All Boards are for click-and-collect only due to size. Once order confirmed, we will email you to let you know its ready, please feel free to contact us first to discuss any details.
The RNF-’96… Having shaped multiple variations of the “fish” from 1994 to 1995, Lost had created a bit of momentum with the designs. Leading into Winter ’95/’96, they refined a basic design where they were able to fine-tune, replicate and re-size the original RNF (by hand) with some consistency. Lost continued to build small quivers for both Chris Ward and Cory Lopez and sent them everywhere, with Cory taking various versions to each stop on the WQS tour.
These 1996 Fish were all hand-shaped and not the most consistent creations, but they became the basis and the building blocks towards offering the design to people outside their circle of friends. These were the boards that teenaged Chris and Cory took to the North Shore and essentially made their indelible mark on the surfing universe.
The RNF-’96 is based with reverence, but not 100% compliance, to the original “fish” developed for Chris and Cory in the year leading up to the 1997 seminal surf film 5’5” x 19 1/4”. While very few specimens from this era still exist and most that do are very thin and imperfect relics of Cory’s boards, some of the re-creation and execution comes down to doing what looks and feels right …and what will work best.
Plainly put, most fishes since this time were predominately influenced by kneeboards. Inspired by the early 70’s style, Lis-inspired, wide tail, parallel outline kneeboards transitioned well to stand-up surfing in small waves, but have battled to come near peak performance of modern shortboards ever since. Lost's Fish was always about performance, not just a crutch to go fast on in small surf.
For the sake of better surfboards, Lost has taken a touch of liberty. Based on the past 25 years of board building, they tried to create a consistent (and dare say better) surfboard, faithfully based off, but not necessarily exacting to the varied RNF of 1996. With diligent testing being done by many of their top team, including Kolohe, Coco, Ian Crane, Crosby Cola and other “guests” in the last few months of 2020, Lost are very confident that the RNF-’96 will perform at and above expectations, as an all-around, rip-able fun machine, for a wide level of surfers.
FEATURES
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Rocker curves: Remain engrained to the original proven curves.
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Outline curves: Both nose and tail were usually the same widths at 12” and remain true but with more precision, including added curve and width around 6” from the tail. One “secret” about the original’s success was that, unlike most all other “fish” the tail width on theirs was closer to that of a typical HP Shortboard. This allows much more control off the tail than typical fish designs.
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Bottom Contours: The classic single concave to double concave, accelerating vee combination defines design elements and holds true to adherence.
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The Thickness Flow, Deckline, Rails, and Tail Foil: They were all over the map in those rudimentary hand shape days. Each board was different, with most of them having noticeably different curves and thicknesses from one rail to the other.
