Surfing Waves

I'm an old bloke wanting to get back on the water after a looong break and have started looking around at what's available here in uk.
'Back in the day' I had some sweet Circle One customs and to my pleasant surprise I see they are still going and wondered about how their bamboo longboards stack up against the Torq/ NSP models in the 9.0' - 9.6" sizes with regard to longevity? I believe from past experience of Jeff's shapes they will surf at least as well if not better..
The last longboard I owned was a beautiful Gulf Stream 10' that wobbled alarmingly when paddling through chop and I was scared to take out in anything above a couple of feet - I'm assuming the newer epoxy boards are stiffer and stronger?

The last time I surfed was just pre covid on some rental heap of 9.0 in Fistral and thought it lacked volume and stability, but maybe thats because I'm more used to surfing on paddle boards? ( 8 ft / 133 ltrs )

For info, I'm a reasonably fit five foot nine / 90 ish kilos

Thanks in advance.

wully wrote: - I'm assuming the newer epoxy boards are stiffer and stronger?

EPS/Epoxy resin boards in "traditional" construction or in Molded / Sandwich construction ?

I don't know which construction method applies to each choice of board.. I'm assuming at the price point of the boards I'm looking at they will be vacuum moulded by Cobra or some other far eastern factory.

one easy way to consider construction methods say fro Circle one and Torq is to go to their website, their options are discussed there!
If their dealers are nearby go have a look and a feel of the boards.
By the way Cobra is among the best manufacturers in Thailand, for quality shapes and environmental workshops.
Similarly but a little more pricey is Sunova again the construction methods are explained enough to help

jaffa1949 wrote:one easy way to consider construction methods say fro Circle one and Torq is to go to their website, their options are discussed there!

By the way Cobra is among the best manufacturers in Thailand,

Yes ‘ THEIR’ options are explained but they dont tell the real world story… its not at all likely they are going to tell us about any problems or weak areas their construction method… I was hoping someone on here has had real world experience of those longboards.
I have had very may Corba windsurf boards so am aware of their build standard and personally I have not had any issues at all with them and a few of them had bamboo decks which looked nice, I wasn’t good enough to feel any performance difference.

In the past I was aware that a Clark foam longboard was not likely to survive well in some situations and will very quickly show its age but since then there a been a move to the EPS/vacuum/epoxy construction that ‘should’ be much tougher.
I have been browsing the second hand market here in the UK and there are some very optimistically priced heaps on offer and a few decent looking glass customs from shapers I’ve never heard of so will avoid for that reason - and the fact they are glass..

Currently I have:
9'0" Surftech Donald Takayama "Beach Break" in Tuflite construction
7'10" NSP FUN in E2 construction
6'4" NSP Fish in Elements construction
7'4" Boardworks Ben Aipa Big Boy stinger
8'8" Southpoint Bonga Perkins pro model
XTR Extruded Polystyrene 9'0" Carl Schaper custom hand-shape

In the past I owned:
Surftech David Nuuhiwa Noserider in Surftech woodie construction
Boardworks Walden Magic model

I've ridden a lot of molded-epoxy boards from Surftech, NSP, Boardworks, Torq and Santa Cruz,

OK you have narrowed your field
Don‘t want PU glass board, cross off your list
not sure about the inherent undisclosed weak spots in any one system, buy a cheapie your choice is cactus
make a comparative review of the junky second hand boards for sale, the high proportion of dud boards will be exposed.

We have good reviews for Torq boards on this forum
WE have note board smashers who have destroyed many boards even the almost indestructible BICs, ( which I dislike greatly)
The Firewire and Sunova brands have a similar original bloodline, wood finish boards are stronger, bamboo is strong too , but as good looking as the finishes are getting repair to the same quality is pricey!
My recommendation based on what i have seen moderating here would be a good torq

Thanks Jaffa , hows the snow there?

FWIW, seems like about half of the longboards I’ve seen on sale used here in Bali have been snapped, regardless of the construction. Sometimes obvious, sometimes nit so much so. Be careful in the used market and check for tells like dodgy paint jobs over glass, if the board seems heavier than you expected, seller leaves a heavy wax job on the board.

I won’t be buying a used longboard - the pictures ( and asking price)of the ones I’ve seen for sale were enough to put me off.

Thinking back - almost all the second hand surfboards boards I’ve seen for sale in real life looked pretty shagged..foot dented decks, dings, patched cracks , yellowing resin, poorly glassed in leash plugs ‘cos they’ve been ripped out a few times….

wully wrote:I won’t be buying a used longboard - the pictures ( and asking price)of the ones I’ve seen for sale were enough to put me off.

Thinking back - almost all the second hand surfboards boards I’ve seen for sale in real life looked pretty shagged..foot dented decks, dings, patched cracks , yellowing resin, poorly glassed in leash plugs ‘cos they’ve been ripped out a few times….

Have to question why a board is being sold, especially for a longboard which if looked after can stay in the quiver for years.

wully wrote:I won’t be buying a used longboard - the pictures ( and asking price)of the ones I’ve seen for sale were enough to put me off.

Thinking back - almost all the second hand surfboards boards I’ve seen for sale in real life looked pretty shagged..foot dented decks, dings, patched cracks , yellowing resin, poorly glassed in leash plugs ‘cos they’ve been ripped out a few times….

Have to question why a board is being sold, especially for a longboard which if looked after can stay in the quiver for years.

Wully snow has been poor, but what little has happened to melt, making good river surf

My main longboard cost about $1500 aussie dollars 10 years. back super shape PU, toured many island with me.

I have an EPS epoxy, bisect board similar vintage, breaks into two segments for difficult airline travel. Still good and I am rough on boards on good size waves.
If I was looking I would be prepare to pay the price for a good new board.

Did a cruise through reviews independent of the company websites,
Torq features well for toughness andquality and good shape , but are pricey
NSP has a similar track record and varied models, didn‘t pick a price tag
Global SurfImndustries get a much poorer review rating, durability, some complaints about customer service after damage, some board repair shops clocking in with poor reviews.

Another thing to research are the back catalogues as fortunately for the cluey buyer, fashion cheapens worthy boards ( not so much in longboards)
Hope this helps

Geezer wrote:
Have to question why a board is being sold, especially for a longboard which if looked after can stay in the quiver for years.

My first board was a used southpoint. It look near perfect but I did bought it at night so light was dim.

Few surf later, it snapped in half and I saw that the different color material inside which showed that it was clearly repaired most likely from a buckle.

I have two eps sandwich style construction longboards in the quiver ATM. Had others in the past and they have all held up great. I like that build in a longboard because they are durable and between doorjambs and banging around beginners in the lineups that flock when conditions are longboard friendly, I save myself alot of repairwork. I like the lighter weight as well; personal preference over heavier traditional log types and suits the waves I like better and how I want to surf them. IMO you won’t go far wrong with anything in that kind of build; just need to find a shape that suits.

I’m thinking:
https://www.circle-one.co.uk/product/9- ... oard-2020/

Or:

The 9’6”

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0601/ ... 1655806986

Love the look of the bamboo..

If you go the bamboo,( nice look) an interesting product I use is hexagonal patches with non slip texture, they’re transparent so you don‘t miss on seeing bamboo, they take a little time to settle in but then great IMHO. Been using them for years. Another layer of protection to the deck!
Have to dig a little deeper to find the product ATM but will post the name for you! Might not be available where you are?

There are a number of brands are on Amazon, a clean new board is ideal to install as well as a tail pad, the good brand of hexastyle have a spacing guide, to ensure the look good

Decision made, going to collect it in March and me & the Mrs are going spend a week surfing in the area - she’s stoked at the thought of getting back in the water as well. Perfect.
Better get my lazy arse back in the gym.

https://www.circle-one.co.uk/product/9- ... oard-2020/

Picked it up yesterday, got it wet today in horrible onshore slop. Then I hurt my back.
But from the few minutes I got going it felt sweet.

More yoga and clean surf required..

Love at first surf! Good result::::