I’m kind of under the impression that if it’s something with even the merest hint of difference when it comes to pro surfers it’s out the door no matter how good it is. Would I be correct in this assumption? If I am, how many great boards, designs and ideas have fallen by the wayside because of it.
No, I think your assumption is wrong.
Do you spend much time surfing with pros and see what they are capable of achieving on their equipment?
Have you seen what a lot of pros ride when not in a heat?
Have you seen some of the stuff the likes of Slater, Reynolds etc ride even in heats?
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I'm kind of under the impression that if it's something with even the merest hint of difference when it comes to pro surfers it's out the door no matter how good it is. Would I be correct in this assumption? [/quote]
Your impression only happens in contests so no I dont think so. Contests represent less than 0.00001% of the world's surfing. Contest organizers ultimate goal is to promote (apparel) products.
Saying that, contest surfing influence buying behavior simply because the contestants are proven top tier surfers backed up with video evidence.
Surfboard design is free, its always been free, still to this day of hyper-commercialism. The difference between the free stuff and the contest stuff is the contest stuff gets way more attention via marketing. The internet helps to equalize the attention field a quite a nice bit, ie Swaylocks.
In car racing there are written rules (performance limits) on what you can do to a race car. In contest surfing, there are surfboard design 'rules', but those rules are unwritten and the way the punishment is dished out (for violating the unwritten rules) by the rule-makers is different than in car racing. Taboo.
I bumped into Taylor Knox before the Bells Beach Pro last week, he had some funky hand-made bamboo fins in both of the boards he had with him! He was also very friendly and excited to talk about how they worked!
But otherwise I agree, pro surfing dictates which board designs are deemed progressive, and surf contest judging criteria determine which moves the grommets are working on! I can’t remember the last time I saw a nice deep bottom turn on any So-Vic beach. Oh yeah, actually I can…It was Wayne Lynch at Spot-X on a 6’6 single fin about 4 months ago!
!
The bamboo fins are made by Marlin Bacon. Glass-on or Lokbox. And yup they go insane. Half the weight of fiberglass. Snappier flex. And they float.
[quote="$1"]
No, I think your assumption is wrong.
Do you spend much time surfing with pros and see what they are capable of achieving on their equipment?
Have you seen what a lot of pros ride when not in a heat?
Have you seen some of the stuff the likes of Slater, Reynolds etc ride even in heats?
[/quote]
can you expand on your "etc"? ha ha, i tried but can't thinkg of anyone else that is experimenting in heats.
i think Crafty's right over all tho. pro-surfing is designed to sell clothes... definitely not to forward board design as it pertains to you and me.
I would say that over the past 20 years or so, you are right. But thankfully, in the past 1-2 years I have noticed a distinct increase in the lineups of people riding boards that are much more suited to their abilities/wave conditions (in NY/NJ). IE, lots of shorter, wider boards; more quads; more epoxy (handmade). Basically boards that pros don’t/won’t ride in contests. It is refreshing to see guys finally get smart and ride boards that suit them properly. Local shops are also slowly starting to adjust their inventory mix in this direction, but they are still probably stuck with alot of chip thrusters that have been sitting on the shelves for a while.
Dane Reynolds rode a Merrick twin fin in heats, Kelly has ridden the “Wizard Sleeve” at Pipe and Pod-like boards too. Of course, given the variety of boards available, big deal, right?
I wouldn’t blame the surfers, more the judging criteria. If a tail slide is scored higher than a nice smooth carving arc off the top then the pros will ride the board that slides the tail. If an air gets more points than ten yard long bottom turns then you will see pros double or triple pumping their bottom turns on boards made to twirly bird above the lip. I’m amazed at the talent of the WCT surfers… but prefer watching someone Rasta or Machado free surf, or better yet old footage of Tom Curren at J bay. The one surfer on the WCT who has a really smooth style is Parko and it’s been said he gets lower scores because he “makes it look too easy.”
So I think it’s the judging criteria that creates the style and the board. When was the last time you saw a WCT surfer in a heat do a fin first take off or a cheater five in the tube? A soul arch bottom turn to kick stall head dip look back in the curl? I’m dating myself aren’t I?
i really don’t think that is the case. Nat Young, Mark Richards, Cheyne Horan, Simon Anderson, Tom Curren, Richie Collins, Kelly Slater. All those guys are/were pros and they all have ridden “different designs” in contests. I know that is not a current list but it shows that throughout history there has always been some form of “pro” surfer that is willing to try something different and push surfboard design forward.
if you are a “pro” you ride what works for you. if you don’t surf that good then you really wouldn’t want to ride what they do anyways. there is plenty of innovation happening outside of contest surfing. not all of it is for the better.
i’d also say if you looked closely there is a lot more difference in boards than you think.
So what you are saying is that tailslides, airs, barrel riding, floaters, carving 360’s, hacks, roundhouses are not progressive surfing.
if that is your feeling then define progressive surfing for this debate. If not, I will say the current level of surfing is not really limited by their equipment but more their physical abilities, what a wave has to offer and their imaginations. The boards they are riding can do whatever they want them too.
Boards are a balance of curve and straight. Speed and maneuverability. Hold and release Every person has their preference for how they may want to surf and their abilities. straight is speed and release, curve is maneuverability and hold.
The only area in surfboards where there really is a block from the pros is in experimenting with different materials and construction. We can manipulate the shape to our happy compromise pretty well with in the confines of PUPE but figuring out what we can do in other materials to find a new maybe better compromise is the only field really left. The reason for not dabbling to heavily in new materials/construction is they are so used to their equipment and so in tuned with their boards that throwing another variable into the equation is too much to handle. They arn’t getting any younger there is not a ton of time to figure out this new tech before they are old and the next batch of youngsters has replaced them. If you want to experiment with materials the place to go is the young kid who is getting his first shred stick and get him working in that medium.
We have shapes nailed, we have a good idea on rockers and bottom contours though we have very limited idea on how bottom contours do what they do. Interchangable fins has blown that design element out of the water, we know more about templates foils and materials than we ever have.
I would say that if you are frustrated with boards don’t blame the pros. Blame yourself for either surfing boards above or below your ability and not working with a shaper to get your equipment dialed in. If you are shaping for yourself, blame your shaping abilities and/or lack of understanding of board design. There are masters of board design on here who consistently serve up magic boards for people.