Surfing Waves

Why are they so popular and so expensive?
Can anybody give a honest review of how it compared to the other surfboards?

they are so popular and expensive because kelly slater and the likes ride them. To be honest if you are gonna shell out $600/$700 for a board get a custom made board you will be far more stoked.

Just my 2c

so you're saying it is only expensive because of endorsement like kelly slater and bobby martinez?

are they actually any good? ive always wondered

yeah that's what i was wondering about too.

ive surfed a 5'6 "pod" on a really small day and it was a blast.

but everyone that i know thats owned a merrick board has had a problem with it.

I know a couple of people with them, and they've absolutely loved them.

Al Merrick, lets face it, does know what he's doing (not that he'll have been anywhere near the board you buy in the Billabong shop...).

I think the problem is that a lot of wannabes are buying Al Merrick (or similar well known shaper) boards which are way too high performance for them. That skinny little board is a fashion statement, not a realistic choice of board

I should know... Ive just bought a high performance Simon Anderson quad

Its like asking, "are Farraris any good?" - answer - yes, but not ideal for everyone. They're quick and look nice but rubbish for picking the kids up and doing the weekly shop in.

Basically buying a board by a top shaper like Al Merrick will mean the board will deffo work for the right person in the right conditions, so if you buy it and can't get it to work then its you or the conditions that is the problem not the board. It doesn't mean it's guaranteed to make you surf like Slater.

If you buy a cheap board from an unknown shaper then you won't know if the board is any good until you ride it.

Best compromise is to buy a medium price board from a less known but well respected, possibly local shaper.
But above all do your research and work out what sort of board you need - long? short? medium? pointy? rounded? fat? thin? tail shape? etc.

Ah.. thanks for the advice.

really good boards, only thing is many of them aren't made by the man himself. although they are still nice to ride!

Yeah... Got his name on them but they are just cut to his template my machine then hand finished by any-one of a number of unknowns....
CI and anacappa are still good boards but unless your getting an ex-pro board, its highly unlikely Al has even seen the board let alone made it.

Agreed, merrick makes great boards. It's a matter of cost. The CI's are expensive and I doubt I'd ever pay full price for them. I've got two of them, both are shortboards gotten cheap from people who weren't up to riding them.

I'm the same way with cars. Let somebody else pay the "brand new" premium.

buy a used one maybe

Al Merrick boards are costly because they have to make up for the research and development and sponsorships. What price do you put on a magic board? If you put two similar boards together such as the Merrick Flyer versus the Lost Shark, the ride similar but the cost is different. If you want a Merrick but don't want to pay for the name, buy used or look for Merricks ghost shapers who make all the boards using a CAD machine.