in context.
The Red Tiger · World Title Board
Jon Pyzel and John John Florence talk through the story behind the Red Tiger that John rode to his 2024 World Title.
Red Tiger / White Tiger with Pyzel
The story behind a couple of boards built for speed in smaller to average waves.
Two useful tools
Know your volume. Then build your Red Tiger.
Find your guide volume.
Start with a recommended volume range, then use Pyzel's Red Tiger sizing advice to establish a useful starting point for your dimensions.
Find My Volume →Build your Red Tiger.
Take your guide volume into the Bob Gnarly Pyzel Board Builder and explore the available Red Tiger options.
Open Board Builder →Bob's Take
A proper performance board for the days that aren't quite firing.
The Red Tiger is an interesting proposition because Pyzel hasn't simply made a wider or thicker small-wave board. They've taken the fundamentals of a high-performance shortboard and deliberately flattened the rocker to create easier speed.
The wider tail and moderate hip maintain lift and drive, while the single-to-double concave and deep vee stop the flat rocker from making the board feel dead or difficult to turn.
For the UK surfer, that makes the Red Tiger particularly relevant. The model is explicitly designed for 1–6ft surf and for conditions that are less than pumping or on the weaker side.
Pyzel recommends riding it around an inch shorter than your normal HPSB and a little wider. Volume should be close to your normal performance board, with an additional ½–1 litre suggested for extra zing in weaker waves.
Ready to build?
Build your Red Tiger.
Start with your guide volume, then head into the Bob Gnarly Pyzel Board Builder and build the Red Tiger around the dimensions and setup you're looking for.
