The concept was born when Fourth head shaper Luke Hart - Harty, needed a board that just didn't exist. He wanted a mini-mal that wasn't tanky and slow. A board that offered trim and glide as well as freedom on rail, in any waves. He didn't want a conventional 2+1 set up with super wide noses and thick foils. He didn't want boring. He wanted some spice! From that initial desire and over 2 years of mucking about with different rail lines ranging from 7'6 to 6'6 he eventually found a sweet spot. That sweet spot became a love affair which in turn became the original Time Piece.

The outline is the first piece of the jigsaw, stripping back width and curve in all the wrong places, the outline has a narrow over all width with a higher wide point. This allows some rail extension out the back which finishes into a wide-ish, round soft diamond tail. The nose is then pulled in relatively abruptly and you end up with a stable, streamline template that offers turning radius from a neutral stance and off the rail surfing from the back foot.

The rocker is neutral with slightly more curve than most would expect from a mid length yet, its numbers would suggest it is still a low entry, with the increase in rocker found in a little more lift in the tail. The result is you feel trim and speed down the line but you can really work that tail with your back foot and still maintain speed.

The foil is pushed forward so you have a stable platform up front, which then gradually blades out to sensitise the tail. The evolutiuon of the design was focused on finding the balance between neutral stance control and off the tail mobility and this board absolutely nails it.

The rails start unconventionally, with a hard edge running to the back of the side fins which then gradually twist into a soft yet slightly pinched 50/50. Most of the foam is held in the flatter deck of this model, with stability and trim in mind the deck is flat flat, but the stringer is not loaded with unnecessary foam. The actual thickness of the board therefore, and subsequently the volume, isn't as high as you might initially think.

The bottom contours are beautiful. A rolled vee in the nose falls into a spiral vee which travels the length of the board behind the bottom of the rocker. There is a subtle tri plane in this shape that starts as far back as the hard edge of the rail. This increases sensitivity and speeds of the rail to rail transitions which is why this board feels so lively - especially in the twin fin set up.

The fin set up consists of a box, with side fins. My call is to use the Time Piece O.G as a twin fin, with the power twins or the Brit Merrick templates from fcs our current pick. If however you are looking for more freedom with your surfing then go for an 8.5 inch flex tip from True Ames and enjoy the glide and soupy feeling this gives you. Find yourself a decent running point on a sand bank and surfing this as a single is about as good as surfing experiences get.

When it comes to construction the Base and Eco Base work really well when complimenting the board more relaxed and carvey nature. This board can be more lively though, and is this is your style of surfing then we say go for either the ESE of Flex Tech. Regardless of construction, you will not be disappointed.

This board has a special feeling. It simplifies surfing. Catching waves is obviously easy but so is gliding around on the wave face without a care in the world. You can push it hard off the bottom or you can trim ya nut off and just enjoy flying in water. You won't want to surf anything else if you own a Time Piece O.G. The original and in our opinion best UK midlength on the market.