After a not-so-stellar start to this season, Dane Reynolds has elected to take a page from Kelly Slater's equipment playbook in order to keep himself interested in the tour. He was ripping on a 19.5-inch wide 5' 7" today. Reynolds, you may recall, is renowned for his indifference toward the tour. While some say that's what makes him such a cool cat, others say it's a pretty transparent copout. For what it's worth, I think both parties are right.

The big problem with most tour surfers have to endure is the rut their equipment forces them to reside in. There's a huge paranoia among most of them that if they dare shed a half inch here, or gain one there, that their entire world will cave in. But if Slater's 2008 season taught us anything, it's that the touring pros have been slow to catch on to the design renaissance that's been thriving. Yes, even King was years late to the party. But he's hellbent on catching up fast.

"I've got the 5' 8" quad, and the 5' 4" quad, and my 5' 10" thruster" says Kelly. "I really want to try the 5' 8" in my heat, but we'll see." Slater seems genuinely excited talking board design. Whatever remains of his competitive fire seems closely linked to his thirst for validating design theories. But even Kelly has to reign in his passion from time to time. His experimentation earlier this year cost him.

Only after he opened his Round One heat at Trestles with two 9-point rides on his 5' 10" thruster did he come in and swap it for the 5' 4" quad. "I actually think four fins are the best boards for Trestles," he explains. "I took that 5' 8" out the other day and it felt like I was cheating."

The fun Slater is having on his equipment seems to be driving guys like Dane to experiment. "I don't know if my 5' 7" will work in hollower waves or not," says Reynolds, "But I guess we'll find out."

Reynolds will face Rob Machado next, a guy who, in his years away from tour life, has nearly lost all track of what a "normal" board is. "It's weird that we always put the fun stuff away when it's time to surf in heats," says Rob. "I don't get that. I mean I do, but I don't, y'know."