Slater Designs Omni surfboard 6ft 0 Futures - White

I bought the 6’2 a month a ago and finally got to try it out yesterday, it was 2 ft windslop and I was hesitant about trying a ‘decent wave board’ on a shitty day in case it masked over the true nature of the board and make me hate it, I had to use it as I’m going to Morocco in three weeks and I need to know what board to take with me out of the quiver and I can’t take something I’ve never tried- too risky! I don’t have to worry- the board was awesome- I was very surprised at how well it grovelled for a board that simply isn’t a groveller. At just under 15 stone I could of got away with a smaller one but I’m happy to have a little more foam and catch more waves easily. Can’t wait to try it in something half decent!

So fast between turns never had anything like it, in 15 years of surfing!

Just to be clear for those of you that may read this, I have been surfing for 30 years, I've surfed a huge variety of boards and have owned the Vader, Vanguard and Evo, all great boards considering their place and time.

I loved all of the Tomo boards, the Vader was my personal favourite, but it struggled a bit in steeper, heavier waves, there is just a bit too much junk in the trunk to turn it hard off the take off. On rail all the Tomo's go great, but it depends what type of waves you like riding and how you want to ride them.

You only have to hold the Omni under your arm, you can feel how much more refined it is than the others, whether its the Slater influence or just design evolution, no one that appreciates a clean rail can ignore it. The Evo in comparison is a bit frumpy..... thats why it works in mellow waves of course, but I never held an Evo and got the same feeling of it being a special board. Its a great board in its own right, but soft and forgiving and because fo that it has limitations for more experience surfers.

The Omni takes away the issues that the other boards have, it has a much narrower tail which gives it a far more performance board feel whilst still having the famous Tomo speed and lift. In essence you get all the benefits of a loose performance board and twin them with the forgiveness and lift of a Tomo without feeling like you're on top of the wave, or skimming as sometimes an Evo does.

I've just spent the last 5 days surfing at Sennen, it's been 2ft to 6ft and I surfed the Omni in a mix of Quad/Tri.

It's not a groveller, but a good/experienced surfer can surf it in 2 ft, no probs at all, it goes just fine, it does need the to surfer to do a bit more work, but you can throw it around like a shorter wider board with no issues at all. (if you are a proper surfer). It's not for beginners or low level intermediates, it's a proper board that experienced surfers will get the benefits from.

When the waves get 3ft+ it comes alive, it really comes alive, so fast and thats the benefit of this shape, compared to an Evo, the rails are thinned out, the tail makes the board far more manoeuvrable , its super light and there's no sense of are the conditions a bit much for this board...... 6ft Sennen and an Evo..? Not for me, but on the Omni, so much fun, so much confidence, this is unquestionably the best Tomo shape I have surfed and owned, I loved the Vader, but it had its limitations, it was a great board but this is better.

if you're reading this and thinking, yup, this is the board for me, I will re-itterate, this is not a learning board, it's no where near as forgiving as an Evo, if your the type of surfer that likes 3ft more than 4ft + don't get this, stay with the Evo, this is a proper board for proper surfers..... it's not a gimmick.

If you do some research on the Board, you find Tomo's video talking about the shape, he mentions "this is by far my favourite board in the Slater Designs range"

who am I to argue with him...... especially when he's spot on, this really is a fantastic board, I wish i'd got one sooner, it is the most fun board I have had in a long time, I have no hesitation in recommending it to experienced surfers, not learners or people that get in once or twice a month...... can't thank the guys at Boardshop enough, they're always available to take a call and discuss all things surfing.

one happy punter.....

Just want to give you a first opinion of the Omni:

What a board!!! It’s ridiculous how much fun I had with it in the last two weeks. I had it in the water five times now in Yorkshire (Whitby) and up at Dunnet Bay, all the times in waves that in my opinion it is intentionally not made for. But it went so well from the first paddle out I was laughing out loud after my first wave. It is SO EASY to surf, so easy to paddle, it holds so well, it just feels perfectly right and just feel absolutely confident. I made my drops on parts of the wave I normally wouldn’t even think of doing and didn’t screw even one of them the first session (2 to 3 foot pretty clean waves) and simply got every wave I wanted. Of course you feel the thumbtail limiting it in soft and small waves but even then it was absolute fun to surf. The sizing advice you gave was just perfect!
I tried my Puddle Jumper RP one evening to compare. Switched back to the Omni after half an hour because the PJ just felt big and boring...

Light, durable and a decent template that goes when the Evo is out gunned. Very drivey out of the turns, generates speed well but I wouldn’t use it as a one board quiver as it is no grovler. Good service from the boardshop team and decent trade in on my old board.

As other reviews state its an easy board to surf, my first sesh it flew.
The Omni goes exactly where you want and when you want, no straight line tracking and no twitchy turns. Goes top to bottom lovely, get some steep face in the wave and it charges.
It looses a bit of speed when the wave face is flat It goes ok in slack waves but not as good as a groveler would.
If you're wondering about size/vol its got good float under the chest so catches waves very well, go down on volume not up.
The planing hull adds a bit of lift which on a whopping end section floater gives the strange feeling of the board being "corky" its not, it just flies, again don't go to high on volume.
Boardshop were, as always, great, helpfull with advice and quick delivery.
Get one, Enjoy!

The surf gods were very kind today, I got a peaky 3-4ft swell with great sandbanks and offshore winds tonight to try the new board, I think we got the sizing spot on! No issues what so ever catching waves and a friend commented that I threw the best spray he’s seen me do! Board feels amazing when your in the pockety part of the wave.

Well stoked! Thanks Ian!!

Managed to test my new omni in 3ft+ offshore waves today, amazing, that’s all I can say really, the board is a flying machine! And so smooth! Great purchase!

Typically the flat spell kicks in as soon as the new board arrives! So havent test driven yet. Great advice and communication from the team at boardshop, thanks Ian. The board arrived swiftly and well packaged. The omni looks a really good shape, yet to see if it will be a ‘do all board’ as some suggest, but it looks like it will handle some speed and the rails arent too fat dispite packing away some serious volume!! Ive paired it up with an Evo so that the two boards will cover most eventualities .. and transition between the two should be easy. Thanks

After the 5'11 being "the best board ever" it has just been undone by the 5'10.
Sharper easier to wrench into full pocket carves. Holds when you want rail. Spins when you want to rotate.
Such a special board. I never thought i would have two of the same boards in my quiver ever. But i will probably get another. It is that good.

This is the board that completely rejuvenated my surfing. Catches everything and goes in slop but excels when you can put it on a rail. So good to carve but small enough to slide.
Dont even quibble with it. Give them your money and take some more of mine whilst youre at it.

Buenas tardes; en relación al pedido #BS1021759, quería felicitaros por el envío a mi domicilio.
La tabla ha llegado perfecta y muy bien embalada.
Eso significa que seguire comprando mas tablas en el futuro.
Estoy muy contento.
Gracias y un abrazo

after my request for board addvice - Ian put the omni on the table. i have to say thank you! it taste so good. easy paddle, easy to ride, fast and loose. i'm 40 years old, 88 kg, and not able at this time to surf more then 6 to 8 weeks in the year - cause i'm landlocked in germany. had the board in sri lanka and it worked from 2 to 6 foot. looking forward to put it in hollow, powerful waves to the test. i will surprised... so if you need some addvice i can say - you can trust that guys at boardshop...

I'm 6'4", 95kg, athletic, intermediate level. Firewire website recommended about 50L for me. I surfed it with the large tri mayhem fins.

This is 43L, duck dives great, and has enough volume to catch decent waves. It feels like it starts moving faster than the 6'6" spitfire it replaced, and takes off about one stroke earlier (4 strokes instead of 5...not that I count...). It generates a lot of speed easily and carries well over flat spots and around sections, really squirty.

Digs in well for big turns but still felt very loose on backhand snaps - it rotates very quickly, probably because of the low weight and shorter length (less rotational inertia).

Only possible downside is that it doesn't seem to deal with chop very well, but I haven't had many bumpy waves yet.

It worked on waist high (but not quite grovelling) to overhead and barrelling. Takes some effort to control all the speed it wants to generate though!

Top consultation from the team at boardshop, I'll be coming back for my step up.

So just back from a trip on an island in the Atlantic with 5 guys and just as many new surfboards. After 10 years we all decided it was time to invest in new boards. We had with us a 611 Sci Fi, a 5'11 Omni, a 6'4 Greedy Beaver, a 5'10 Almond Butter and a 7'6 Seaxe. We surfed punchy hollow beach breaks, gentle take off beach breaks with fast inside sections, long left pointbreaks with diverse sections and mushy conditions. We passed the boards around so everyone could get a feeling for them despite being of very different heights, weights and athletic fitness.

The big winner was the Omni. This board is so unique, so special I can't even beging to understand it. When you ride it it feels like you're on an air cushion. Its so intuitive as soon as you shift your weight it comes alive. Its very fast, very stable and honestly it felt like someone was playing Playstation with me on the board. I've never felt so comfortable so quickly on a surfboard. It was the most popular board. We are good 40 year old surfers with 20 years experience but none of us are throwing vertical maneuvers. We like to cruise and carve and take off on big waves. One thing we did note is that the new FCS2 system is absolutely brilliant.

Ian's advice on size and volume was perfect despite my endless doubts and questions. Service at boardshop is really perfect.

Just wanted to say thanks for your advice on the Omni, its incredible. Just like you said feels like a forgiving shortboard, nothing like the hypto. Glad I went FCS2, it works well and if I’d waited for futures I would have missed using it in all this surf!

Came on to this from the Hypto which was previously the best board I've ever owned. This board surpasses it in almost every way though, it surfs like a forgiving HP shortboard and since you ride it so short it is incredibly manouvreable. I thought the rounded pin would give it almost too much drive but it is surprisingly easy to release the tail if you need to. It holds well in big surf, and the insane speed it gives you is controllable unlike the Hypto which liked to cruise. Cheers Ian for the help - best advice on boards I've received from anyone.

5 6 omni is a stunning little board - suits hollow waves and power, open faces, tons of drive and hold, - 8ft super tubes no probem!....ideal travel board esp combined with sci fi for more ripping and above the lip style moves

This is smooth, fast, and turns so nicely. I got a 5,7ft and has loads of volume to get in the waves early and then reacts perfectly. The nose and tail rocker are a great detail to this board because it releases excellently in small or big surf. I've surfed it on beach breaks and reef (over head) and it is amazing!!!

Aye back from hooting France and surfed the Omni every day loved those waves. Went in all waves from waist to well overhead, never got the Merrick out of its bag. thanks guys you were spot on

My best surfboard ever so far for good waves. It has a really nice tight turnung radius without sacrificing speed: really stoked on the performance,!!!especially with the Mayhem quad fin set up (large), it does have a lot of hold. I never thought those fins would work forthis board. Magic!!!