Time to buy the new Torq?

[Oldie]

Be aware you never know where or when Uncle Jaffa will turn up currently terrifying Austria river, next month Moliets France

Enjoy, Moliets should be nice. Dont miss to go up to the top of the Dune du Pila near Arcachon on a flat or stormy day, just 1h drive. Cheers to Landes from the Vendee (La Tranche s/mer), waves had been fun so far.

Back to Banz on waxing the Torq Tec - i found too that i need to wax more often with S*xwax. But with Sticky Bumps Basecost+Topcoat, things are better.

[BaNZ]

Someone planted the idea in my head of getting a custom board to support local shapers and it would be customized to my needs. I'm a bit reluctant because I have no idea about shape, sizes etc. Isn't custom surfboards normally for much more advanced surfer who knows what they want?

[waikikikichan]

My thoughts on a getting a custom board:
Beginner surfers can ride any board, and it won’t matter.
Advanced surfers can ride any board, and it won’t matter.
But for the Beginner-Intermediate surfers, EVERYTHING matters !!
At your stage, you need to learn to “ride the wave, not the board”.

[Oldie]

At your stage, you need to learn to “ride the wave, not the board”.

Some boards make this charter easier than others, i found.

Not saying a custom is needed. I love my Torq, i catch soo many waves with it, from knee to shoulder high.

[dtc]

Someone planted the idea in my head of getting a custom board to support local shapers and it would be customized to my needs. I'm a bit reluctant because I have no idea about shape, sizes etc. Isn't custom surfboards normally for much more advanced surfer who knows what they want?

A good shaper will treat you well regardless of your skill level.

Keep in mind that many shapers just have their standard shapes, which they might tweak a little bit (extra width or thickness or whatever) but will generally not vary the board all that much ie its much like buying an off the rack, but with 10 or 20% tweaked. Its unlikely to be a special board made for you from scratch.

This isnt an issue, its just how it works for almost everyone - so given that, you shouldnt worry too much about what you know and dont know; you just need someone who will listen while you honestly tell them your skills and levels and what you are after, and the shaper then picks one of his (its almost always a 'his') shapes, suggests some tweaks and away you go. Your input isnt 'this is what I want in my board', your input is 'this is what I want my board to be able to do'. The shaper then figures out what board will do that.

Oh, and you get a cool spray job if you want

The shaper I use has a blurb on his site that says something like 'when you buy a custom board, you arent buying just a board, you are buying a service', and I think thats a really good statement. You are buying - hopefully - an expert who can guide you towards what is likely to work best for you. Its like an architect in a way - you dont hire an architect and say 'give me this house', you say 'I want a house with these things'.

If the custom is around the same price as a quality off the rack, then there is no real downside to getting a custom. It wont be magically better, but it should be a bit better and is worth doing at least once.

Of course, to be honest, going to a shaper and just getting one of the standard shapes with no personalisation - well, you may as well buy off the rack (other than the cool spray job...).

[BaNZ]

This morning I managed to borrow a custom retro longboard. It was a lot heavier than my NSP. But the nose of the board is thin and flat. It is also a little more narrow and less rocker. The glide through the wave felt amazing! It just felt so different to all the other surf boards that I've ridden. I do remember riding a narrow board a couple of years ago and I really struggled with the balance. Maybe I've improved and I can now ride them.

I looked into custom boards and they start at 1k+. Torqs and NSP are 500-600 so I think I'll stick to these for now But you never know, I might get the itch again and splurge out on another board.

For now I'm trying to focus on the advices that I got here. It hasn't been easy as the waves are weak and no higher than the waist.