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Surfboards |
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Surfboard manufacturing is going through a renaissance with more shapes and materials available than ever before. Sam George, global editor of Surfer Magazine, on how to pick the best Click to view Top 5 Surfboards.
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Picking the Right Stick |
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| In the early 1960s choosing a surfboard was a fairly simple procedure. You simply strolled into your neighbourhood surf shop, picked out a board with an appealing colour scheme, paid your money and walked out, equipped for your adventure in the sun and the surf. |
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 This was because in the sport’s early days, surfboards were relatively standardised: between nine and ten feet long, blunt on either end, with a single large fin glassed right on the tail. With the exception of a brief but influential period of design flux in the late 1960s, when surfboards dropped in length and volume by up to 60% — the “Shortboard revolution” as it came to be called — board designs remained fairly uniform until the 1981, when the three-finned Thruster was introduced.
The Thruster ruled up until the mid-1990s, when surfboard design began to slowly diversify, up until to today, when there are more types of surfboards to choose from than during any other time in the sport’s history.
Which makes choosing the right surfboard all that much more crucial.
There are three basic surfboard categories, each with its own advantages and peculiarities. Assessing your skill level, the sorts of waves you’ll be riding on a regular basis and your aspirations is key to picking the right design for you. |
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| High Performance Boards |
 Look at what the pros are riding these days and you’ll see a dizzying array of surfboard designs, from wafer-thin Thrusters to short, stubby four-fins, to tiny tow-in rockets. But for conventional high performance surfing you’ll do best to stick with what has emerged as the industry standard: the squash-tail Thruster. “Squash” describes the rounded squaretail featured on boards offered by top labels like Channel Islands, Rusty, Lost and Timmy Patterson.
Typically the high-performance board will range in length from 5’10” to 6’5” depending on the size and weight of the surfer. They feature a narrow-nosed template, with the widest point near the centre. These boards are made for high-speed direction changes, on-rail and vertically. Because of the low volume they must be constantly pumped from rail-to-rail, to generate velocity. This makes for a very sensitive, manoeuvrable surfboard. However if you are not highly skilled enough to maintain this pace, these boards become very difficult to ride and, in fact, aren’t really suited to average wave conditions anyway. But if you feel you’re ready, make sure not to go too thin. A touch more volume, especially in the rails, will lend itself to better paddling and more authority through the turns. |
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| Hybrids |
This is a relatively new category of board, describing anything that’s not either a high-performance board or a conventional longboard. Truth is, most surfers should be riding some sort of hybrid, as the more accommodating nature of the designs facilitate a more effective (read: more fun) surfing experience. There are several avenues to choose from.
First is the slightly wider, longer and thicker version of the hy-performance board – often called a “big boys shortboard”. Most major manufacturers offer something in this range. Channel Islands and Rusty probably the most prestigious. These are great for bigger surfer, older surfers, or simply those who want a board that paddles well, gets into waves easy but can still be manoeuvred.
The second category of hybrid is the retro board. Virtually all major brands now offer updated versions of a 70s classic like the Fish or the Diamondtail single fin. Despite the retro-trend, these boards offer a lot of advantages, mostly in the area of trim speed and ease of handling. They are not recommended for beginners.
The third hybrid category is the mini-longboard or “mini-mal”. This form of hybrid — generally a lighter, thinner, more manageable version of the longboard — is best for beginners and intermediates, or those who surf only on occasion and don’t want to have to learn the basics over and over again. |
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| Longboards |
 These may, on first glance, all look the same, but there is actually a wide range of longboards to choose from — both retro and modern. The classic “log” can be distinguished by its increased weight, tapered “50/50” rail contour and single fin. These are the machines for time travel, perching on the tip in a 60s soul arch, dreaming of Gidget and 32 cent gallons of gas. They work best in smaller surf and despite their size are tough to learn on.
While the “modern’ longboard might seem like an oxymoron, they have actually been around for almost 25 years and have become very refined. These boards, in the nine to nine-six foot range, are generally lighter, thinner, with more longitudinal rocker, and most often come with three fins: a large centre, with two smaller side fins. These are good all-around designs. They paddle well, manoeuvre easily, can be turned hard or trimmed and nose-ridden. |
ProductSifter Buying Tips |
 * Don't get sucked into the macho "my board's shorter than yours" thing. Nothing's worse than having a board that's too small for you. The longer and more buoyant a board, the easier it is to paddle and catch waves with.
* Never buy a board from a shop where you are made to feel rushed or uncool. If they don’t have time to talk and explain things properly, they probably don't know what they are doing anyway.
* Make sure a good quality set of fins are included in the price of the board
* Think about alternative materials to fibreglass. Soft-top boards are great for kids. The new plastic/epoxy/carbon fibre boards also make good sense if they are going to get bashed about a lot – in the course of a long trip round the reefs of the south Pacific, for example...
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