For reasons more painful than I care to discuss, I found myself surfing a 'soft surfboard', well at least it was a lot softer that anything I surf on a regular basis.
Information delayed is information lost...
For me the problem is information, the kind that's communicated to the rider, and in this case via the mechanical connection (interface?) between board and rider. There's a fairly well established relationship in physics, in this case the physics of mechanical waves, vibrations, etc. that says that the velocity of transverse* wave propagation through a medium is proportional to the square root of the tension in the medium divided by the mass per unit length of the medium. (Sounds pretty cryptic, but its not, see next paragraph.) Its that speed of propagation which carries the information both ways - from wave to rider, and rider to wave.
Think of it this way, if you tie a rope to a fence and start to oscillate the loose end, the shape and speed of the waves propagating down the rope (towards the tied end) will be a function of how tight or how much tension you have in the rope. It will also depend on the thickness of the rope, or what material the rope is actually made out of.
What you, make that what I want in a surfboard is one that would be equivalent to a fairly tight rope, which is not too thick or heavy, but not so light or weak as to break. That is, a surfboard capable of communicating information rapidly, and one which rapidly communicates information which I might give it -i.e. what surfers might generally refer to a being 'responsive.'
Sounds like something everyone might like, and to a large degree it likely is, but it seems, at least from surveying the products out there, that everyone might not agree on 'how tight the rope should be'. Of course conditions will matter, but I'm not convince they matter as much as personal preference, skill, and style.
… back to soft surfboards.
Actually, no. I've got nothing against them as flotation devices, but geez, what a horrible waste of money if purchased as a surfboard. Good for beginners? Really? Is the learning curve for surfing really that steep that there's a need for a special class of 'beginner' products? Naah, its just more crap thats going to find it's way into a landfill after passing through countless 'yard sales.'
But...
Beyond the extreme case of soft vs hard, the more subtle controversy of degrees of flex in surfboards continues. Personally, I'm one of those that prefers stiff, as is real stiff. I want my planing surfaces to obey my every command (-i.e. stay where I put them and not give an inch to forces which may oppose them or their shape), and I want them to readily communicate any goings on to my 'interface', that is toes, feet, ankles, joints in general, position sense (inner ear) etc.
Information is well everything when you think about it … even when you don't.
kc
*, a similar relationship exists for longitudinal waves, but given the point to be made here, lets just stick with the transverse kind.