Soft Top advice

[MarkD]

Hi,
I live in southern France so surf the Mediterranean...... Not really famed for its consistant waves.... I currently have a 6'8" shortboard and a 7'10" mini mal.
The mini mal gets used most and is great for picking up waves and cruising but i fancy something a bit quicker and a bit looser.
I have been watching the likes of Ben Gravy and Jamie O'Brien having great fun sessions on soft top boards, in small and messy conditions which got me thinking that this type of board might be perfect for the waves here.

So, does anyone have any suggestions or advice, i was thinking about getting a 6' soft top with a volume of around 45L. (I'm 188 tall and weigh 84kg)

I want to be able to have fun on small waves and on the messy storm waves we get here.

Thanks

[oldmansurfer]

Having fun is relative because if you attempted to do what Jamie Obrien does you would most likely not have fun. You are not Jamie Obrien who knows how to surf and how to wipeout in dangerous waves. Learning to turn quickly can be done on many boards. Jamie Obrien is so skilled that he can use boards that others have difficulty with. Changing boards won't make you turn quickly. Others however might be able to point you to an easier board to learn to turn quickly on.....but you still need to learn.

[MarkD]

Thanks for your response,
I dont have any problems pulling off turns, cut backs, etc on my shortboard when the waves are working, I guess im just after something small but with good volume, so I can make the most of small or messy days.

[oldmansurfer]

Personally I have no idea why someone would pick a soft top board over a normal board unless they are having a lot more contact with their board than I do. I learned to surf before soft tops existed and I just don’t see the value in them. JOB uses them for the challenge or for entertainment value as I am sure he doesn’t contact his boards much. He is quite obviously skilled in wiping out and has learned to do so without injury.

[RinkyDink]

Hi,
I live in southern France so surf the Mediterranean...... Not really famed for its consistant waves.... I currently have a 6'8" shortboard and a 7'10" mini mal.
The mini mal gets used most and is great for picking up waves and cruising but i fancy something a bit quicker and a bit looser.
I have been watching the likes of Ben Gravy and Jamie O'Brien having great fun sessions on soft top boards, in small and messy conditions which got me thinking that this type of board might be perfect for the waves here.

So, does anyone have any suggestions or advice, i was thinking about getting a 6' soft top with a volume of around 45L. (I'm 188 tall and weigh 84kg)

I want to be able to have fun on small waves and on the messy storm waves we get here

Do you mean a hard surfboard with a soft center deck/top? Or an all foam Wavestorm type foamie? I think JOB was on a Wavestorm. They cost $99 here. I think foamies are great because they're cheap thrasher boards. The beauty of taking out a dirt cheap foamie is that you don't have to worry too much about the board hitting you, and you don't need to worry about breaking the board because it has a replacement guarantee (I think). You can surf shorepound you wouldn't dare take your prized shortboard out in (if you were dainty like that ) So, if you want a foamie, then go find a cheap one and cut loose on it. That's how people around here surf them, JOB included I imagine.

As far as soft tops on hard surfboards go, I don't know enough about them. I imagine one of the advantages of them would be the way the board/foam top flexes in chop.

[waikikikichan]

Most of the sponge boards are geared to beginners. There's not many soft versions of actual high-end shapes. ( if that makes sense ). There however a custom signature line from Surftech softops. The shaper for Felipe Toledo , Marcio Zouvi of Sharpeye, makes the "Sole" mode, with FCSII five-fin setup.

I understand what you want, a care-free whomper board you can just pull into closeouts and not be as worried.

Here's Chippa Wilson, going "soft".

[oldmansurfer]

Okay Waikikichan let me ask you, How does having a board with a soft deck make it safer to ride shorebreak? Are the rails softer is the nose or tail softer? Is it lighter? I guess the fins aren't any softer. Does any of that really matter? I used to ride closeout shorebreak all the time and never get hit by my board. How often does anyone get hit by their board? Since I restarted surfing the only significant injuries from my boards were from the fins and so far nothing requiring a doctor visit or a bandage. I can see the rounded nose and tail but that can be done with a hard board too. I guess if you are doing airs then there will be a lot more contact

[waikikikichan]

Hi OMS, I'm just responding to the OP's request

i was thinking about getting a 6' soft top with a volume of around 45L.

He actually might be thinking more on the lines of a sponge board versus the softtop. ( which is a board in board technology ).

But for me riding softops ( or softboards ) helps with not having the dreaded "shatters" and finding them only after the area turns brown a few months later. Also hurts a lot less when you smash a knee into the deck.

[MarkD]

This is one of the boards I was considering
https://www.decathlon.fr/planche-de-sur ... 86086.html

[jaffa1949]

Could be a funster, at that price certainly worth a try, since I now live innAustria , immstarting to understand the makers in Europe a bit!
Some goodies and some tres oddities

[RinkyDink]

Okay Waikikichan let me ask you, How does having a board with a soft deck make it safer to ride shorebreak? Are the rails softer is the nose or tail softer? Is it lighter? I guess the fins aren't any softer. Does any of that really matter? I used to ride closeout shorebreak all the time and never get hit by my board. How often does anyone get hit by their board? Since I restarted surfing the only significant injuries from my boards were from the fins and so far nothing requiring a doctor visit or a bandage. I can see the rounded nose and tail but that can be done with a hard board too. I guess if you are doing airs then there will be a lot more contact

I wrote about foamies in shorebreak from the standpoint that it is far easier to break your board in shorepound. I think some surfers take Wavestorms into shorebreak because they don't care if the board gets wrecked. I doubt they're too worried about injuries from their surfboard if they're surfing shorebreak.