There’s no need to introduce the Pyzel Ghost. John John Florence and the WSL announcers have made it blatantly obvious that this board rips. The Ghost has a worldwide reputation for performing in sizeable conditions. What most people don’t know is how the Ghost still performs in less than life threatening waves.

The Pyzel Ghost features width and thickness placed perfectly under the chest of the paddling surfer, making it an excellent wave catcher. Where the Ghost differs from many similar boards, is its ability to maintain a shortboard feel through turns. No wonder John John used his Ghost at Margaret River, J-Bay and Lowers. Lowers?! Yes, Lowers. It’s not just a paddle and barrel machine.

•Wide point forward hybrid outline
•Thickness centered underneath chest and along stringer
•Round tail
•Square tail
•5-fin set up

We’ve had a good amount of time to surf our Pyzel Ghosts 6’3 up to 6’10 in length. We surfed them here in Cape Hatteras, as well as El Salvador, Nicaragua, Fiji and Mexico. We’d have to say what we like the most about the Pyzel Ghost isn’t it’s dominance in better/bigger surf. That performance is a given at this point. The performance that sets this board apart from its competition is the ability to combine wide point forward paddle power and drive, with shortboard turns and smaller wave agility.

Pyzel claims the Ghost is an excellent travel board when striking surf zones with good waves. Even when you go to places like this, you’re always going to get some sub par days. The Ghost isn’t a groveler, but you can definitely surf it in any waves you’d surf your everyday shortboard, and it won’t feel overly stiff. That’s the difference between the Ghost and most other boards that look like it. The Ghost retains its shortboard feel more that the rest, while still reaping the advantages of the strategically placed foam.

We use the Futures JJF fins in our Ghosts for the thruster set up and then add 3.75” or 4.0” QD2 quad trailers 3.75” or 4.0” QD2 quad trailers when converting it to quad set up. The tailpad on the board in the video is the Dakine Bruce Irons 5-piece. This is the pad of choice for rounded pintails you’ll be riding the barrel on, with your foot placed slightly forward.

Trip’s board in this video is a custom at 6’3 x 21” x 3” at 40 liters. Trip is 6’2 x 220 pounds. The rail foil on the Ghost is such that 3” on the stringer translates to way less than that on the rail, so don’t be scared of the thicker measurements of the Ghost. The rails are foiled out and feel way thinner. It’s that hidden volume under the chest and along the stringer that make the Ghost so magic. Stock dims, Trip rides a 6’5 in trunks and 6’6 in full rubber. He’s also had great results in bigger waves with the stock dim 6’10. The volume is so perfectly placed on the Ghost, you don’t need a ton of it to get into most waves. When you do decide to add a second Ghost to your quiver, you’ll normally find skipping a few sizes is what’s needed in order to make a difference when it comes to wave catching ability. Matt Nuzzo’s board in the Fiji photos is a stock dims 6’3. Matt weighs 170 pounds.

You’re looking for a barrel board, a bigger wave board and a travel board. The Ghost checks all the boxes.