WEEKENDER - PISTACCIO

6 reviews

Good quality boards! Perfect for small surf, Paddles fast, easy to get into waves and maneuverable. Helm customer service is also top notch. Good group of dudes

I’m absolutely thrilled with my 5’2 Weekender from HELM Supplies! The board is amazing—it’s so easy to catch waves, and it performs beautifully in knee to shoulder-high conditions. The quality and design exceeded my expectations. I appreciate the care and dedication you put into creating such an incredible product. I paired it with the FCS II MATT BIOLOS SPLIT KEEL QUAD FINS, and they work amazingly well. Thank you for spreading the stoke—I’m excited to be part of this journey with you! If you can, grab one and add it to your quiver—you won’t regret it!

Super floaty and surprisingly fast. Paddles into anything. Paired with FCS II Split Keel mediums and it's skatey but plenty of control. The deck is grippy and comfortable. I love the fact that I don't need wax and can just throw the board into the car and go. It really is the prefect board for big fun on small waves.

I purchased the 5’6” Weekender Mini Simmons soft top (Pistaccio) which comes in at 41 liters to further help enhance those small wave days. The Weekender has quickly climbed to my top 3 favorite surfboards I have ever owned! I consider myself to be at a beginner level. I’m able to consistently pop up, ride down the open face of the wave, and if I am lucky, do a small wannabe cut back. I am not able to do any hacks off the top or floaters of any kind. So as you are reading this review, please keep that in mind. I weigh 142 pounds and this board has plenty of float for me! When sitting on the board, the water level comes up slightly under my belly button.

I have always heard the saying, “ this short board paddles like my longboard,” but have never really experienced it until I began paddling around on the Weekender. The paddling speed that I am able to get on this board is simply amazing! Not only am I able to get out to the line up quicker than the other surfers but I am also able to paddle into waves much more easily and early compared to the other surfers out in the line up. It truly has helped me catch more waves using a shorter length board on some of those less pitchy and peaky waves. It has also been a blast to use on some of the shore break days as you are almost guaranteed to catch the wave if you paddle for it. I have already caught a good amount of shore breaks on this board and tumbled under water after getting rocked on the inside lol. Board has held up without any issues so far.

The Weekender has excellent glide down the line speed. Once I am on a wave, the board just flows so well. I don’t necessarily have to pump for speed as the board literally just goes on its own. I was able to stay low to the board and just glide past the white wash foam sections into the unbroken waves multiple times.

I put on some off market brand FCS versions of Controller fins. They are split keel fins with both the front and rear fins at the same height (thanks Helm for the info). These fins paired with this wide tail board has made the board feel so solid! I am able to lean into turns backside/frontside without worry that I will slide out.

Even at 41 liters packaged into a 5’6”, I have been able to duck dive it without issues. I use my knee and my arms to jam the board under and there have not been any issues so far with duck diving. I am used to and prefer riding boards in the 37-45 liter range so I may have just gotten used to duck diving thicker boards with more volume.

The board is made in EPS/Epoxy with a EVA layer wrapped on the top side and has a hard bottom. Initially, I thought the Weekender board would feel as light as my Catchsurf RNF board but the Weekender actually has some weight to it. It would best be described to feel more like an in-between of a PU/Poly board and EPS/epoxy board. This combination actually feels great under your feet and has helped me surf the choppy, windy, rainy sea conditions that we have had in the past month.

I don’t apply any wax on my Weekender board and chose to add several pieces of traction pad on the top deck for grip. The traction pads have held up so far and stay adhered to the EVA top.

If you are a better surfer than me, you could go with the 5’2” model instead of the 5’6”. You won’t have to bust out the longboard or midlength on those slower, weaker days and can just use the Weekender instead!

The board also is made very well! Quality work from top to bottom.

Helm also had Amazing customer service throughout the whole purchasing process and really helped me out!

If you are looking for a board that will make surfing fun, this Weekender board will do just that and more!

The ultimate wave catcher. floaty enough that you can catch pretty much anything & still be able to duck dive bigger waves. It's a win win !