Too Many Surftechs

Very surprising the high ratio of Surftech surfboards to custom or even hand-shaped rack boards here in Oregon.

This trend is understandable among the multi-sport newbies who recently added surfing into their snowboarding/skiing/kayaking, etc. lifestyles, and approach surfboard purchases “I’ll take that cool looking green and blue one” much as they do their other “gear.”

However, a disproportionate number of the core chargers at many of the local breaks ride Surftechs as well. A key driver to this is undoubtedly the highly limited access to custom shapers, as there is literally only a few of them scattered along the coast. (Santa Cruzers, what you take for granted…)

Regardless, fairly sad to see quality surfers limiting themselves to the inherent limitations of generic pop-outs instead of working with a quality guru to dial in the particular mojo that meets their true individual needs.

So for those quality shapers out there that may be drowing in the sea of local talent, or would like to live somewhere that 250K can actually buy a decent house, know there is an opportunity up here - just don’t forget your 5/4/3 and steelhead rod…

hey Icc,

i got family in Coos Bay and have been planning a trip up there to go and try to get some of my boards in the the local shop in the area, its good to know that there is some demand for hand shaped boards. the shop owner i talked to a while back didnt seem too stoked, he liked his variety of surftech pop-outs it seemed. i cant remember the name of the shop but it would be nice to know of some other surf shops in the area, if you happen to be in the south coast

I surf the mid to upper coast zone - there are several surf shops in Lincoln City that carry the usual suspects…Stewart, Becker, CI, Rusty, HIC, etc., just don’t see a lot of them in the water…

What’s your board label?

BTW, your “name photo” looks like it could have been taken anywhere from Ortega to Vicente…spent decades chasing those peaks…

Hi neighbors. Im further up the coast on the Olympic Peninsula here in Washington. Gotta say, last few times at the beach I counted mostly surftechs under people’s arms. Kinda disappointing. I guess with all the marketing that corporations put behind it, people seem to think they are the better way to go. Or possibly, others figure if the board design is proven for a pro, it will work for them, haha.

Coming down this summer to visit oregon coast, can’t wait.

Shoots

hey, what do you have against Noriega, Moraga or Lawton!?

thank goshness for google

NextBus Stop Selector

Noriega St & 29th Ave · Noriega St & 27th Ave · Noriega St & 25th Ave · 22nd Ave & Noriega St · 22nd Ave & Moraga St · 22nd Ave & Lawton St …

www.nextmuni.com/predictor/ simpleStopSelector.shtml?a=sf-muni&r=71 - 37k -

My opinion may sound selfish, but surftech and their riders lack general credibility in the water.

Quote:

Very surprising the high ratio of Surftech surfboards to custom or even hand-shaped rack boards here in Oregon.

This trend is understandable among the multi-sport newbies who recently added surfing into their snowboarding/skiing/kayaking, etc. lifestyles, and approach surfboard purchases “I’ll take that cool looking green and blue one” much as they do their other “gear.”

However, a disproportionate number of the core chargers at many of the local breaks ride Surftechs as well. A key driver to this is undoubtedly the highly limited access to custom shapers, as there is literally only a few of them scattered along the coast. (Santa Cruzers, what you take for granted…)

Regardless, fairly sad to see quality surfers limiting themselves to the inherent limitations of generic pop-outs instead of working with a quality guru to dial in the particular mojo that meets their true individual needs.

What if one has come to believe a surfboard is just another in-animate object? Not some residue of soul that a “guru” shaper has instilled into it? Maybe the time has arrived when many long time surfers have the will to admit a mass produced surfboard can surf every bit as good as one made by hand.

Quote:

What if one has come to believe a surfboard is just another in-animate object? Not some residue of soul that a “guru” shaper has instilled into it? Maybe the time has arrived when many long time surfers have the will to admit a mass produced surfboard can surf every bit as good as one made by hand.

Will spare you all my usual rant…especially since there are a few places in the archives where I write in favor of some “mass-produced” surfboards from the past…in recent years the mass introduction of new surfers has greatly accellerated the growth of “mass produced” surfboards, blurring lines of distinction between the tech and what else is foaming all around us.

Reading through this post though I had the thought that maybe the population change has tipped in favor of surfing being an act of conformity…notihng blends in or buys you into “the pack” like uniformity. If “in the pack” is where one wants to be…

hhhmmm…not sure I know of anyone who considers a surfboard anything other then an inanimate object. On the other hand, I’ve had a few magic boards over the decades that definitely had a lot of soul in them - mine.

Mass-produced boards for the masses- sounds a lot like the absolute antithesis of what this forum is all about.

And about those core surfers on their Surftechs I mentioned - I’ve yet to hear one rave about their boards. There does seem to be a concensus, however, that they can just toss them in the back of the truck without a board bag…

Surftechs are beautiful boards that meet the requirements of 97% of the surfers in the world. The “inherent limitations” of a surftech are boards designed and approved by guru shapers. Sorry that you can’t overcome them.

I find it hard to understand why any core charger would even live on the oregon coast. Hawaii is where it is at with a trip to indo in June.

For all those chargers out there that may be stuck with the inherent limitations of the oregon coast. Please travel west and see what real waves are and you might even find a couple of guru shapers out here if a surftech won’t do it for you.

I’m sure that Oregon has it’s share of good waves. Probably too many hippies though.

ive surfed hawaii (not the north shore in the peak season granted) and ive surfed oregon (in peak season) and i gotta say, there are better breaks- much more fickle albeit, in the pac north west with one tenth the crowd and no bitchy locals. and the waves in oregon are much more challenging, much much heavier, and considerably more consequential than anything i ever rode in hawaii, and anyone who thinks surfing in the far latitudes is nothing should try paddling out in double overhead, backless mackers with a 5/4/3 hood and booties and see how “core” they really are. not to mention the possibility of getting malled by a bear on the walk to the shore or eatin by a shark or a killer wale while in the line up

more surftex

MORE SURFTEQS

M O R E SURFTEXQUE

every body line up for surf tex

they are exactly what 97%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

of "“SURFERS” fulfilled reqirements desire.

THE NEXt deal,and it has been planned from the begining

{holding the cosmic seer’s Tarot card to my forehead}

the surftepch calss model contest.

where every Pro motional surfer rides the same board

modifycations illegal as in yacht class racing.

so goes the world .

good bye . . .

the inspired individual as ever is under assault

like with that Moby dick,what a whale,

AHAB the common uninspired drol anti christ

in a vain attempt to validate himself hunts

the last and only vestige of divinity-individuality.

the validty of the masses is conformity.

A Good Baseball Hitter

uses only the BAT with mickey mantle’s signature on it.

Mikey Mantle never made a bat.

Winchesteer never made a gun

Henry ford never made a car

sony aint a guy

was the best tortilla you ever ate from a plastic bag?

if it was I will pray for your deprived soul

is the best wave you ever rode

gonna be on a mass produced board

you are the perfect demografic for the global machine.

the power is in the hands of the guy with the most chips

at the table watch poker on tv and observe that tactic.

that guy plays every hand and over raises every time

I just raised my price .I dont want to make a board for a depreciator.

what is a depreciator?

thet is the guy that never keeps a board

the guy that abuses his precious eperiential

inanimate memory chip and treats it like a paper cup.

The old way would be profanity.

that word has erroded value

___kuks

____ _____ ride pop outs

surf tex have resale value

thre are now more sureffff tecks than anything else

a custom any thing smokes the surf tech

a home made crooked dinged up board is so much

better loved than any blue red green or WHITE

pop out on any beach tied to the leg of a real poser.

surfers paddle out risking life and limb

in an ocean filled with denizens of the deep

and sky and all in between and return.

“SURFERS” of the demografic are non swimmwer from

wanna be land not committed in mind or soul

and if they say they are the board says it all.

they are not.

I as well as other soul committed craftsmen

industry employed or not ,love to surf,

love to make surfboards,and dream

of making the next wave count

for them selves and somebody else.

the mass market pull toys

attached to non swimmers legs with impunity

entitle the lowest aquatic life forms equal status

with the likes of gene Tarzan smith ,duke,Duke and the historic

surfing ancestors?

I THINK NOT>

go buy a pop out

go ride a pop out

tell your associates how good they are

they are good.

they have no chance of being truly great.

the googooplexillions of waves ridden since the time of man

the experiential high was never yard sticked.

the mass produced surfboard is a turning point

Finally measureable skill comparison

will make for a real champ chump

boozled into old pro status.

Mantle was a great ball player till the day he died

has he died?

in my mind he is still shaving with gillette Blue blades

in between rounds while Floyd Patterson and Ingamar Johansen

beat each other bloody,a real champ never impeached.

I havent made board since valentines day

every board I make counts.

surf tech seconds

for sale some place?

I choose not to fix em.

I will fix somebody else’s hand made

no pop outs will i fix no thank you.

god bless the 97%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

I dont wanna hear about their best wave

It is not good enough.

and dont think you can burn me or the surfboard art with impunity.

your punishment is your limited reward.

…ambrose…

in other words

the waves ridden

by mass market

oard solutions are

diminished by default.

call them ot aves

or ice ide

or maybe ood urn

somthing like that.

he was the guy I befriended

and encouraged to surf

he rides a surf tech

I think I will call him

y riend.

and paddle away from him

when he needs me to line up.

why hang with im

when he only diminishes the etherial

experience of my time in the water

surfing.

Quote:

Surftechs are beautiful boards that meet the requirements of 97% of the surfers in the world.

wow man… that’s amazing… I think I know about 30 guys that surf, about ten of them have a factory made board, no surftech though… I live in a magical a-typical place and surf with a special select group of guys an gals… thank you otay for this little satori.

My God!.. nailed it so clean my thumb hurts… thank you Ambrose

that was just beautiful… perfection

sometimes I don’t know exactly what an artist is saying in poems, in songs, in paintings, in sculpture… even in surfboards at times…but it makes no matter, real art speaks… it is saying everything and nothing simultaneoulsy… real art imo gives me the impression that the artist understands and communicates the alpha and omega concept no matter what the medium… I don’t need to completely understand any of it, the art speaks and I get it nonetheless, in fact it hits me square in the forehead likea sledgehammer at times

I will be hanging it on the wall of my mind and come back to it often… hope you don’t mind if i share your thoughts with others, because surfers need to see this stuff, drink it in…

its like preaching to the choir here at sways but I would still say we all need to think about it, and be grateful that true art and artists are literally all around and within the tribe and we should respect the art and the artist so much more…as i get older I am really aware of the art so much more in this thing we call surfing, and the artists we all admire and respect are mortal, no matter what we think to the contrary, thank your shaper next time you speak with him or her

your art, and others art, makes me proud to be a surfer… it makes me think in some small tiny miniscule way I am part of the art that is surfing and not just some meat that stands on a board from time to time… don’t know how else to say it.

you have made my day and then some, I will think of this as I surf my handshaped custom this weekend amongst all the other masses on the holiday and I will know that soul exists and it is right under my feet and in my heart and in my head…

Ambrose, with your permission, I want to hang a sign with your quote “was the best tortilla you ever ate from a plastic bag” in my shaping room!!

Quote:

My opinion may sound selfish, but surftech and their riders lack general credibility in the water.

Dino Miranda,lacks credibility?Wot the?I will agree, nothin beats a handmade custom shape,by a craftsman ,but to say there is no place for surf techs is ludicrous!!! Fuckin awesome travel boards,lite,strong enough to withstand the abuse of baggage handlers world wide!!!It would seem that some in the industry have created a monster by trying to maximise their profit!! Are we to judge those responsible for the phenomenon?After all,they’re just doin business,and is’nt business about makin money??

ambrose-as always, you nailed it!

surfers have credibility, boards of all kinds and construction on the other hand… ehh… and I am not getting the whole “great travel board… tough as nails”… “you can not take your board and just buy a popout when you get there because its an exact duplicate” concept whatsoever… pure McDonalds golden arches… if I want a quareterpounder with cheese I know where to go

I have been many many places and even if I arrive and my stick has a few dings… suncure, sandpaper, done. To have this durabililty and ability to be duplicated as the what apparently seems to be the “cornerstone” of why popouts are great is what is ludicrous.

Dino can ride my front door at Puerto and make it look good, and I am not wholly convinced that these top surfers “love” their surftechs nor am I convinced that these same top surfers even like surfing them… somehow I just think that Dino (and others sponsored by popouts) has a garage full of popouts and in the shed out back is his real love… his real boards… if a guy like Dino (using him as only an example not crucifying nor attempting to in any way, nor am I attemting ot put words in his mouth… maybe he loves his popouts) who has reached his pinnacle of ability, has all this knowledge of surfboards and design, what works, what surfs best etc and he ends up actually choosing to surf popouts for performance reasons… just don’t think so, it literally goes against all that a surfer knows, these do not perform in any way shape or form at the level of other construction materials and methods from everything I have read reviews on, the most common adjectives I come across are “corky” “Chattery” “stiff” “lifeless”… the argument cannot be made that these popouts are performance surfboards, they fall short of every original they copy to this construction method… money and the need for it propels the popout phenom, nothing else, certainly not performance of product.

Great they’re tough as nails, but if an entire surfboard construction method and/or design is based on “being durable and duplicated easily” and this is the one positive thing that can be said at all times, because it is, every conversation come back to it… “but their tough as nails”… “if i snap a board in France I can just pull one off the rack”… like a quarterpuonder with cheese… how novel… how boring, how frankly insulting to everything surfboards, shapers, and designing stands for…

Unique, quality, performance, soul, full of life, snappy, springy, loaded, crisp, sexy, crafted, hand made, cared for, loved… just a few of the adjectives I can think of that come to mind when I describe the kinds of boards I wish for… durable falls in line yes, but its really about quality, durabiltiy flows from it, and able to be duplicated, able to be pulled off the shelf as a mirror image, etc etc… that stuff just plain puts me to sleep, turns me off, makes me want to walk the other way quickly when the subject is surfboards… I’ve always had this concept of surfing being so personal, so in the moment, our rides are over in seconds, I hav not one photo of myself surfing in almost 30 years, I don’t care about that, I’m not worried about duplicating and possibly memorializing any of it… its the moments of bliss that count, that cannot be taken away… ever… boards as much as we love them come and go, magic happens, but even a magic board dies… even if you duplicate it, boards are moments in time is what I am trying to say, they are not meant to be “duplicated”… you can take your best shot, but what you end up with is still not the same board, fun to pursue, but its as close to an impossibility as i can imagine… unless 100% machine made in a mold… boards are not hoola hoops… Charlie dont surf, well Mattel and Nike and Bourton/CI (as of late) dont surf either

only one man’s opinion, if peple love popouts good for them, but they are walking around with their head in the sand and only so lucky if someone comes along and plucks thier head out. The entire popout culture, if there is such a thing, is a complete and utter insult to everything that makes surfing, shapers, surfboards, surfers, unique and special… to hear guys talking about “Randy French can really shape a much better board than Boardworks…” on this other thread is digusting, has no place here and I am amazed to see all these craftsman and/or posters that I respect over there around the bonfire rubbing each others backs and complementing anything that has to do with popouts… this is the very thing that is destroying their art, maybe even their livelihood, and it is destroying our uniqueness, and they freely drink the kool aid… that shit belongs on the Surtech message board, not here, and as far as I am concerned the “shapers” on “the list” have turned their backs and allowed money, commercialism, consumerism, greed and on and on and on… into their lives and it is turing them void.

Ambrose, you mind hurrying up in that shower?