Most grovelers are super fun for generating speed and hauling ass down the line. Then you realize they're too big in "the trunk" and you can't turn them to stay in the pocket. Welcome to the outer reaches of the shoulder and the world's longest roundhouse....

The Chilli Miami Spice remedies this common problem by pairing a wide, flat rockered nose and mid section with a double bump thumbtail out the back. This gives you the ability to paddle, glide and generate speed like a groveler but also whip it around tight in the pocket like a more performance oriented board.

•Full figured hybrid outline
•Double bump thumbtail
•Shallow single concave to vee
•5-fin convertible set up
•Available in 50-50 EPS/Epoxy or standard PU/Poly constructions

We lucked out and had the opportunity to surf this board in the Northeast through a good range of long period, small tropical swell generated by Hurricane Gaston. Surf ranged from knee high to shoulder high on the sets, perfect for giving the Miami Spice a good run.

The first few sessions were on shifting beach breaks with long period walls, requiring fast take offs, good get up and go, then the ability to wrap and tag at the end of the wave. This board has great paddle power and is stable on take off. The rails aren't too thick, all this allows you to get in early then turn high to generate good down the line speed.

The light 50-50 EPS/Epoxy construction makes larger sizes still feel light and lively. This construction is stringerless, so it has good flex and spring out of the turns. Even though the board is fairly wide and flat, the pulled in tail shape makes it possible to drive some nice tight turns when you need to.

All and all these first sessions were super fun with lots of lefts and rights allowing frontside and backside surfing all the way to the beach. The Miami Spice has good drive down the line, turns tight in the pocket and even has the ability to trim further forward on the board for glide/style points.

Our third and fourth sessions on this board were on a long sand point. Again, long lines in the knee to shoulder high range. The first of these sessions was a total strike out. Tide was too high, swell was wrong direction, just seemed like we couldn't catch a wave to save our lives. In the end we almost pulled the plug, but decided to take a big swing at it and walk a few hundred yards down the point where we saw another bend in the coastline.

Once we got around the bend, we spotted a wave that looked really good. We paddled out to give it a shot and our first waves were all over 250 yards....Score! We ended up surfing this next point for two and a half hours. During one of the sessions, (check out Rip Curl Search GPS Watch readout) we hooked into a few set waves over 500 yards long. Looking at the map, the shorter ones look "short" but even those are 150-250 yards. Wind was offshore, water was warm and we had the wave all to ourselves. Perfect for dialing in the Miami Spice.

Set waves were in the shoulder high range while the mini zippers peeled perfectly all the way down to knee high. The wave came out of deeper water onto a shallow sand shelf, running fast down the point. This meant angled take offs for success or nice front flips for failure. The Miami Spice felt great on these waves as the rail engaged quickly getting you in the wave and flying down the line. Once in, the pulled in tail allowed you to surf tight in the pocket and hit vertical turns with ease. Having the spread between knee and shoulder high allowed us to test the board through its full design target. On the tiny ones you could choose between turns or just trimming tight on the pocket. On the bigger sets there were a few tube sections and the pulled in tail kept you inline with where they were rather than racing down the line away from them. A few hours in, the wind switched onshore, tide changed and the wave disappeared. Did that just happen?

The pulled in tail shape allows you to run a variety of fin set ups; thruster, quad, even twin plus trailer. We rode the Spice as a thruster most of time to enjoy even better pivot in the turns, as the board has plenty of speed anyways. For this we used Futures F8 Blackstix to help generate extra speed. Roberts Generation Series fins Roberts Generation Series fins would also be a good choice for boards equipped with Futures boxes offering a little more control and stability at the top end of the wave spectrum. For twin plus trailer we used the Futures T1s. Quad set ups need to avoid trailers that are too large, otherwise they will overpower the drawn in tail.

Everything is a give and take. Narrow tail equals better turns and control, but you give up a touch on the very bottom end of the wave spectrum. We're talking ankle to knee high with intermediate surfers. In this range a wider tail will generate more down the line speed. Once above that, or with advanced surfers, you'll appreciate the added range, turns and control.

This board is available in both standard PU/Poly and also 50-50 stringerless EPS/Epoxy. Those looking for added performance will really appreciate the lightweight and spring delivered in the 50-50 tech, which on our test board is still going strong. If you're in between sizes and going with 50-50, you can size down as the lighter weight board floats better and this board paddles great. If you find your desired volume, don't size down a full size, just reap the added wave count and glide. Chilli's PU/Poly construction is solid as proven on our recent El Salvador strike mission with a Chilli PU/Poly Pina Colada, Chilli Peppa and Rare Bird.

We used the Chilli 3-piece Team Traction Pad on this board. Since the tail is pulled in a touch, you need to make sure not to run an ultra wide pad back there with too wide of a tailblock to fit on the board.

You're looking for a small wave hybrid ripper with a wider range of use. The Chilli Miami Spice fits the bill.