The Shortie is a new shortboard by James 'Chilli' Cheal. As described by Jack Robbo from the 2021 Stab In The Dark, "this board is easy to ride. You don't have to think, you just jump on it and surf." This new performance driver packs high-performance surfing into a forgiving shortboard that caters to intermediate and advanced surfers. The Shortie was refined throughout 2021 with Chilli team riders and James saw it a fit for this year's Stab In The Dark with Jack Robinson.

James had 'user friendly' mixed with 'high performance' in his brief. He went to work combining a balanced rocker from nose to tail (creating a wide generous sweet spot), a moderate single concave (speed generating with drive), and a semi-rounded pin tail (control in the pocket at high speed). This created a forgiving performance shortie that is easy for surfers to jump on and immediately gel with (the most challenging part of Stab In The Dark, no second chances!).

The generous sweet spot is the product of a unique extra bit of foam designed into the stringer line, making it an excellent paddler. You may notice the thickness in the dimensions compared to the length and width seems a bit high, but this strategic design concept creates a board that allows you to surf without thinking too much. The thickness is balanced out by a medium performance rail, allowing full control when surfed in critical parts of the wave.

The Shortie fits into the Chilli range as a good wave driver for 3-6 feet. Choose your volume and this is the board for your next surf trip overseas, a great winter board, or your board for when it's pumping at home.