The Cole Firefly quad is the culmination of years of experimentation research and testing. The Firefly Quad cam about when Nathan Fletcher and Cole were searching for
something more exciting than the standard thruster, which had been stagnating, or at least getting a bit boring throughout the 1990's. "We started experimenting with
twin fins and were stoked on the quickness and acceleration, but ran into the same old problems inherent to that design."
"Nathan and I had both ridden quads in the past and loved certain things about the design, so we began working on combining the four fin design with the more contemporary
outlines, rockers and bottom contours of today." The boards were loose yet maximized drive and holding power. When on a rail both fins are basically facing the same
direction minimizing drag and eliminating the anchor effect of the third fin.
"Nathan began using quads for both his bigger boards in Hawaii at Pipe and Teahupoo. He was even more stoked on the design. When proved the design in
Hawaii we knew we really had something."
The Cole Firefly has been ridden by surfers including Nathan, Bruce Irons, Matt Archbold, Adam Repolgle, Dino Andino, and a host of other pros.
The high performance quad design is being ridden by surfers from 2' T Street, to 40' Mavericks. Surfers such as Tom Carrol, Dustin Barca, Danny Fuller, and even Kelly
Slater have been recently documented ripping on the new wave of high performance quads. The re-introduction of HP Quads was started as least in part by the
collaboration of Nathan and Cole on the Firefly.
Four sizes are currently available in the Flexlite technology.
5'8" X 18.5" X 2.12"
5'10" X 18.75" X 2.25"
6'0" X 19.13" X 2.38"
6'2" X 19.50" X 2.50"
Flexlite surfboard technology is a composite molding process that we specifically developed for surfboards. We looked at windsurfing (where composite boards originated)
and what technology they were using and tweaked it to get the flex and responsiveness needed for performance surfing. It is an EPS (Beaded Styrofoam) core with high
density PVC sheet foam wrapping around the core for durability. To maintain flex we tapered the PVC as it extends out toward the rails. This taper builds in a flex
point similar to a fishing rod tapering towards the tip. As the PVC tapers it goes to a higher density on the rails which is also more resistant to dings where you
need the most durability. By tapering the PVC towards the rails it allows for the EPS core to make up most of the rail thinkness (instead of the PVC). This also
decreases weight. Once we achieved the flex needed we also gained more drive due to a better reflex response with the epoxy resin and PVC foam. Standard polyester
boards have very good flex but they (especially over time) are slow to respond out of the flex. Composite boards come back to their original shape much quicker and
have a much longer life than a typical polyester board after being flexed. This allows for much more drive and speed through high performance turns as well as
projecting through flat sections. Polyester boards over time breakdown and feel sluggish because the reflex responsive gets slower and slower (that's why a new
board feels so much livelier than a 6 month old board even though it's the same shape and same dimensions).