Innehållsförteckning för #353 Boards från Surfing Life

Surfboards are like ice cream. There’s always room for more. With cancelled overseas trips and border restrictions, surfers have been ordering a variety of flavours from their local shapers. True connoisseurs hand shape for every taste, like macadamia ice cream (roasted maccas hidden in the creamy vanilla), which gives that longer satisfying ride. Real-fruit fusions are for those who love fast, sharp “acidity on the lip” experiences. Then there’s the one-shape-fits-all Neapolitan variety: vanilla, choc, and strawberry. Cheap, bland, and it doesn’t matter if they mix together because it’s the same sickly-sweet flavour. And what follows a nasty sugar high can be as depressing as buyer’s remorse. Coconut ice cream and milk alternatives are for those of us—vegan folk—who are out to save the planet: plant-based, sustainable, eco-friendly boards that…

In today’s dynamic world, the simplicity of making things easy for consumers is something that every industry searches for. Surfboards, however, are far from simple. Complex curves that sit between art and science, emotion—feeling. There is a balance between all the elements that go into a surfboard when designing and building one, and the surfer is one of these elements. Over the past two-and-a-bit decades that I have been building surfboards, the technological advancements in CNC machining and the brands’ adoption of “board models” have led to one key metric—to gauge a board’s size suitability for a surfer: volume. This wasn’t a word discussed when I began learning the basics of hand shaping a board in 1997. It was length, width, thickness, outlines, wide points, rockers, and concaves. There was…

Life tests us in waves: which ones to ride … which ones to leave. It’s only after that we can tell if we’ve made the right choice. Now, thanks to our location, our learning curve’s shifting from the shape of a curling wave to a straight line shooting to the stars. The best place to review boards is in controlled conditions: same wave size, shape, strength, and ridden by the same surfer. 2020’s Board Bible doesn’t cross any state or international borders, because we’ve sourced an élite location with two of our favourite surfers, Luke “Louie” Hynd and Kirra-Belle Olsson, in our own backyard—okay, our neighbour’s backyard (or their neighbour’s neighbour’s neighbour’s …). This not-so-secret wave pool’s greatest asset is its mechanical precision, making it perfect for reviewing boards. Surf…

SHAPER: SAM WEIR ARTIST: WILLY NICHOLLS SANDER: RYAN McDONALD 5’9” x 18 7/8” x 2 3/8” TEST PILOT’S NOTES LOUIE: What I really like about this board is they’ve gone a renewable approach with recycled caravan insulation and used that for the foam. This is the first time testing a technology like this, and it felt really strong—really responsive—and great off the top. It worked on Occy’s Peak, left and right, which is about three to four foot and then went unreal at the slab, a really good all-round board. KIRRA: It’s quite an easy board to generate speed on and has a fair bit of volume around the chest area, which makes it really easy to paddle and easy to control. Rails are really nice and it has quite…

Brothers and sisters, what if I reveal that surfboard shapers are evil creatures seeking to keep the whole of humanity locked into an embarrassing mediocrity, so they can go to surfboard-shaper conferences or hang out in surfboard-shaper bars to mock—and laugh and laugh more until tears come into their eyes and wash the foam dust off their cheeks—about our poor skill? Like our hunchbacked rail bogging, slow top turns, non-existent bottom turns, and fantastically bad lines. Oh, I am joking, and I know that my jokes are not brilliant, but one can take everything as a joke. I am, perhaps, jesting against the grain. But in truth, I am tormented by questions: answer them for me. Surfboard know-it-alls, those who know all about litres, rocker, concave, etc., want to cure…

SHAPER: HAYDEN COX ARTIST: NONE SANDER: HAYDEN COX 5’10” x 18 5/8” x 2 ¼” 26.56 L TEST PILOT’S NOTES LOUIE: I was keen to ride this as they have a pretty high-performance team, and I thought it would suit that sort of surfing. Instantly, it felt like it had a really great release off the top, and it was fast and connected well off the bottom and off the top. You could do whatever you wanted it to—one of those really reactive boards that you could throw around. Again another board you could ride in all conditions. KIRRA: On this board they’ve use the carbon tape off-cuts to produce their tail patches instead of it going into landfill, which I love. This board went really well on Occy’s Peak.…

DESIGNER: GRAHAM SMITH ARTIST: BRETT PALMER SANDER: MARK JAMESON 5’10” x 18 5/8” x 2 ¼” 26.56 L TEST PILOT’S NOTES LOUIE: I know Graham and Jordy have been working on this model for quite some time and have really put in the hours to produce a great board. Most of the aspects are what you’d find on most performance shortboards, but what I noticed different about this board was it’s quite a deep single concave into a slight double. This made it quick and with the wide tail, it was very loose off the top … with good release for fin blows and airs. KIRRA: This board went really well on Occy’s Peak, especially going left on my forehand. It has a fairly wide square tail, which had really…

Materials have long been explored in the world of surfing and have played a crucial role in the advancements of all products we use—boardshorts, wetsuits, and surfboards. The accessibility and variety of materials available today opens up the scope of design and direction. Ultimately though, it is the feeling they create that will determine their success. A familiar feeling that allows a surfer to have no compromise to their performance—no nuances or unexpected feelings. It is this harmonious blend of material choices that dictates the final design. What are we actually feeling? Is it the foam, resin, glass or carbon fibres, or stringers? How much of this creates the feeling versus the shape? It is a combination of all these components, and each surfer will have a different preference based…

"A'ohe pau ka 'ike i ka hālau ho'okāhi: one can learn from many sources."1 This old Hawaiian proverb reminds us that learning to pop up like a pro is accomplished in numerous ways. A “pop-up”, also known as a “snap-to” or “take-off”, isn’t like its name suggests. Instead, it’s more of a “flow-through” as surfers don’t jump or snap into position. When a pro performs it—blink and we’ll miss it. Even in slo-mo, their tanned athletic bodies blur from paddling positions to that iconic sea-god or goddess stance while they’re gliding along the wave. This image has been devoured by surf fanatics (and non-surfers) for eons. Still, we never tire of surf clips with powerful waves—harnessed by perfect manoeuvres. Would these flawless moves be possible with an average pop-up, and…

World titles are now won on machine-shaped surfboards. Yet many surfers cling to the concept of hand-shaped superiority. Today, the collective consciousness of surfers still seems fiercely loyal towards tradition. Although, overall knowledge of board design and construction appears to be on the wane. While there are plenty of pros and cons to explore in this dispute, the main question is this: as board design and technology evolves, does our idea of good shaping need to evolve with it? The age-old debate of man versus machine is most evident in the surfing world when people talk boards. From woods like koa and balsa, to polyurethane foam, to epoxy, and carbon-flex hybrid composites, surfboard design has evolved through years of tradition. Today, high-tech modern blades are a far cry from the…

Clearwater specialise in shaping every style of board. In the new age of surfing when there is a new shaper turning up around every corner, it is good to know you can still find quality craftsmanship. Steve Del Rosso has been shaping for over 30 years and doesn’t use a ghostshaper. Steve started shaping in WA where you had to know how to shape a good step-up board and gun, or you’d be left behind. Over a decade ago, Steve made his way to the wave-rich area of the Gold Coast to fine-tune his high-performance shaping. Since then, he has been shaping premium quality surfboards that won’t disintegrate after a couple of surfs. If you want to save money, don’t buy ten cheap boards. Buy one good one that will…

SHAPER: DAVE VERRALL COLOURING: FLAX SANDER: DAVE VERRALL 5’9” x 19” x 2 3/8” 27.1 L TEST PILOT’S NOTES LOUIE: This board really caught my eye with the use of different materials, like flax, and I think it’s our duty as surfers to do every little thing we can for the environment. It felt great, super responsive and strong under my feet. It felt great off the top; it reacted well and instantly did what I wanted it to do. A great high-performance shortboard. KIRRA: This board felt really drivey and I had a lot of control over the board, especially in the lip and I was able to get some release in the tail. It’s super easy to manoeuvre and maintain speed on. Again the flax is really cool…

DESIGNER: RUSTY PREISENDORFER ARTIST: FEZ SANDER: RICH QUIGGIN 5’9” x 18 9/10” x 2 ¼” 27.4 L TEST PILOT’S NOTES LOUIE: I was excited to ride this board. I had a board with similar rails back in the day, and it was one of the best boards I’ve ever had. The rails are almost a 75-degree angle that really helps you dig in. At first, it looks a bit different and you might be sceptical about it, but you’ve just gotta trust that the chunkiness in the rail will help you. It’s a good board for doing airs, if you’re into that, and with a good amount of area up the nose for landing them. With a pulled-in tail, you can still do strong bottom turns and hit the lip.…

As all surfers know, every board needs fins, wax, tail pads (unless you’re left in the ’70s), legropes (because we firmly believe in the safety of others), and a board bag to throw them all in. Our Sled Review was no different, and we needed the good oil for our test pilots, Louie and Kirra, so we asked around and got the support of incredible brands. Plus, the use of an amazing wave pool. We’d like to give a big shout out to our Board Bible partners for this issue. Firstly, to the team at Surf Lakes for being gracious hosts who made us feel like we were the reason they turned on the waves and pushed Thor’s hammer the furthest they have to date. The waves are impressive and…

We have seen hundreds of fins over the last 50 years with huge breakthroughs in fin design. From the first keel or skeg, to George Greenough’s tuna-shaped fin that almost every modern fin is based on, through to removable fins with either a single- or double-tab construction. Each step along the way has been a brilliant breakthrough. But there hasn’t been much development for quite a few years … until now. One area in the market of considerable growth has been in softboards. More and more manufacturers have joined this mini boom to produce a bunch of excellent foamies. These soft tops range from the absolute beginners to high-performance sleds with epoxy and EPS cores wrapped in foam—so they can really be thrown around, and put on rail. But with…

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