I was in Ron jon’s surfshop in Coco beach the other day after surfing knee high back wash at sebastian inlet,i noticed all the ron jon boards are made in china,cosmeticly they looked ok,but would rather have one that i made
At least half the shortboarders in Santa Cruz these days seem to be on the surftech/tuflite boards. I guess those aren’t technically “Chinese” since they are made elsewhere in south east asia but it’s nearly the same thing in my book.
About a year ago I met the owner of Fur Cat surfboards while working at a shop in Southern California. He sold us a few 6’4" pintails that were airbrushed, pinlined and finished with what seemed to be a polish resin. He said the boards were machine cut, hand finished and airbrushed and that they used German boat resin(that apparently is better than what is available in the US according to him). The boards seemed alright, all looked the same and were really cheap. The boards came from the same factory as the Ron Jon boards. Fur Cat is a Hawaiian surfboard manufacturer with a line of good old fashioned surfboards as well and are only starting to get boards made through China. What will keep the boards out of small shops for now is that they have to be ordered by the container(like you see on container ships) which is a lot of boards. So for now I think these boards will stay at Costco and Ron Jon until distributors on the mainland start to pick up on this new trend. Hopefully that is a long ways away because at the prices he was selling these boards for, there is no way independent shapers can compete, price-wise that is.
Howzit waterbug, I've known Furcat since he came to Kauai and he will sell anything to make a buck. He's considered some what a shady person to deal with. In fact he just recently opened a used car business and you know what they say about those guys. Other than that he's never tried to sell me anything and we are on friendly terms. On a sadder note his teenage daughter has cancer and is going through chemo to try and beat it. He used to say he was making the boards himself.Aloha,Kokua
From what I’ve seen most surfboards are cheeply made and made to be replaced often. I don’t know anything about Chineese boards. Make my own, now. Mike
I think Becker has had some chinese boards done to test the waters. I’m pretty sure they will eventually have their boards produced there. Once Phil retires, it’s a money thing with them.
I think Becker has had some chinese boards done to test the waters. I’m pretty sure they will eventually have their boards produced there. Once Phil retires, it’s a money thing with them.
In buisness its always a money thing.
I dont think theres a damn thing anyone can do to stop imported Chinese/Asian boards anymore than you can stop imported cars or electronics.
Find a niche, make it better, stronger, higher performing, better materials/construction. Obviously you will never compete on price.
Believe it or not some of us are in business because we love what he do. Money is not the primary driving force as it is to some it’s secondary. Stopping the imports isn’t a main concern for me. But you won’t hear me supporting them, infact I say boycott the shops that carry them! Or atleast let them know how you feel about the imports. As far as a niche, I have been fortunate to have seen the future and have hedged on it. I am more concerned for the younger/future shapers of America that will take over if they ever get a chance. In the past these younger up and coming shapers could fill the quota for cheaper boards and be able to get some numbers under their belt and over time be able to inherit the profession. With the advent of mass imports we have just wrote off an entire generation of possible talent to get enough boards to make a decent living while they get enough experience to learn the craft. Any way that’s how I see it. I have seen extremely talented shapers (our future) displaced, if you haven’t seen this in your area you will…sooner than you think.
I think most of the people who buy those Isle boards are from Idaho or Ohio and use them as dorm room bong display tables… the shipping cheap is enough. to bad the good stuff like trac-pads and wax anr’t super duper cheap… Never seen one in the water here in San Deigo and I think their warehouse is in National City… I wonder if Wal-Mart will be selling these surfboards soon…
Just read my reply to the ‘robot shapers’ trend it’s more or less an echo of my thoughs, and I’m all out of rant now.
the core know the score, and you get what you pay for, I’d rather have a quality board to treasure than a souless clone, simple equation:
massproduced board, half the price but also half the quality, lasts half as long.
quality custom board twice the price, but lasts twice as long, and is better quality.
over ther same time period you get through 1 quallity board or 2 cheap ‘disposable boards’
so in the end the cost is the same, but by buing a cheap board is a false econemy for the must have now generation. don’t sell your soul to the industry for a cheap board.
what do you know, still some rant left in me after all, think thats been biulding up for some time, not usually like this. I need to go surfing.
massproduced board, half the price but also half the quality, lasts half as long.
quality custom board twice the price, but lasts twice as long, and is better quality.
What about all those customs and off the racks that last a season at best even if they are made in the US of A? I don’t see any reason a chinaman can’t produce a surfboard of equal quality to a US made board. Heck, the china worker can spend many times as long looking after details on the board, they can have quality control personel beyond any American factories are capable of and all for a fraction of what one US shaper costs in labour. Welcome to the world economy and the beauty of capitalism. As a foreigner I couldn’t care less if the product is made in the US or anywhere else. Quality is all that matters. Customs are the way to go, but for those who buy off the racks the cause is already lost. Bottomline: make a better products or you’ll be out of buisness. regards, Håvard
Here on Oahu, thru my eyes anyway, there does’nt seem to be too many Chinese poly boards. I tend to see more Surf Tech and Board Works epoxies out in the water, longboards especially. I think the main difference between the pop outs coming out now compared to the ones in the early 60’s is that they are much more refined shape wise. How durable they are, I would’nt know as I’ve never owned one, but the shapes look pretty decent to me.
The Chinese boards will most likely appeal to beginners or those on a tight budget. Somewhere along the line they’ll move up to either a custom or an off the rack domestically made board.
That a very good point harvard, I guess my rant should be directed towards masproduction in general, I obviously there’s a market for these boards as economiclly speaking demand fuels supply, I’m not trying to fight those kind of marketforces, they’er big than me, and I could never supply that number of people anyway, but I want to be values as a person, not as just a consumer.
I don’t doubt for a second that some one in china is equal to someone any where else in the world, but I would question that if the chinese boards are imported to america, how in touch is the producer with his target demographic.
its a similar story in any industry at various points in time all over the worked, handcraft fear big business, but at the end of the day hopfully there will be room for both.
think I just had a bad day at work, I should also point out that i live in the UK, so it’s not about, buy at home, I just see an established industry being outstripped by a foriegn one, maybe this could be a good thing and lead to world harmony, who know? just have to wait and see.
I live in South Korea, and I have been researching and shaping surfboards since 2008. Surfing became so popular starting 2012, and I am pretty sure every shop will desperately need for more rental boards this year. From my observation last year, majority of rental surfboards(soft-top and ‘resin’ board) were made in China. And, A lot of shops are looking for shapers to make them surfboards in Korea. I use EPS block foam to make blanks(manufactured locally),and purchase other parts like fin box, leash plugs, etc from a few companies in the States. The problem is that the shipping fee for those parts actually exceeds the price of items. So somehow those parts have to be manufactured in Kroea for the future or find the source within manageable distance. The surfing biz is not as big as one of the States or Australia, but Korea will comsume a lot of ‘made-in China’ surfboards for quite some time.
You seem like a very resourceful guy. If I were in your situation I’d go the rest of the way and do an all-ROK surfboard. Make your own fins and either glass them on or rout them in, and use leash loops. You might as well figure out how to make your own leashes, too. Put your logo on everything and charge whatever it takes for you to clear a profit. I’ll bet your local surfers would keep you busy.
