The Ultimate Guide to Softboards
The Ultimate Guide to Softboards: A Perfect Blend of Stability and Performance
A softboard is an incredibly versatile surfboard, making it ideal for beginners and experienced surfers alike. Whether you're just starting out or looking to shred small waves, a softboard offers an excellent surfing experience that the whole family can enjoy.
What Makes Softboards Stand Out?
Softboard construction is more advanced than it appears. These surfboards combine various high-performance materials to deliver optimal performance, even with the natural flexibility of their design.
Key features of softboard construction include:
- Integrated Fin System: Ensures smooth control and maneuverability.
- Wooden Stringers: Depending on the board's size, it includes either 2 or 3 wooden stringers, which provide the necessary stiffness and durability.
- Lightweight EPS Core: The Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) core offers buoyancy, contributing to the board's overall stability.
- PE Foam Layer: A comfortable, impact-absorbing Polyethylene (PE) foam layer covers the deck, ensuring a cushioned ride.
- High-Density PE Slick: Attached to a thin PE foam layer on the bottom, this slick ensures optimal glide through the water.
This combination makes softboards soft enough to avoid injury during falls while remaining tough enough to handle the waves. Most designs offer extra width in the nose and tail, enhancing stability and paddle speed, making them perfect for surfers of all skill levels.
The Game-Changing Epoxy Soft Surfboard
The Epoxy Soft Surfboard represents a significant leap in softboard technology. This innovative "board-in-board" concept features a robust epoxy surfboard encased in multiple foam layers of varying densities, creating a surfboard that's both safe and exhilarating to ride.
Through recent testing, these boards have proven to be exceptional for both wave pools and ocean surfing, confirming their place as some of the most versatile surfboards on the market today.
Breaking Down the Epoxy Soft Construction
The Epoxy Soft Construction is revolutionizing the soft surfboard market. Here’s what makes it stand out:
PE Deck Skin: The deck is covered with a PE (Polyethylene) skin, providing a smooth, durable surface.High-Density PE Bottom Skin: This layer ensures durability and smooth glide across the water.
When combined, these elements create a high-performance surfboard that offers the ultimate softboard experience, providing an unmatched balance of fun, safety, and control.
Why Choose a Softboard?
Softboards are not just for beginners; they offer a high level of wave-catching capability, stability, and speed, making them a popular choice for surfers of all ages and skill levels. Whether you're enjoying the waves at the beach or hitting up a wave pool, a softboard's construction ensures durability, flexibility, and a comfortable ride every time.
So, what size board do I need?
The first question we ask our customers is, have you had a surf lesson or borrowed a friends board?
This can assist in knowing if you were able to catch a wave on a certain size board . You can also check the Volume measurement of a board to give you a general idea. This is measured in Litres.
If you are a beginner than these recommendations can help guide you.
Up to 30kg riders should look at boards up to 40 Litres
30kg- 50kg riders should look at boards up to 50 Litres
50kg-70kg riders should look at boards up to 65 Litres
70kg+ riders should look at boards 60 or more Litres
Should I buy a Softboard or an Epoxy Softboard?
This choice can be broken down into two groups.
If it’s your very first board and you don’t have very much experience catching waves, then the Softboard option is probably going to be best. These boards generally have more volume and more width, giving you a very stable board to learn on.
If you have had a softboard and are looking for the next progression in your surfing, the epoxy softboards usually have a more progressive shape to help initiate turns. These boards can be ridden not only by new surfers learning to advance their technique but also by experienced surfers wanting to have fun.