Softech Filipe Toledo Wildfire FCS II Thruster Surfboard

• Construction: Softboard construction featuring 100% waterproof X-Density EPS foam (with two stringers!) and an ultra-light double-sided "slick" (the bottom panel)
• Outline: Fullish nose with the wide-point pushed forward, providing ample surface area for paddling ease and high planing speeds in weaker waves; this wider front end is offset by the pulled-in tail, which is all performance
• Tail: Diamond, with a cute little channel running through the fins
• Fin System: FCS II (no screws! Use in combo with the FCS Infill kit, sold separately, to make compatible with original FCS fins)
• Fin Set-Up: Thruster (i.e. tri-fin)
• Fins Included: FCS II Softflex fins ramp up the fun factor with a loose and slidey feel, while keeping the danger factor down
• Rider Ability: Intermediate and above
• Suitable conditions: 1-4ft

The softboard revolution meets the Brazilian Storm in Filipe Toledo’s first ever pro model for Softech. Unsurprisingly, given Toledo’s stock in trade, this board’s very refined for a foamie, still user-friendly and relatively undemanding but geared towards accessing the steepest, most critical parts of the wave.

The FT Wildfire is “the yardstick for softboard shredding,” reckons Softech – it’s the most performance-oriented board in their range, in fact it’s probably the most performance-oriented softboard full stop. If you want a softboard that you can still let rip and improve on, i.e. that isn’t merely a novelty item you tire of after half an hour, the Wildfire fits the bill.

Toledo works all sorts of wizardry on it, blowing the tail and burying rail and chucking air reverses and so on – have a look at the clips below, in scarcely a foot of swell! – but lesser mortals will still surprise themselves with what they can achieve on this soft-top stick.

It’s easy to paddle and catch waves on thanks to the volume and width under chest, but it’s also easy to chuck around, with a neat little diamond tail and a channel running through it (reminiscent of the HT2.5, his new Sharp Eye model). As a means of taking the stress out of low-stakes surf, this has got to be one of the best softboard options out there.

Dimensions: