We took our proven Padillac, shrunk it down and then redesigned the front half to help it fit into waves that are less than gigantic. When we shrunk it down, the nose ended up feeling pretty wide and the nose rocker felt a bit flat, so we pulled in the nose width and added a bit more nose rocker. The back ½ of the board is the same, but the changes to the forward ½ allow the boards to fit into a curvier wave face and handle later drops with ease.

The Mini Padillac still carries extra volume up under the chest area, but the thickness is hidden away by a nice rolled deck curve and thinned out rails for maximum responsiveness and speed. When you hold it under your arm a 2 ¾ inch thick Mini Padillac feels like a 2 ⅜ inch thick shortboard!

The rocker is a long, continuous curve which helps it ride smooth and consistent without any surprises through big turns. The bottom contour is a gentle Vee with double concave running a light flat Vee through the fins and off the tail. This combo keeps the boards both loose and fast, while further providing stability and drive.

The tail is a swallow, which adds a little extra squirt off your bottom turn and pivot to your top turns. Another big difference from the original Padillac is that the Mini Padillac comes as a 5 fin set-up, allowing you to choose your favorite fin configurations and change them according to the conditions you are surfing in.

Overall you can ride the MP whatever size you want, and I would recommend that you go about ½ to 1 inch wider, and at least ⅜ inch thicker than your daily driver. Foam is your friend, and the Mini Padillac has plenty of it hidden away!