Review: Lib Tech Lost Hydra 5’3″

Summary: The Lib Tech Lost Hydra seems like it would be a great board for the river, but it’s too slow for most river waves. Continue reading for the full review…

I have a soft spot for fishy shapes. The Hydra with its wide and retro-futuristic tail caught my eye. However wide tails can be difficult to turn, even more so with a 2.5″ thickness and 30 liters of volume. To compensate the Hydra has a lot of tail rocker. Unfortunately that rocker slows this board down so much that it ruins the board.

Bottom line: the Hydra is too slow for most river waves. On the steepest of river waves (Citywave, high water RRP and Salida, etc), the Hydra’s slowness is less of a hinderance. However most steep river waves don’t require paddling or a popup. In these cases the thickness and volume in the Hydra doesn’t help and just makes the board feel big and slow.

I’ve surfed (or tried to surf) the Hydra all over Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Washington. Out of all the waves I’ve surfed, there is only ONE where I prefer to surf the Hydra over my other boards: Pueblo’s Wave #4. There are three specific characteristics of this wave that make it good for the Hydra:

1. you have to pop-up in a rowdy foam pile. Here the extra thickness/volume helps immensely.
2. the wave itself is super steep, but not very tall or wide. It’s steep enough that the slowness of the board doesn’t come into play. The tail rocker is actually pretty nice to help keep you up on the face instead of dropping into the trough.
3. it’s easy to perl on this wave and when you do you’re likely to dig the nose of your board into the concrete. With Lib Tech’s durable construction, you don’t need to worry about dings.

If you’re considering the Hydra, you should also look at the Puddle Jumper and the Whirlpool. Both are Lib Tech boards with the same excellent construction. The Puddle Jumper is a better all around board on a variety of river waves, while the Whirlpool is better if you’re surfing one of the steeper, shortboard specific waves. Or if you’re not necessarily looking for something in the Lib Tech construction, the Badfish Wave Farmer is another option especially for the steeper, shortboard waves.

Unless you want a board for Pueblo’s Wave #4, I can’t recommend this board. Personally I will keep the Hydra in my quiver just for the handful of trips I make to Pueblo every season, but other than that it’ll stay at home.