Any advice for a "better" softboard?

[Nandox7]

Hey all,

I assume not all softboards are born equal.

I'm a beginner trying to become a intermediate and I'm trying to get some advice on a "better" softboard to get.
So far I got the ones from Decathlon (old Tribord 100) 8" board no issue with size don't mind at all to keep using this size, what I mind is that
the board feels like a sponge absorbing water. Have two and both have now big bumps in them, one on the top the other on the bottom side. (can share photos if you'd like to laugh a bit)

Now I can get again newer from Decathlon, seems their newer models are a bit better still I see many comments about it sucking a lot of water and not performing very well.

So asking here for some advice on other brands models of softboard to get (in 7'' to 8'' range). Something that is more well built and that will
perform a bit better in the water. I saw the ones from catch surf but they are stupidly expensive to get here.

Thanks

[jaffa1949]

If we knew your particular here, maybe we can advise what other soft boards are available, perhaps you could go hard too!

[waikikikichan]

Are the "bumps" from Sun heat damage ?
Or from water inside ?
Or from bad lamination of the deck skin and vinyl bottom to the core ?
Is water getting in from the thru the deck bolts for the plastic fins ?
Did you get run over by a hardboard's skeg ?

Figure that out first.

[one0one]

get a pu board.. softops are for learning to stand up on.. once you got that you need a "real" board.. just need to protect it properly with a carry bag, and maybe insert the fins when using etc.. but well worth it when you catch a mean wave and ride faaaaar along the face, and if you are lucky pull a few turns.. I learned on a 6'10 minimal pu board.. lots of volume.. chest height waves or below.. lasted about a year.. went from learning how to paddle it, duck dive it, stand up on it, then eventually got run over on it lol.. i dropped in on a guy i didn't see, and he kicked his board in front of me when i was riding along and the fins came back to my board and dug in.. i went flying forward haha.. from that day on the boys called that guy slasher, because he slashed my board, but i deserved it for pulling the kook move.. was about a 5 foot hearty wave too, and i was learning basic turns.. board label was a rincon i got brand new for 350.. thats a bargain these days.. anyway hope this helps in some way..

[Nandox7]

Are the "bumps" from Sun heat damage ?
Or from water inside ?
Or from bad lamination of the deck skin and vinyl bottom to the core ?
Is water getting in from the thru the deck bolts for the plastic fins ?
Did you get run over by a hardboard's skeg ?

Figure that out first.

All good questions.
Could be a bit of all that. The big bumps either top br bottom if I press I don't hear water inside. Is more like a big air bubble I can press down and it cames back up.

I've let it stay drying in the shade for the past
Also removed the fin bolts and the holes had a good amount of water.
If I press it in some areas it does that squishy water noise.
These boards seem to have an issue where the hard bottom surface meets the softer top cover, with use and bumps it cracks there and water starts to go in.

I've seen some soft boards adverting waterproof foam but have no idea if this is really true or just marketing stuff.
For example this one I was looking at:https://www.earthwindwater.co.uk/product/cbc-80-classic-soft-surfboard/

[Nandox7]

get a pu board.. softops are for learning to stand up on.. once you got that you need a "real" board.. just need to protect it properly with a carry bag, and maybe insert the fins when using etc.. but well worth it when you catch a mean wave and ride faaaaar along the face, and if you are lucky pull a few turns.. I learned on a 6'10 minimal pu board.. lots of volume.. chest height waves or below.. lasted about a year.. went from learning how to paddle it, duck dive it, stand up on it, then eventually got run over on it lol.. i dropped in on a guy i didn't see, and he kicked his board in front of me when i was riding along and the fins came back to my board and dug in.. i went flying forward haha.. from that day on the boys called that guy slasher, because he slashed my board, but i deserved it for pulling the kook move.. was about a 5 foot hearty wave too, and i was learning basic turns.. board label was a rincon i got brand new for 350.. thats a bargain these days.. anyway hope this helps in some way..

Sometimes I still manage to have the board bump be so that is why I still prefer something soft.
The waves I usually go for are smaller gentle waves so the extra volume is helpful.

Ouch that doesn't sound fun. Already had my share of water "encounters". So far only a few were my fault.

[Nandox7]

If we knew your particular here, maybe we can advise what other soft boards are available, perhaps you could go hard too!

Still a beginner and probably always will be. working on improving catching unbroken waves and ride along its wall.
I'm 1.90m and +-90kg (Christmas is close so this might change) and I'd prefer to keep using a softboard for the moment.
Getting that occasionally bump in my head with the board reminds me of that.

PS: I do have a hardboard, 7'11, fell into the pretty vs good trap, so decided to keep it stored until I know better how to use it.

[one0one]

oh gotcha thats good then stick with the softies.. i got one for 120.. an entry level one for my 2 year old daughter.. she 3 in a couple months.. she fell of the wave on one white water ride in shin high waves and now she is put off haha.. stupid dad lol.. I did notice the package said keep out of sun, which is hard because i don't boardbag it, because its too cheap to buy a bag for lol.. mine doesn't let water in though.. although its hardly surfed.. my daughter just lies on it.. good luck with your next board.. ask to borrow a mate pu you might love it lol.. chchurr

[dtc]

Softboards can range from essentially longer body boards made of cheap foam to well designed alternatives

The first thing you need is good stringers (or 2 or 3). Foam itself isn’t strong and a softboard doesn’t have any fibreglass to add strength. So foam boards need stringers or they are useless

Secondly a lot of boards have screw in fins. These are not useless but the fins are often not great, the screws might not be very solid. A board with a proper fin box is much better, although for a real beginner this isn’t essential

Rails - cheap softboards just have big fat rails that are the same all the way down the board and have little shape. A god softboard will have rails like a hard board - harder towards the tail etc. Big fat rails makes turning harder - great for stability and going straight, so help people stand up. Bad for turning.

A good soft board is well designed, good materials - it will be relatively more expensive. A cheap softboard can be a complete waste of money

The board you linked above look ok, nothing brilliant and has screw in fins; but ok.

[Nandox7]

Softboards can range from essentially longer body boards made of cheap foam to well designed alternatives

The first thing you need is good stringers (or 2 or 3). Foam itself isn’t strong and a softboard doesn’t have any fibreglass to add strength. So foam boards need stringers or they are useless

Secondly a lot of boards have screw in fins. These are not useless but the fins are often not great, the screws might not be very solid. A board with a proper fin box is much better, although for a real beginner this isn’t essential

Rails - cheap softboards just have big fat rails that are the same all the way down the board and have little shape. A god softboard will have rails like a hard board - harder towards the tail etc. Big fat rails makes turning harder - great for stability and going straight, so help people stand up. Bad for turning.

A good soft board is well designed, good materials - it will be relatively more expensive. A cheap softboard can be a complete waste of money

The board you linked above look ok, nothing brilliant and has screw in fins; but ok.

Thanks
Think your comment sums it all up "A cheap softboard can be a complete waste of money".
Is true I don't want to spend a fortune but if I can spend a bit more and get something decent I'll keep I'd prefer that. But for me as I don't know much about board construction I can be easily fooled by the marketing talk.

From what I could understand by searching there are the school type board that are as you say easy to stand up but hard to turn and use and others that should perform better.

Well if people here have some brand/models you'd suggest I'd appreciate. For me I'd say I'd keep for a while with my higher volume board 70-80L (or maybe less I tried a 7'' with 60L and it was actually quite ok)

PS: adding some photos of the bumps for reference. they look smaller now as I havent used the board in a few days.

[Jripper53]

Why not get an epoxy board? They feel so much nicer on the water. Glides better, sounds better, feels better underfoot and is more responsive. Like you see from the Catchsurf example, softboards get really expensive for what they are because you have guys like Jamie Obrien and Ben Gravy advertising them up the wazooh. You can get a good epoxy board like an NSP or Torq for not much more money, and it's so much more board. Better longevity, better performance, everything just from a simple material change. If you really want to stick with softboards, I've heard Almond makes some very nice examples, but their prices are honestly just as much if not more than a good epoxy. Just my $0.02

[dtc]

Looks like your board is delaminating/air bubbles - probably the glue has weakened, which might be due to water ingress or just it stopped working. Not a terribly uncommon situation with softboards, esp cheaper ones

As jripper says, there are some good quality softboards - Catch Surf, Mullet, 88 (might be aussie only), Mick Fanning etc etc - (I think Torq are making some now) but they arent that much cheaper new than a hard board, and more expensive than a second hand hard board. You dont need a softboard to learn, but if you feel more comfortable with one then there are some pretty good ones around.