The winning design of Stab In The Dark X starring Kelly Slater, designed by Dan Mann.

Introducing the winning design of Stab In The Dark X starring Kelly Slater, the DRK in I-Bolic 2.0 Technology by Dan Mann.

Dan drew inspiration from the original shape he crafted for Kelly when first asked to make the 11x World Champion some boards, the DRK is a refined version of the FRK designed for high-performance surfing in good waves. When Dan shaped the original batch of FRKs for Kelly in 2015, they sat in his board shed until 2017 when a friend insisted he try one. He loved that board from the very first turn on it, he immediately clicked and felt he could mindsurf anywhere he wanted to on the wave, it drove and jumped to exactly where he wanted to go.

Kelly's FRK shapes went unchanged until 2022 for the Barra de la Cruz event when he wanted to change the rail and foil to be more balanced under his chest. And then once more before a trip to J-Bay in 2023, when he asked Dan to push the wide point forward making the back half of the board more narrow than the FRK, allowing for a more elliptical, pulled-in tail. More narrow meant more sensitivity, and more need to be on top of your game.

Dan on the Stab In The Dark X project, "it was a simple decision that this was my best shape for him. The board looked insane under his feet. He could put it wherever he wanted and he didn't have to think about it. Kelly not thinking about the board is when he is free to fly. When he is flying, we all win."

The DRK came to be with great care to keep the features that make the FRK such a great board, like fin placement, bottom contours, and rocker. It's a high-performance, refined, simple, and clean version of a high-performance shape that is surprisingly versatile in various conditions.

As he does with all of Kelly's shapes, Dan made the fin cluster conducive to changing between Quad and Thruster configurations. Kelly's been riding with his all-new Slater Designs Endorfins KSR Fin Set.

Wave Type

The DRK was designed for good waves and high-performance surfing. The best conditions for the shape are punchy waves in the head-high to little bit overhead range, in nuggety waves - the more round the wave the more the DRK seems to light up in transition and through turns. That said as you'll see in the Stab In The Dark X series, it's surprisingly versatile in less-than-ideal conditions.

Board Features

The shape is similar to the FRK - a very similar outline, but with a slightly changed rail and foil to be more balanced under his chest than the FRK. The bottom contours, rocker, and fin cluster are all very similar to the FRK, a deliberate choice by Dan to not change the features that make the FRK such a good board. The second refinement Dan and Kelly made from the FRK was to push the wide point forward to allow for the tail to be pulled in slightly, adding increased sensitivity and responsiveness.

I-Bolic 2.0 Core Technology

I-beam core construction with flex controlled at the rails using high density foam - an engineering feat developed for performance. I-Bolic 2.0 Technology offers the same speed, control, strength and response as the original, but with increased strength due to a fully engineered carbon strip inlay on the bottom deck and an updated look.

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