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Old     (markj)      Join Date: Apr 2005       11-14-2018, 10:37 PM Reply   
I used to ride Victoria ocean skimboards in high school back in the 80's. Fast forward a few decades and I crossed paths with them again with their wake surf boards. I found out I could custom order one in 2014 so I ordered a Factor PCX just how I wanted it with the graphics "just so." I absolutely loved the shape and performance. Totally balanced, low swing weight, super high performance, turns on a dime, all carbon fiber etc etc...

I wanted that same board with the same performance-just a tad larger due to my affinity for double IPA's, but their shape for the Factor PCX changed. I ordered the new-design second board in XL. The new shape didn't work as well for me despite the XL size. Back to the drawing board.....

After numerous conversations with their factory about my likes/dislikes, I discovered they will build custom shapes too. Not just custom graphics. You can even spec the nose and tail rocker. How friggin cool is that??? I told them I loved my Large 2014 Factor PCX shape and just wanted it a tad larger. They took my idea, cut a foam blank out, overlaid the same board shape as my Large PCX over it and sent a pic. I reviewed it and suggested we knock the nose/tail lengths down and blend them into the overall board. I also designed the old school graphics (due to the 100's of checkered Vans I wore as a kid, I'm a sucker for checkers). It turned out great and only took about a week after ordering. All I needed was a road test...

Long story short, it's SICK. Long story long, after my initial talks with the factory about my theories of board design, they suggested I contact their west coat sales rep for his opinion. That dude was none other than Sean "dollabill" Cummings. A wake surfing legend. A totally cool dude too. He let me know that he had a bunch of Vic's boards with him and agreed to meet me on the Dirty D to demo them behind my boat before I committed to ordering the new custom shape. The timing just happened to be primo for both of us.

It was super cool to ride a lot of shapes back to back. In the end, I discovered, despite my heavier weight, I wasn't ready for the more stable ride of a board like The Captain like I thought I might be. I still wanted the squirrelly, nimble, high performance of that Factor shape with a pintail.

In short, if you've got a few extra lb's laying on and around you, but you still want a high performance board you won't grow out of, stop looking. This is it. Right now I weigh a solid 210 and I'd say this board can support someone at least 250. The catalyst for the whole new board thing was really me not wanting to have to sack my boat out as much. The new board did the trick.

Below, I'll post the following in this order: 1.)The pic they sent with the old shape over the new foam. 2.)My 2014 Large Factor PCX, my 2017 XL Factor PCX and my new custom 2018 "modified" Factor PCX. 3.) My quiver of all remaining Vic boards dating back to around 1987ish. A couple are missing.

Also worth noting is the time of year it is. Don't expect any board company to be fawning all over you if it's spring or summer. Now is the time if you want killer service on something like this.

One last thing: As I understand it, they lay the carbon fiber, apply the epoxy and vacuum bag it. This pushes the epoxy around a bit which prohibits perfect lines or graphics. It's a hand-made product. Almost organic. No two are alike.
Old     (markj)      Join Date: Apr 2005       11-14-2018, 10:40 PM Reply   
Initial foam
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Old     (markj)      Join Date: Apr 2005       11-14-2018, 10:42 PM Reply   
My boards over the last few years.
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Old     (markj)      Join Date: Apr 2005       11-14-2018, 10:44 PM Reply   
The whole collection dating back to the 80’s.
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Old     (markj)      Join Date: Apr 2005       11-14-2018, 10:53 PM Reply   
The new custom board is on the right in the last 3 pics.

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