The 2023 Hammerhead by Drew Danielo has been in the line for years now and for good reason – it rips! With its peanut design and squared off nose and tail, this board holds speed very well while also riding like a champ when you’re in revert so you can link your tricks with no problem. Drew has been at the forefront of wakesurfing basically since its inception so when he comes to us with an idea, we’re a bit inclined to listen. We sat down with Drew for a quick dive into his Hammerhead pro model and what he likes about it. Check it out below then pick one up for yourself HERE!
Phase 5: The Hammerhead has been one of your go-to boards for years now. What inspired the shape of it and how does it help your riding?
Drew: The biggest thing for me is the speed. All wakesurf tricks start with needing speed and the Hammerhead is super fast and responsive when riding regular or revert. I also like that I can ride a 50” board but it has the speed of a 54” board.
Phase 5: What about the squared off nose and tail design? How did that come about?
Drew: The shape was inspired because I wanted a board that was still fast and stable when riding revert. Traditional noses are pointy and when revert, they sit deep in the water and create more drag. So the Hammerhead which is like a twin tip but not exactly the same on both ends, is super fast when riding regular or revert. It also allows a bigger rider to ride a smaller size board without losing speed or float.
Phase 5: So a lot of the riders these days don’t rock the fins. Why do you like to ride with the fin?
Drew: Ah, the kids these days! Haha - I like the fins because I like being able to dig in and help generate speed down the line, my riding style has always been more about doing my tricks as high as I can. So the fin helps generate speed and when landing tricks, it helps bite and stop the board from sliding out. A lot of the younger riders now are more after the technical side of how many times can I spin my board or doing tricks down in the flats, so the lack of the fin helps them get the board spinning and can be a little more forgiving if you come up a little short and need to kind of power slide it around. Being honest there are guys like Jett and Sean that can spin their boards a mind boggling amount of times and take it to the air.
Phase 5: How does it compare to your other board in the line-up: the Diamond Turbo?
Drew: These are two pretty different animals. The Hammerhead as mentioned above, really shines with the revert riding and being able to ride a smaller size. The Diamond is crazy fast when riding regular, it rides well revert but not like the Hammerhead. The Diamond feels like a skateboard to me when I am riding it. It is very responsive and has so much pop off the wave. My 51” Diamond feels like it is 4” smaller than my 50” Hammerhead. It’s crazy. The 3 fin set up on the Diamond makes it a great high level option for any level rider. You can have as much or as little stability as you need.
Phase 5: What type of rider would you suggest the Hammerhead to?
Drew: The Hammerhead can be a really fun board for any level rider. Younger riders who are learning can add a 2” fin for stability and have a board they can grow with and learn a lot on. Or heavier riders who do not want to ride a 58” board and want to have something fast that they can progress on. And especially anyone who wants to have a board that is super fast revert.
Phase 5: Have there been any major changes to it from the 2022 version?
Drew: No big changes for the 2023 Hammerhead. However I will say that the 2024 Hammerhead is exciting…..
CHECK OUT THE 2023 HAMMERHEAD HERE!
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