I recently picked up a used Tower FIT paddleboard on Craigslist and the board is amazing. I was pretty skeptical at first, since my past experience tells me that anything that is short, fat, and wide will not go forward very fast. Somehow this board manages to do well with me at 195 lbs riding on it. At 5 1/2" thick, it is very thick, even for a paddleboard. The polyester construction seems odd as well in this day of epoxy boards cranked out from forms in factories. It actually reminds me of an old windsurf board from back in the 1980's only wider and thicker. The board has a Futures fin system, which is five boxes and I was excited to try that out. I ordered a nice set of set of medium-sized fins for a 3 fin setup and immediately found that the center needed a larger fin. I traded the center for a 7" fin and then the board really started to work. I have been out on a couple of not-so-glassy days and was still able to paddle and catch waves. The only downsides I can find are that this board is probably more like 31 lbs than 25....it could be that it's not new, who knows, but a giant polyester board does not even sound like something that would be light anyway. The other downside is trying to go upwind, and even getting out past the break with an onshore wind. You can catch waves, but what I do see missing that you would have on a longer board is glide. This board does not glide...but boy does she turn and go...I can paddle for almost any wave I want now, and you can believe that when I get out of the water, I am dog tired...one great board for a surfer!

Check out my video review of this board