Pyzel Ghost REAL Review

Trip Forman: Welcome to the REAL Board Loft. I’m Trip Forman, and this board right here needs absolutely no introduction because John John Florence and the WSL are doing an incredible job of promoting it. It’s the Pyzel Ghost, and this is my own Pyzel Ghost 6’3. This board is a good board, and it’s definitely become a very popular board. Based on the performance, it’s one thing when everyone buys what the pro rides and it doesn’t work for them, but people are buying this board because John John’s riding it and because their friends have it and love it.

What’s going on with this board with the Ghost is that Jon Pyzel pulled the wide point forward, flattened the rocker in the front of the board, and then pulled it into a nice rounded pin tail in the back. Originally it was made as a barrel board, a compact barrel board, much like the Short Cut that he makes. This is a refined version of a Short Cut.

What does refined mean? Refined means that if you heated the board up in a giant microwave oven, pinched the nose and the tail, and stretched it out a little bit longer, everything would get stretched, thinner, and a little bit more sleek. That’s what happened with the Ghost.

If you look at this board compared to a Short Cut, it’s a little bit more foiled on the rails. You’re going to ride it a little bit longer than the Short Cut, but it’s going to do a lot of the same things that the Short Cut did and still does. We found that board to be really good in barreling surf but also to have a big range when the waves were softer, and the Ghost does that.

That’s why John John is able to ride the same board at big Margaret River in Western Australia and also use it at average Trestles and have a really good time on it. We’ve surfed this board here at home in Cape Hatteras in barreling beach break and point break surf, and we’ve also taken it on trips and ridden it in that same type of wave but also in some pretty soft conditions. I would say obviously the bigger wave surfing and barrel surfing on this board is impressive and what it’s known for.

I think where this board surprises a lot of people is that if you take it on a trip, like when we took it to Las Flores, El Salvador, and rode it backside in softer conditions, not really big waves, the board still held its own, generated speed, and was fun.

Jon Pyzel recommends this board as a really good travel board if you’re going to a place with good waves, and I would definitely back that up. Another travel experience—Matt Nuzzo from REAL took this board when we went to Fiji this year and surfed it at every wave: Cloudbreak, Restaurants, Swimming Pools—the whole trip. He had other boards with him but kept going back to this one as his main board. It’s a really rangy board—frontside, backside, big, small, hollow, mushy—it works.

Obviously, if you’re in small mushy waves there are better boards specifically for that, but the fact that you can take a board you’re buying for barrels or bigger waves and ride it in those conditions and still have it work is really good.

The other thing I want to say about this board is that compared to other barrel boards, this one has the most shortboard feel. It has the ability not only to paddle well, catch waves, and get barreled, but also to turn. A lot of boards in that category are pretty straight in the outline and rocker, so when you try to turn them outside of the tube they don’t turn as well as a shortboard. That’s why you see people switching boards. The Ghost has the most shortboard influence in that category and has the ability to turn on an open face, and even backside on a mushy face it will still perform.

The last thing to say about this board is the paddling ability and wave catching. You don’t have to ride it oversized to catch bigger waves. You see someone like John John riding a 6’0 when others are on 6’8s, but with this board you don’t have to size up much because most of the foam is concentrated under your chest where you need it to help you get into waves.

Ride it at your performance board volume or slightly above if you’re going to be in bigger surf, but you’d need to jump several liters to notice a difference. For example, I was riding this one and went up to a 6’8 and didn’t catch more waves than on my 6’3. When I went to a 6’10, then I could catch anything I wanted. Going up just a couple sizes didn’t make a difference because the foam is so concentrated underneath you.

The Pyzel Ghost is one of the best boards out there right now from Jon Pyzel. Definitely check this one out, especially if you’re looking for something for the top half of your quiver and a really good travel board for places with quality waves. If you have any more questions on this board, give us a call at the shop 252-987-6000 or look us up online at realwatersports.com/surfing. Thanks for tuning in.