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Board trends

V

VaB

Michael Peterson status
Nov 14, 2004
3,078
687
113
Virginia Beach, VA
Go for the latest and greatest or tried and true?

At one point everyone was riding undersized chips... and thought they were great. Board makers are constantly making changes and evolving but for the most part, these board will all be obsolete in a few years due to current trends. If the board is really that functional, how can it be obsolete? Also, how can board makers continually improve without a few gems that hit high point functional design.

Most of what we are riding today, will soon be replaced by something that we love more and is thought to be better. Do you buy a board that is an older design but generally thought to be of great design or buy a new design in the hopes it will be a gem?
 
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oeste858

oeste858

Phil Edwards status
Sep 11, 2017
7,016
17,467
113
San Diego, CA
Hmm. How I want to surf on a wave now is slightly different than when I was in my 20s, so my boars have evolved as i’ve better understood what actually works for me and the waves I surf. Now I enjoy trying new stuff since you can always go back to design elements that you know have worked for you in the past.
Also, I rode those KS glass slippers for waaay too long, so I wish I would’ve been willing to experiment more back then!
 
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casa_mugrienta

casa_mugrienta

Duke status
Apr 13, 2008
43,669
18,175
113
Petak Island
VaB said:
Go for the latest and greatest or tried and true?

At one point everyone was riding undersized chips... and thought they were great. Board makers are constantly making changes and evolving but for the most part, these board will all be obsolete in a few years due to current trends. If the board is really that functional, how can it be obsolete? Also, how can board makers continually improve without a few gems that hit high point functional design.

Most of what we are riding today, will soon be replaced by something that we love more and is thought to be better. Do you buy a board that is an older design but generally thought to be of great design or buy a new design in the hopes it will be a gem?
Click to expand...

Tried and true.

If something works, it works. When it's spent, order it again. Tried and True is tried and true for a reason.

But if you have discretionary cash and the time to surf discretionary boards then play some.

It takes time for the average surfer to get a board dialed, and life is short. Why waste time riding a bunch of different boards and never completely dialing one? Never getting a decent board dialed and bouncing around from board du jour to board du jour is ultimately a self-defeating pursuit.
 
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LifeOnMars

LifeOnMars

Michael Peterson status
Jan 14, 2020
3,164
2,106
113
still on HP shapes with less rocker more width and thickness

have squashed stubby boards for small waves and longer stretched out boards for bigger waves

can't see how board shapes would evolve much from here

constructions yes but shapes not really
 
3

302PD

May 20, 2020
48
16
8
casa_mugrienta said:
It takes time for the average surfer to get a board dialed, and life is short. Why waste time riding a bunch of different boards and never completely dialing one? Never getting a decent board dialed and bouncing around from board du jour to board du jour is ultimately a self-defeating pursuit.
Click to expand...
you just summed up my surfing life
 
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M

mundus

Duke status
Feb 26, 2018
37,311
16,360
113
IMHO, the pros and most highly skilled surfers are riding boards too short. I see something like a mix of the glass slippers and shorter wider boards would be about right.
 
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jkb

jkb

Tom Curren status
Feb 22, 2005
10,116
9,197
113
Central California
I've tried some wild designs over the year. I find it fun to figure them out.......and that's the point right? Fun.

Some of those wild shapes work way better than expected or have an element I can take from them and put towards another board. Some "normal" boards that I thought would be a shoe in for my style/preference were flat out dogs. This has taught me to be a little less judgmental on how a board looks, although I'm still guilty of it and some boards just don't appeal to me.

I have tried and true shapes that just flat out work for me, so those remain a constant in my quiver and I order the same thing when they're dead.
 
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oeste858

oeste858

Phil Edwards status
Sep 11, 2017
7,016
17,467
113
San Diego, CA
urchined said:
you'll know your definition of tried and true by what boards you pick when there is some consequence to the wave.
Click to expand...
That’s fair. Despite how different my SoCal DDs are these days compared to 10 yrs ago, a pointy-nosed thruster is still such a security blanket in OH+ surf. …But even those have been tweaked with elements from lessons learned from the past few years’ quiver experimentation.
Sadly, I can’t speak about boars for legit travel “good waves” like HI, Indo, Mex, etc. since I frankly just don’t get to surf them. In that case, you certainly don’t want surprises with your equipment
 
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