Board Showcase

Showcase is complete–we’ll be adding new boards as we review them

The showcase results are presented as a single page for each board, the index is at the end of this page. Each board result has pictures of the board, basic specifications (taken from the manufacturer) an excerpt from the company website or marketing materials (edited for space and to manage the hype), evaluators comments and a summary comment from us.

Each set of quotes indicates a different evaluator. All boards that were pre-registered had at least four evaluators assigned, but some evaluation sheets had no written comments–just checkmarks. Some boards had many more evaluators. Once each evaluator had finished their assigned ten boards they could evaluate any boards they wanted to. Don’t take the number of evaluators as an indication of popularity. Unusual boards got a lot of interest, but it seems mostly to have been driven by what was available on the beach when a person came out of the water. We tried to limit test times to twenty minutes, but some of the most interesting boards got held much longer and were simply rarely available.

Our summary comment comes from reviewing the evaluation checkboxes and considering the weight and skill level of each rider. Each board was evaluated for paddling, surfing and cruising. You can see a sample evaluation form here.

How to Use The Showcase

Please understand that we call this a Showcase for a good reason–it’s completely subjective and our evaluators run the gamut from beginner to pro, lightweight to heavyweight. The characteristics that a lightweight pro rider looks for in a board have little to do with you if you are a heavyweight beginner.

The way to use this showcase is to do a little evaluation of yourself. Your weight, your skill level, fitness, how you want to use the board, and how many boards you plan on having. The more realistic this assessment is, the better choice you’ll make. I hear people say “Im just going to do downwinders, I’ll never use a Sup board for surfing” and then I see them in the lineup three weeks later.

The biggest mistake you can make as a beginner is getting a board that is just too unstable for your skill and weight. Don’t plan so far ahead on your skills improving that you can’t have fun with your board. If you are beginner, look at the boards that paddle well. It’s nice if they glide, but not critical. If you plan to surf it, look for one that catches waves easily and tracks well. Every board is a big set of compromises. Good glide often means less maneuverability. Loose, surfy boards an intermediate would love can be difficult for a beginner to handle.

Remember also that we didn’t experiment with fins– moving a fin or exchanging it for a different shape can transform a board. We set them all about midway in the fin box. Many boards come with side-bites (thruster fins) in a 2+1 configuration. In most cases we didn’t put the side bites in because the waves were small. Several of the boards that were termed “tight” happened to have the side bites in place.

I hope you find this helpful, I wish we could provide objective standards that would let you look at a chart and pick the perfect board. But it’s just not possible–your mileage WILL vary. Perfect example, look at the Oxbow 10 and Oxbow 11. Same deck pad, two different evaluators. One said “the pad is too soft” the other said “love the soft pad”. Go figure.

Amundson Aquaglide
Oxbow 10′
Oxbow 11
C4 10′ Model
C4 9’ Bat Wing Swallow
C4 10′ BK Pro
C4 10′6″ Model
C4 11′6″ Standum
C4 14′ XP Vortice
11’6” Bill Stewart
Bill Foote 11-28
Jimmy Lewis 11er
Jimmy Lewis 10’6” All Around
Jimmy Lewis 9’10” All Around
Jimmy Lewis 10’4” Surf
Jimmy Lewis 10’8” Surf
Jimmy Lewis Distance
Starboard 12’6”
Starboard 9/30 Extremist
Starboard 12/32
Starboard 11’2” Ultimate Blend
Laird 10/27 Softop
Laird 11/27 Softop
Laird 11′6″ Softop
Laird 12’1” Softop
Laird 10/27 Tuflite
Laird 11/27 Tuflite
Laird 11′6″ Tuflite
Laird 12’1” Tuflite
10′7″ Takayama Alii 3
Robert August Wingnut
Naish Stand up 11′6″
Naish Stand up 10′6″
Naish 11′4″ Epoxy Wood
Naish 11′6″ AST
Naish 12 Glide
Naish 9′6″ Quad
Naish 11′6″ Custom Gun
SIC F18
SIC F16
SIC Ku Nalu
SIC SRX4
11’ Ben Aipa Sting Up
10’ Ben Aipa Sting Up
Angulo 11’9’
Angulo 11/11
Sean Ordonez Big Red
Sean Ordonez Big Blue
Sean Ordonez Big Green
Lightning Bolt Red Nine
Lightning Bolt White Ten
PSH 10′ All Around hand glassed
Liquid Shredder
Big Mama
Southpoint Bonga Perkins
Paddle Surf Hawaiian 9′ 6″ All Arounder
ULI Steamroller 10′
ULI 11′
Aviso Titus Kinimaka Hollow Carbon
PSH 10′6 and 10′3 All Rounder