Campbell Brothers Mini Merk B5 7'6 review: a bonzer for juicy waves

Updated 2026-09-19

The Campbell Brothers Mini Merk B5 is a 7'6 custom bonzer, a five-fin board that wanted genuinely good waves to come alive and struggled when conditions turned weak.

What it is and why I bought it

I ordered this Mini Merk in March 2020, a PU board with a curved rocker, soft-to-hard rails and a bottom running flat into a double vee, then into a deep double concave, finished with an Ewing pin tail. At 21 1/4 inches wide and 49 litres over 7'6, it runs a five-fin bonzer setup built for powerful, well-formed surf.

How it surfed

Its best wave came at Freshy, at a top speed of 35.8 km/h (about 22.2 mph) over a 236 metre ride, using its own bonzer fin cluster. The register notes a clear pattern: it is not the best paddler and wants genuinely good, juicy waves, and it struggled on a run of flat days when conditions did not deliver. When the waves were right, though, its speed numbers were among the strongest in the sold register.

Who it suits and who it does not

A bonzer built like this suits someone with reliable access to quality, powerful waves who wants a fast, high-performance board for those specific days. It is a poor match for a rider without consistent access to good surf, since it does not paddle especially well and offers little on weak, flat days.

What happened to it

It sold on 17 April 2022 for $1,300, against a $1,685 build cost.

Questions people ask

What conditions did the Mini Merk B5 need?

Good, juicy waves. The register notes it directly: it is not the best paddler and struggled on a run of flat days when conditions were weak.

How fast was the Mini Merk B5?

Its best logged session hit 35.8 km/h over a 236 metre wave at Freshy, one of the faster results in the sold register.

What wave size suited it best?

The logged range is 2 to 8 ft with 5 ft as the ideal, but its own notes make clear it wanted the better end of that range rather than marginal days.

For the full spec sheet, see the sold boards list. For other bonzer-style boards in the log, see the Campbell Brothers Custom Egg and the Campbell Brothers Step Up. For how surfboard channels and bonzer bottoms work, see do surfboard channels even work.