Great dynamics on this thread, and a few more comments for the pile.
Highest praise for Ambrose’s stream of consciousness Haiku derivative communiques. Words as much art as truth. Cognition that many of us belong to the tribe that still rides with the Ancients even as our boards go warp 7. You either get it or never will. If you are happy to hoist a Surftech as the icon for your sub-tribe, it is obviously the latter.
Surftechs are a mass produced tool, effective, and like a dog owned by a cruel owner, will take all sorts of abuse until they finally snap. They have rapidly become the new entry ticket for the flood of surfing as sport newbie. Surf shop owners can now order boards like clothes from a catalog, vs. spending the time to think about what shapes should be crafted for the local market. Give me a dozen DT’s, please, three colors each.
Many praise Surftech durability for traveling. Part of the Indo experience is handing over your damaged semi to one of the ding repair experts at Ulu, or Bingins, or G-land, and have it waiting for you at crack of dawn the next day. You paddle out with a local touch now embedded in your board, and you bought a few groceries for the family. That honorable exchange is available everywhere. Try having a snapped Surftech repaired when there is no stringer available to mate the repairs to. I saw several snapped in half Surftechs this past winter, yet not a single custom board.
My original posit on this thread was an observation about some good surfers riding generic pop-outs. That 6’2 Surftech whatever model will work differently for the 5’9 rear foot surfer who weighs 155 then it will for the 5’9 front foot surfer who weighs 175. They have different rocker requirements, foil requirements, even fin placement requirements. Working with a good shaper to dial in their exact board requirements will do wonders to support the progression of their surfing, and the whole process of ordering a custom board vs. buying a pop-out off the rack is the difference between preparing and enjoying a wonderful home cooked meal or gulping down a McFat burger while you drive. That custom board may well come off a milling machine - it’s metrics, however, were dialed in just for you. And the craftsmen who work on it from beginning to end are doing it for you, not slot #10 in Huckabes Surf Emporium.
Ultimately, the surfboard is the spear point for what we do, and who wouldn’t want the one with the best balance, edge and fit. And whereas many get that, others never will… .