Back on a Thruster After 5 Years: How the Exo-Flex Feels

Updated 2026-09-19

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Five years away from thrusters, mostly on twins and a few quads, this EPS thruster made the switch back easy. At 6'2 and around 93 kilograms, the 6'4 x 21 5/8 x 2 7/8, 44 liter board handled everything from double-overhead-ankle mush to four-foot conditions without the paddling struggle that pushed thrusters out of the rotation in the first place. As at December 2023, here is what made the difference.

Off the shelf, with two changes

This is an off-the-shelf spec board with two additions: an optional four-channel bottom and a red rail spray rather than the standard finish. The channel bottom takes a fraction of volume out compared to a plain 44 liter spec, but the sideways traction it adds through turns is worth that trade. The nose is fairly broad but still pulled in like a performance board, generous enough in width to make balancing easy, and the swallow tail stays wide right to the back for surface area under the back foot.

Why thrusters got put away for five years

Twin fins, a single fin and a few quads filled the rack for the last five years mostly because past thrusters were either small PU boards that were hard to paddle, or EPS boards that felt too bouncy and difficult to control. This board solved both problems: EPS construction that paddles easily, catches waves without a fight, and turns with real precision rather than bouncing around underfoot.

Checking the bottom shape

A straight edge shows a flat entry running well down the board, flat being the setup for speed. Under the front foot a mild single concave starts, still mild through the mid-section, before the optional channel option kicks in as a double concave vee, effectively a quad concave from the four channels. Behind the fins it flattens into a slight side-to-side vee, with a sharper vee right at the tail behind the back fin. Those channels work like an extra pair of fins, holding the board in and stopping any sliding out through a turn.

Wave range actually tested

Conditions have ranged from tiny, double-overhead-ankle waves right up to four feet so far, with an expectation it would handle clean, larger surf just as well given how it has performed at the smaller end. It is built with the kind of small to medium wave conditions common on a mild-mannered coastline in mind, and it has also been ridden in a wave pool. Catching waves that small on a thruster and still standing up cleanly was the most unexpected result of the whole test.

The Exo-Flex carbon spring, explained

The construction under the carbon strip is the real story here. It is not a cosmetic surface layer; it is multiple layers of carbon forming a mechanical spring, one on the bottom of the board and one on the top, calibrated to the board's type and the rider's weight. At around 93 kilograms on a performance-spec board, that calibration comes out firmer, adding real strength without the excess bounce that some other EPS constructions have. The strip runs from the nose all the way down to just before the back fin box on the bottom, and on the top it runs to just short of the leash plug. There is no wooden stringer and no carbon wrap around the rail edge.

Fins and a tail pad, for once

A set of John John Florence signature Futures fins went in after performing well in a previous channel-bottom thruster, and there has been no reason to change them since; even at 93 kilograms they hold up well under load. This is also the first tail pad fitted to a board in a long stretch of riding twin fins without one, and the thruster setup makes it worth doing: with a genuine third fin to push against, the back foot can jam right into the pad and drive turns with a level of precision that felt closer to a race car gripping on slicks than the looser, sliding feel of riding twin fins on the same wave.

Rails and rocker

The rails carry a fair amount of foam through the middle, soft and forgiving rather than sharp, before thinning out toward the tail where the optional channel starts to bite. A small flip in the nose helps entry, and the rest of the rocker runs flat with just a touch of tail kick, which keeps the board comfortable across a decent range of wave sizes while staying fast.

What the log says since

The board went on to log a top speed of 25 km/h and a longest wave of 120 meters at a favorite point break. It sold in December 2025 for 720 AUD, after being bought new for 1,260 AUD, with a replacement cost by then of around 1,400 AUD.

Questions people ask

Can an EPS thruster paddle as easily as a twin fin?

This one did. The combination of a broad, pulled-in nose and a wide swallow tail made paddling and balance easy, closing the gap that older, bouncier EPS thrusters left compared to a twin fin.

What does a carbon spring construction actually do?

It reinforces the board with multiple layers of carbon on the top and bottom, calibrated to the board type and the rider's weight, adding strength and a lively, responsive feel without the excess bounce some other lightweight constructions have.

Do optional bottom channels make a real difference on a thruster?

Yes, on this board. The four channels behind the front foot act like extra fins, holding the board into the wave face and stopping any sliding out through hard turns.

What wave range suits a small-wave-focused thruster like this?

It has handled everything from double-overhead-ankle mush up to four-foot waves so far, catching and standing up on waves that would be marginal on most other thrusters.

Is it worth putting a tail pad on a thruster if you normally ride twin fins without one?

On a genuine three-fin setup, yes. Having a fixed point to drive the back foot against, rather than adjusting for a fin config with no center fin, adds a level of control worth the tail pad.

For more from this EPS construction across different shapes, see the 3 Campbell Designed boards you actually need and which twin fin surfs better: Sweet Leaf or Twin Cam. For the wider decision between fin configurations, see twin, quad or thruster and EPS or PU surfboard. This board's full sale history is on the sold list.