Hydra Quick Facts
…Lost Hydra quick facts
| Brand / shaper | …Lost Surfboards, Matt “Mayhem” Biolos |
|---|
| Draws on | More than 25 years of …Lost small-wave fish and hybrids: the Puddle Jumper, Bottom Feeder, Pelagic and RNF-Retro |
|---|
| Board type | Minuscule-wave fish; …Lost calls it a mini-wave weapon |
|---|
| Best waves | Minuscule, tiny surf |
|---|
| Tail | Split diamond: a double diamond with a notched-out centerline, melding swallow and diamond tails |
|---|
| Design | Overall low rocker on an almost traditional fish outline; the snowboard-influenced Pelagic side-cut outline; a double concave sitting in a single concave with chined releases toward the rail (from the Bottom Feeder); a flattish deck with full, forgiving rails |
|---|
| Fins | 5-fin: ride as a thruster or quad (FCS II or Futures boxes). Best template: raked, drive-oriented (FCS Carver family; Futures Rake). Try the FCS II Mayhem Driver Tri, with the Driver quad rears for a quad, or the Futures Mayhem 3.0 5-Fin. |
|---|
| Stock sizes | 5’0 to 6’4 (25.00 L to 46.75 L) |
|---|
| Sizing | Shorter and wider than your regular shortboard, with 1 to 2 L more volume; about 6" to 8" shorter than a Driver 3.0 |
|---|
| Constructions we stock | Always: PU (poly), Light Speed II and Black Sheep Built. Also stocked at times: Light Speed, Black Dart, Lib Tech, C4, Carbon Wrap and EPS. All constructions are available for custom order |
|---|
| Custom orders | Yes, through our …Lost 3D board builder |
|---|
Hydra Q&A
What size Hydra should I get?
The Hydra is a groveling fish, ridden shorter and wider than your regular shortboard with a tad more volume: we recommend 1 to 2 liters more. In …Lost’s stock dims that works out about 6" to 8" shorter than a Driver 3.0. For example, if you ride a 5’11 Driver 3.0 (28.50 L), look at the 5’4 (20.50" x 2.40", 30.25 L). Stock sizes run from 5’0 (19.50" x 2.22", 25.00 L) to 6’4 (22.75" x 2.85", 46.75 L). If you don’t know your volume, use the Volume calculator at the top of our …Lost 3D board builder: enter your height, weight, skill, fitness and the waves you surf, and it recommends a volume by board type, from shortboard to fish, hybrid and mid-length. Our shop staff can help you pick a size.
What fins does the Hydra use?
The Hydra has five fin boxes (FCS II or Futures), so you can ride it as a thruster or a quad. Neither FCS nor Futures lists this model in its …Lost guide, so we go by the template both brands pair with the original Puddle Jumper, the small-wave board the Hydra draws on most. The template to look for is a raked, drive-oriented fin: on FCS II the Mayhem Driver Tri (Small, Medium, Large), with the Mayhem Driver quad rears (Medium, Large) for a quad. FCS classes the Mayhem Driver as a Carver-family fin: an elongated template with more sweep (rake), built for hold and longer, drawn-out turns. FCS sizes these fins by weight: Small 120–155 lbs, Medium 145–175 lbs, Large 165–200 lbs. On Futures, the Mayhem 3.0 5-Fin (Medium, Large) gives you the same rake template in a thruster-plus-quad set, or use the R-series Blackstix (R4, R6, R8) as a thruster. Futures sizes its fins as Small 95–135 lbs, Medium 125–175 lbs and Large 165 lbs and up.
What is the Hydra’s side-cut outline?
The snowboard-influenced Pelagic side-cut: a reverse-radius curve in the outline that …Lost first used on the Pelagic and carried to the RNF-Retro and Sword-Fish. …Lost says every board with this outline has worked above expectations: it locks into the wave during carves and shortens the radius of turns while gaining speed and keeping control.
What is the Hydra’s split diamond tail?
A tail that melds swallow and diamond characteristics. The notched-out centerline shortens the stringer and reduces area behind the rear foot, adding bite and control to a wide tail, and the double diamond shortens the rail line so quick, radical, power-retaining turns are manageable. Matt Biolos calls it more effective than a typical fish or swallow tail for radical surfing on very wide tails.
Why does the Hydra have three concaves?
…Lost runs a double concave inside a single concave with chined releases toward the rail, a design from its classic Bottom Feeder. The triple concave lets it use more rocker curve, which makes proper turning and vertical surfing easier, while the chines free the board up rail to rail so it can surf 3D rather than skating flat like many traditional fish.
Can I custom order a Hydra?
Yes. Use the Custom Order Hydra button on this page, or open the …Lost 3D board builder directly, to design one: you choose the dims, construction, fin boxes, colors and art.
From …Lost
Exact ...Lost Description
The HYDRA is the ultimate minuscule wave monster, melding more than 25 years of developing small wave fish and mini wave hybrids. The HYDRA implements proven design details from a myriad of models like the Puddle Jumper, Bottom Feeder, Pelagic, and most recently the RNF-Retro. Built around an overall low rocker paired to an almost traditional “fish” outline, this little sea monster is a mini-wave weapon.
It features multiple magic making design elements which bring The HYDRA to life.
• On the outline, we’ve continued with the snowboard influenced “Pelagic” side cut outline.
From our original Pelagic, to the RNF-Retro and on to the new SWORD-FISH, every board featuring this outline has worked above expectations. It noticeably locks into the wave during carves and shortens the radius of turns while both gaining speed and maintaining control (ie: not sliding or skipping out).
• The bottom contours feature a unique double concave, chined “Hydra-hull”. A design I first learned from Jim Fuller, in the mid ’80’s and is featured in our classic Bottom Feeder model. A similar style of “hull” was also designed, popularized and perfected by Bill Stewart as the “Hy- dro-Hull” for decades. Like a single concave; It allows the use of more curve through the rocker (which makes proper turning and vertical surfing a lot easier) by cutting through and adding lift and speed. With very wide boards, single concave bottoms easily get sticky and want to stay flat on the face, the chined bevels add release, free up the board from rail to rail and encourage 3D rail surfing, as opposed to simply skating fast on the surface, like so many traditional fish.
• The tail is a split diamond, which melds the characteristics of both swallow and diamond tails.
- The notched-out center line shortens the stringer and reduces surface area behind the rear foot, to add bite and control to a wide tail. - The double diamond tail shortens the rail line (and thus the turning radius) making quick and radical, power retaining turns much more manageable.
• The HYDRA uses a flat-ish deck, with full and forgiving rails. Flat decks can remain thinner and still retain volume, and more importantly, aremore flexible (even if thick) than vee or dome decks. Flex is good in low rocker boards, keeping them pliable and forgiving. I dare say this is a more effective and advanced tail design than a typical fish or swallow in allowing radical surfing with very wide tails.
“Short and wide, with effortless glide. The HYDRA will fly when other boards leave you dry”.
