Softboards - any thoughts
GuySmiley wrote:
Anyone out there have a softie in their quiver?
6’0 and 7’0.
I’d prefer the 6’0 had the proper foiled rails like a Mick Fanning board but it does the trick.
Softies are a revelation. Days when you’d not normally consider surfing are made fun.
I don't have a softy in the quiver, yet the other day I was struck by how competitive the softboard market now is.
Pros who currently own or have shares in the market include Mick Fanning, Gabriel Medina, JJF, and Chippa Wilson who bought into Drag. Jack Coleman and Ryan Heywood own 88 Surfboards, Haydenshapes has released the Hypto Krypto as a softboard, and they all join the existing players such as O&E (15 models!), El Nino, Softlite, Mullet, Catch Surf, Softech, Ryd, Surf Crimes (cheapest board AUD $999) and a hundred or so cheaper brands selling directly through eBay.
Have we reached peak softy yet?
Might have to get Gary G's opinion on that one. He's all for the hard decks.
As Blowin says they seem ideal for small days otherwise poor conditions or in crowded city surf so it should be about float and ease to paddle in and less about performance, gawd I’m also (inadvertently) inviting Gary G to comment.
I reckon JOB has been a bit kooky riding a softy at pipe and his surfing on fibreglass boards isnt as good as it used to be, maybe due to riding a soft top so often.i dont know just seems a bit less hardcore riding a softy all the time.
I’ve got a BodyGlove 6’0” that I bought to push my kids into waves. Ended up riding it heaps on small, summery mush. Still do.
It’s fun, and because I don’t give a shit when I'm surfing it increases the number of fun surfs I have when I wouldn’t surf otherwise. When I’ve lent it to mates they’ve all had a blast too. I’d rather ride a softy than a longboard in tiny waves.
I’m going to upgrade to an O&E softy / expoxy hybrid soon as I’ve lined up a good deal. Will buy the grom one too, as he’s getting pretty consistent.
Save $200 Ibelli softy still in wrapper
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/freshwater/surfing/ryd-brand-first-time…
Bought two 8ft Catch Surf Logs this summer- one for my better half and one for me. Fun and no danger for the missus - also gets me in the water in marginal conditions to tune up my paddle arms. Not much surf around my way for summer, but managed to get it in some semi decent small waves a few times. Surprisingly fast. Unsurprisingly not very manoeuvrable. Good fun every time. I'll eventually take the fins out for a slide around. Probably caught my best waves this summer on my softy.
Anyone surfed one of the performance soft boards, like the Softech or JS ones? any feedback
My kids have got the Softtech Gieselman model, once you put decent fins in them, they are pretty good.
I've got a 5'11" Catchsurf RNF, I've had heaps of fun on it. Only problem I find is when a bit of swell arrives and you swap back to a shortie, you can feel like you're underwater for the first bit due to the comparative lack of float.
Most of the newest 'performance' softies are too performance oriented...Too much bottom curve etc. They bend but have no 'spring'. The softech Torpedo is great. More like a Simmons. Parallel rail and lots of buoyancy and glide. Discontinued....
Sale on some softboards at the moment
I just bought one for the kids to use this coming summer
Just looked at this board for sale and it’s in great Nik except it seems to have some stress fractures under the glass. It’s a custom board about 6 years old in almost new condition so would appreciate your thoughts?
For mine, they look like standard marks from wear. Not heel impressions but from transport, in and out of cars etc.
They 'may' be indicative of a weaker glass job though it's hard to say. Most older boards look similar when you strip the wax off.
At least they don't run perpendicular across the board which is a dead giveaway as the first sign of structural failure - cracking with the glass weave.
Thanks heaps Stu, just weird they are on the bottom in a kind of pattern. Haven’t seen anything like it before, and they are not scratches as they are beneath the glass.
They're on the bottom? Lighter glass there so even more likely to be just handling marks. A board can be roughly stashed in the back of our car on a long trip and get marks if something's pushing up against it.
Yes second photo was the bottom. You might be right but weird they are in the same area both top and bottom. They were also under the glass and not rough at all, so am going with my gut and said no, despite it being a great board and a really good buy.
Those marks are no drama...but are good for $ negotiation
This one is $ Neg seller says
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1073912789906476/?ref=search&…
Had a few surfs lately where people have been surfing softboards, small summer beachies mainly. Yesterday a girl was riding a MF long keel and was having a blast. Interested in people’s thoughts, if fun is the aim ....