Don’t know what your perspective is, but I personally know that a lot of the high profile US Pros are in fact riding custom epoxy boards right now and have been for a while. These are custom hand shapes just like their poly boards. Of course, the logos and spray jobs are consistent with those of their board sponsors (who mostly sell and promote poly). What the Pros get PAID to ride is any board that that works (i.e wins contests or gets photos) and has their sponsor’s logo on it. You or I do not know who really shapes or glasses them. And that’s done on purpose.
Production Backlog? The only backlog I know of right now is the usual production board backlog because it’s board building time (i.e. Summer) for the masses here in the US. All the shops have their orders in for “off the rack” stuff, (including “custom” epoxy) but what does this have to do with the Pros boards? The Pros are the ones who the Name Shapers REALLY shape for (as opposed to the printed logo board everyone else gets), and they get what they want when they want. If Kelly wants Al to shape him a new board I’m sure he gets it right away. Granted the labels do not want to make a big thing of this aspect to you or I, because they want us to think that we might be getting something like the same board that Kelly rides, hand shaped by Al himself, and that we are important. And we are, in a sense. But in a different way. We generate the $$ directly. The Pros generate it indirectly. Randy French is doing the same thing all the other big labels are doing. He’s making “Production Boards”. His methods are just different. As for the “hand finishing” aspect of production boards, when’s the last time you saw the finish shaper’s signature on your “off the rack” model? And if you did, would you know who that person was?
I’m mystified as to why anyone would try to draw a direct parallel to Pro Vs. Production equipment. If anyone out there thinks that the “Pro Model” product they buy off the rack is the same as anything the Pros actually use, I don’t care if it’s a tennis racket, golf club, or surfboard, they are dreaming. The only thing that’s the same as the one you and I can buy is the paint job and the logo. Scratch that away and then compare the real “Pro’s” model to yours. I doubt you’ll find the same thing. Besides, lets get real. As good as anyone THINKS they surf or play, you are not going to be able to use what the Pros use and get the same results. They ride all day, every day, to the exclusion of everything else. That’s why they are the Pros. As such their equipment is so specialized that it has little relevance to the average consumer.
It all comes down to this: There are many segments of the surfboard market, just like in everything else. Some people want cheap, others want fancy. Some shop quality, others label. No one shaper or label is going to sell them all. So let the Surftechs sell. If I want a custom, I know who and where to get it from. As for the other guy, let him buy what he wants. It’s a free country. (At least last time I checked).