I am off to Oahu in a couple of weeks. It’s been so long since ive been on sways that I have forgotten who the sways Oahu locals are.
Who are the guys who do interesting boards out there? Is there a foil ohana? Or is it Maui based
I was hoping the swell would have relaxed a little for the end of season but it looks like I’m going have to take some big boy shorts with me!!
What are the prices of a new shortboard(ballpark) or any used shops that specialise in the over 220lbs ?
Any out of the way accommodation recommendations ( the lady does want a couple of days lounging at Waikiki )
For shops in town with a good selection of used boards, i like
surf garage(new boards are too expensive but good selection of used)
and there is
tropical blends
for new boards,
downing has some boards in his shop
and so does aipa
warehouse in kapolei with really good prices, and 100s of surfboards
north shore, just stop by sugar mill, schaper tends to have a pretty good selection of new boards in stock, he is also a really nice guy and will give you some good advice.
surfandsea also has a good selection of used
pricewise, usedsurfboardshawaii will give you a good estimate for used prices.
new shortboards run $450-650
there are plenty good local shapers
for big guy shortboards, i
really like downing,kashiwai, schaper and aipa but you cant go wrong.
also check surfnewsnetwork in addition to surfline for surf report, there reports take more into account.
feel free to pm any other questions
Be sure to visit the North Shore. Barnfield and Kanaiaapuni have shops out there. Can’t remember names. Town has a lot of great shops as well. Every shop has used boards for “Big Boys”. Plenty Big Boys on Oahu. If you go to Maui; be sure to go out to the Pauwela Cannery on the North Shore(every Island has one) near Haiku. That’s the heart of the Surf “Industry” on Maui. Gott’s Glassing, Timpone, kazuma and many others are headquartered there. Timpone’s usually got the door open and shaping away. Take a peak at a Master. Dave Gott is probably one of the top five or ten glassers in the World. Ole is out on the West Side at Lahaina. Still puts in a few days at 85 years young. Lots of good food in the 08 too. Lowel
Oahu has far too many great shapers to list. Not sure how many of them post here anymore. Not long ago you could rent a board for under $20 a day if you rent it for a week. I don’t know what the prices are, but there are over a dozen places in the Waikiki area that rent boards. The North Shore has a lot of shops and places to rent boards as well. I don’t go up there much, so I don’t know the best places to go, but they are all right along the main road, so you could go to everyone then go back to the one you think has the best board/price for you. You can get just about anything suited for Hawaiian waves from the top names including Brewer, Kanaiaupuni, Barnfield, Arakawa, Griffin, and so many more.
If there is a south swell, staying on the beach at Waikiki would let you surf an assortment of good spots then go out for the evening, but it’s pricey. Staying off the beach a block or even across the street drops the price. Don’t have any recommendations, but my friends from the country side like to do staycations at places right across the street in the Hyatt and Marriot area. They’ll get up early and surf at Queens or Pops.