Hybrids surf really well in a wide range of surf size and conditions, anywhere from 2' to 10'....

They make for great traveling boards because of this.... big, small, fast or slow....hollow or mushy....

Still, they're fast and loose....Hybrids accept a wide variety of tails and fin layouts from tri fins, five fins, to thrusters, to the more recent quad set ups. With a usually more relaxed rocker, fuller template, and thicker volumes,  hybrids accept a variety of bottom designs, from the standard vee bottom, to the inverted vee and double concave vee bottoms. Also available with a variety of fin set ups.

      I designed hybrids about 15 to 20 years ago when I realized that I couldn't get any waves on narrow, thin boards. I'm a big guy. By increasing the volume of the board, adding an inverted vee, and keeping the template fuller, the board surfed and felt very similar to the dynamics of a short board....but paddled much easier....I started designing hybrids in the 80's and their popularity has grown ever since. AM and Rusty both picked up on the Hybrid designs back when they used my shaping room at Bill Barnfield's Raging Isle Surf Shop. Initially curious on the design, they quickly putting their own hybrid designs into production. Today all surf shops produce Hybrids, anywhere from 6' up to around 9'. I've even done some in the 10'6 range for big guys...I believe Rusty designed some of the best blanks for the Hybrid application thru Clark Foam, which made shaping hybrids way easier.....

      Today, because of crowds and longboards, many surfer's not sold on the longboard, will easily transcend into the hybrid designs. Once ridden by only "aged" surfers, the popularity of the hybrid has been widely accepted by all generations of surfers...