Firewire Spun Honey Review: Dan Mann’s Latest Performance Groveler

If you’ve been hunting for a new groveler to round out your quiver, the Firewire Spun Honey from shaper Dan Mann deserves a serious look. I’ve ridden a stack of Dan’s designs over the years — everything from shortboards to mid-lengths to longboards — and he has a real talent for shaping boards that suit everyday surfers rather than just the pros.

So when the Spun Honey landed, I was keen to get it wet and see if it lived up to the hype.

What Is the Firewire Spun Honey?

The Spun Honey is Dan Mann’s newest performance groveler, built to squeeze the most out of small, mushy waves while still offering enough juice for proper top-to-bottom surfing. That’s exactly the gap in my own quiver — I lean on mid-lengths when the swell drops, but I didn’t have anything shorter that let me throw real turns in average conditions. This board fills that space perfectly.

 

 

 

Who Is This Board For?

The Spun Honey is versatile enough to suit a wide range of surfers: someone stepping into their first shortboard with a bit of extra volume, an intermediate looking to push their surfing further, or an experienced surfer after a fun, easy groveler for everyday conditions. It’s not really designed for absolute beginners — the shorter package rewards a bit of existing skill — but from high-end beginner upward, it’s a genuinely great addition to any quiver.

 

 

Design and Features

The Spun Honey pulls together design elements from several of Dan Mann’s most celebrated shapes. The standout feature is a double barrel concave that runs almost the full length of the board, set within a single concave. For the average surfer, that translates into heaps of lift and speed, while still letting the board roll smoothly from rail to rail — it turns easily despite its width.

Other borrowed details include the diamond tail from the Spitfire and a step-down rail at the back reminiscent of the Mashup, Dan’s collaboration with Rob Machado. The wide point sits slightly forward of center, packing extra foam under the chest for easy paddling and a forgiving feel if your positioning drifts. Combine that with a fairly chunky rail, medium entry rocker, and medium exit rocker, and you get a board that paddles well, carries speed, and still turns surprisingly easily.

Given how many other Dan Mann shapes it borrows from, comparisons are inevitable. In my quiver, the Spun Honey sits above the Sweet Potato (a dedicated super groveler), just below the Mashup on the top end — though the Spun Honey actually wins on the smaller-wave end — and well below the Dominator 2.

In short: it’s the board to grab on smaller, mushier days when a longboard or mid-length feels like overkill.

 

 

Fin Setup

The Spun Honey ships as a five-fin setup, so you can run it as a quad, a thruster, or a twin-plus-trailer. My go-to has been the Futures Vector Blackstix in quad configuration — fast, fun in mushy conditions, and holding speed beautifully through turns with plenty of release. A friend put me onto these fins and they’ve quickly become one of my favorite sets in years.

I also tested a few other quad options. The Futures Controllers felt a little skittish on bigger waves and didn’t suit the board for me. The Futures Neutral quads, on the other hand, were predictable and versatile — a solid starting point if you already own a set. The Firewire Velox quads, my usual go-to across most of my boards, also worked really well here. Firewire has released Spun Honey-specific fins too, which I haven’t tested myself, but if Dan Mann says they work, I trust his judgement!

I haven’t tried the Spun Honey as a thruster — I’ve never really gotten along with them — though plenty of riders rate it in that setup. I’ve also had feedback that it performs nicely as a twin with a trailer, which I plan to test soon.

 

 

Sizing and Construction

The Spun Honey runs from a 5’4″ (27.6L) up to a 6’4″ (44.4L). At 82kg and 185cm, I went with the 5’10” at 35.2L, sitting just above my usual performance shortboard volume — I like a bit of extra foam in my grovelers. Having ridden it, I love the size, though I reckon I could have sized down slightly. Worth keeping in mind when choosing yours.

Construction-wise, the Spun Honey comes in Firewire’s Helium tech, one of my personal favorites — strong, durable, light, and perfectly suited to smaller, everyday wave conditions with great feedback underfoot.

 

 

How Does It Surf?

Having not ridden anything under 7ft for close to a year, I was a bit apprehensive about dropping down to a 5’10”. That worry didn’t last — the Spun Honey paddles far better than expected, gliding easily and locking into waves without a fight.

Once up and riding, the word that sums it up is fun. It’s flowy and responsive. My first session was at The Wave in Bristol, where conditions ran shoulder-to-head high — and that felt like roughly the ceiling for this board given its width. The real sweet spot is waist-to-shoulder high, and that’s where it truly comes alive: nice rail-to-rail turns, whipping back into the pocket, throwing spray, all with a lively, connected feel underfoot.

Back home surfing it out front in Lennox, it’s been a blast on smaller, mushier days. It’s not a board I’d reach for when it’s completely flat — that’s still mid-length or longboard territory for me — but with a bit of shape in the swell, the Spun Honey shines. It’s actually pulled me back toward shortboarding a little more, especially paired with those Vector Blackstix fins.

Final Thoughts

The Firewire Spun Honey slots neatly under my longboard for the smallest of days and something like the Mashup for when the waves have more push. If you’re after a fast, fun, and forgiving groveler for everyday conditions, this board earns its spot in the quiver.