Surf Gear

Surf Gear

These are 4 key items of surf gear, out of hundreds of available surf accessories. Accessories are not created equal and some will maximise your surfing progress while others will hinder you

A lot of high tech surf gear and surf accessories come together to get you into the water surfing. In addition to your board you’ve got 4 key items: fins, leash, grip and wax. Each of these could be considered a basic necessity for you to surf.

There’s a huge number of surf accessories available, yet not all deliver the same benefit to progress your surfing

Yet there’s way more surf accessories than that. There’s fin keys, board bags, repair kits, wetsuit buckets, key safes. There’s more obscure items such as surfboard nose protectors, that were once very popular, ear plugs, waterproof phone protectors and the list goes on.

The Best Of What You Need

Each type of surf accessory has different quality and features. You want to make sure you get the best.

If all your accessories are the most functional, all working together, your surfing will rapidly progress. Alternatively if you’ve got low quality accessories there’s lots of problems you will encounter and your surfing will be greatly hindered.

Positive Impact Adds Up

Quality surf gear and surf accessories all add up to rapidly progress your surfing and take your performance higher

It makes sense that each item of your surf gear is the best you can get. That each item directly most positively impacts your surfing. If one item is of lower quality it can impact your surfing. If all are of lower quality and function your surfing will be negatively impacted a lot.

Why is this being pointed out?

First, most surf accessories all look the same. There may be different colours or slight manufacturing differences, but can you tell by looking that one will work better than another?

You want to make sure each item of your surf gear adds positively to your surfing. All adding up to make the biggest positive impact to your surfing.

With all the right surf gear your surfing will rapidly progress and you’ll have much more fun.

Not All The Same

Can you make a decision based on look? This array of leashes is from one brand

While all surf accessories tend to look the same they aren’t all of the same quality or functionality.

How do you tell the difference? How do you pick quality and good value accessories either online or in store?

Let’s check out the main surf accessories and some of the problems you should avoid so you can more clearly understand why by directed by a little expert advice in getting the right surf gear is so important.

Your Leash

Leashes can all look the same. A low quality leash will greatly hinder your surfing progress. You will find yourself doing more swimming than surfing. Your loose board may even harm another surfer

Your leash consists of the cord, ankle cuff attached to your ankle, and rail saver attached to your board.

Let’s just look at the cord in more detail. All cords look the same. Some are clear, others opaque, yet that’s about it. However your leash’s cord construction is of major importance.

It’s obvious it has to be strong not to break under the pull of a wave. Yet how do you tell the strength by looking at it?

It also has to have specific purpose-built characteristics.

Cords can stretch too much or too little. Both are equally as bad.

Where the waves break is called the impact zone. This is where you’ll most likely wipe out and a well designed leash cord will pull your board free of the wave and return your board close to you, almost within arms reach. So you can quickly grab it and paddle out of the impact zone to get another wave.

You fall off in the wave impact zone. If your leash turns to spaghetti you’ll stay longer in that zone getting pounded. If your leash is too springy your board will stay with you with all the power of the wave, equally not good

Spaghetti Leash

Low quality leashes are said to go ‘spaghetti’. This means they’ll over stretch and won’t return your board, keeping it in the impact zone longer. This increase in time to retrieve your board means you’ll be in the impact zone longer too. Likely getting hit by the next wave, and the next. Not a good place to be.

This pounding will take its toll and your cord may be responsible for you having to end your surf early.

Too Springy Leash

Low quality leashes can also be too springy. So when your board is caught by the wave it returns to you too fast. This can result in your board hitting you.

This type of too stiff leash also tends to keep your board too close to you in the wipeout. It doesn’t let your board get pulled far enough away. Tumbling and being hit by your board while still in the power of the wave is especially dangerous.

So, leash cords all look the same. How do you get the best cord to save you from these problems?  Talk to our experts who know all the features, the good quality and good value brands, and can match them to you and your board.

Grip & Wax

Quality wax is designed for different climates and water temperatures. There’s also a way to maximise your wax traction with a multi-coat approach

Your surfboard grip or traction is vital. If you can’t stay on your board, if you’re always slipping off, then you won’t be doing much actual surfing.

Wax is the first level of traction. Did you know that not all waxes give the same grip? Some are just low quality and will always be slipperier than others. So which wax is best?

Wax is also created for a specific climate. There’s no single wax that will work in all water temperatures. So which wax do you choose for where you’re surfing?

Did you know wax needs to be, and will work much better, when textured. There’s a special surf accessory for it – a wax comb. Do you have one?

Only Rubbing It On?

Did you know you there’s a way you can greatly maximise your traction? Which of these would you apply first? Which next?

To get the best from your wax, is it only about rubbing it on?

Have you ever heard of the multi-coat wax approach where different temperature wax is applied in different sequences to your board? This can make a big difference to your grip and is an approach used by many Pros when surfing competitively.

Sweet Spot Placement

Rear grip placement is about much more than placing at the tail of your board. To give you the most positive impact align your grip’s sweet spot with that of your board

Likewise the application of your deck grip seems pretty straight forward. Stick down back foot grip at the tail of your board and front grip where your front foot goes.

Yet traction is only one aspect of the positive benefits grip can give you.

It can help your surfing progress rapidly when placed in the correct position giving you a dynamic point to drive on the wave from.

It also gives your foot a point of reference so when you jump up your back foot finds where to stand on your board’s sweet spot. Wrong placement of your grip can result in wrong foot placement. A feeling that your board should be doing more, that your footing’s not quite right.

So do you know where your board’s sweet spot is, where you group should be aligned to?

Grip comes in a variety of textures. Which is least likely to rash while still giving great traction?

There’s also good quality and poor quality deck grip based on different textures. You want a grip that will not rash you. If your grip gives you rash on your leg or knee it won’t take long till you won’t be able to surf at all or have to wear a long leg wetsuit. Not such a great option in summer.

So how do you avoid these problems and get the traction that will give you the fastest progress for your surfing? Talk to our experts who know all the features and the good quality and good value brands.

Fins

How important are fins? They’re considered an accessory, yet could they be as important as your surfboard itself?

There’s fins that are valued at hundreds of dollars a set. Yet the dollar value of fins is no guarantee they’ll work and the wrong fins in your board will make you think your board is no good.

Alternatively having the right fins for your board will rapidly and directly impact your surfing progress.

How do you choose the right fins?

Fin Stiffness & Size

The same fin in different sizes. Which will work best for you in what conditions? What about materials? Is one flex better than another?

It’s all about your fin stiffness and size.

In just about every situation, the stiffer your fins the better you’ll surf, the faster you’ll go. So avoid soft fins.

What about fin size?

Did you know that the saying ‘big fins for big waves, small fins for small waves’ sounds true yet is not correct.

It’s big fins in small waves that will give you the most power and speed.

Using big fins in big waves will tend to make your board feel erratic. It’s small fins in big waves that give you control.

But how big is big? How small is small? Too big a Thruster fin set, even in small waves, will create turbulence under your board slowing you down.

So you want the right fins matched to you, your board, and to the conditions you will be surfing.

Talk to our experts who know all the features and the good quality and good value brands. Even let us see your board so we can give you the best advice on the fins to match.

You Need The Best

We have the product knowledge and expert advice to get your surfing progressing rapidly

Only a few surf gear items have been discussed. Yet it’s clear if you have a low quality leash, grip and fins,  that the negatives will add up to greatly slow your surfing progress.

It’s the same for every surf accessory.

Consider: some board bags instead of reflecting heat will actually make your board hotter bringing on potential structural problems; there’s combination surf locks that will seize after limited outdoor use; some booties just don’t grip your board.

On the positive side: some ear plugs will seal your ears from harmful water conditions while not disturbing your ear canal; there’s tie downs and soft racks that will secure multiple boards while stowing away minutely; some wax combs will flex with the curve of your board most effectively texturing your wax and limiting the chance of a damaging scrape.

All the positives and negatives of good and bad surf accessories are there, you just have to make the decision on which to go for to maximise your surfing progress.

Talk to our experts who know all the features and the good quality and good value brands. They’ll make sure you get the best of each surf accessory and that your surfing progresses rapidly.