Surfing Waves

Hi guys! Newbie here- just wanting to know if you really think it's necessary to get a bag for my surf board? Reason being is that I recently got hold of a California 96, 8 foot foamie (seeing as I'm forever renting them out down on St Ives!) It cost me £100 as I wasn't going to leap ahead of myself with anything fancy. Only trouble is it didn't come with a cover/bag. I bought some padded wrap racks for the car so as it's likely to get some scuffs anyway and is just a (relatively cheap) beginners board do you think I still need to go ahead and buy a cover for it?

If so some advice on cheap options would be appreciated as I'm trying to keep costs to a minimum! Many thanks!

If you want to stay cheap a board sock is great and much cheaper than a board bag , pretty much right for short local trips on racks for a foamy!

If it's for in the car, use a bed sheet comforter or some old beach towels sewn together. Even cheaper than a board sock. If it's on the racks, just leave it as is, but fins to the front of the car, deck down.

I bought a bag for my foamie when it was my first board. Now I use the bag for a different board and my softboard is currently used as a cushion for my longboard to rest on as it leans against a wall. You'll probably want a board bag at some point so you might as well get one. I'd wait for one to come around that's used. New board bags are often way overpriced, in my opinion.

Thanks for the advice guys!

I'll probably keep an eye out for a used bag and in the meantime I might buy a cheap sock. The board will just about fit inside the car for the long journey (4.5hours from Reading to Cornwall) Then I'll put it on the roof thereafter

Actually, I had the same question about the necessity of a board bag, Joss, so thanks for post.

I'm still not seeing, though, the real reason for a bag or sock in the first place. I certainly never see soft-tops covered here in northern California, though the hard boards often are. The only reasons I can think of to use them are to protect boards from getting scratched or dinged by other boards when they're transported together, or maybe as protection against cold weather. But I'm really new to the whole thing, so there may be something else I'm missing.

hard boards are hard but 'brittle' ie if they hit another hard object hard enough, the glass will ding or shatter or crack. Remember that inside that outer layer is just a piece of foam - put water into the foam and it doesnt work well. What can be that hard surface? lots of things - the side of the car, rocks, towbars, the door frame of your house as you exit or enter, your fence post etc. Trust me, wandering around with a 6-9ft board attached to your arm and you will find a lot of things to hit.

Last but not least - with no bag (or sock), dragging your board in and out of the car will just get wax all over your seats or wherever
Soft boards - well, they are soft, the surface will give way rather than break. Plus (depending on the board), the type of foam used is different and doesnt react to water the same way

I used to have polyester resin boards. They would get shatters from bumping into stuff while I move the board around on land. Now I have epoxy boards (that are well glassed) and they don't get shatters from bumping into things

That's just not my bag, Man...
Sorry. It's my inner hippie.