I can’t believe how many guys that have been ordering customs off me of late that have had previous flings with a tuf lite of some kind. It sort of makes me think that the bubble has burst as it seems the thrill of that sexy light tuf light under arm that had the cash register ringing the last few years is finally losing its shine. There is no doubt they had great rack appeal with their weight, shine and great paint job and this allure meant that many hit the water frothing thinking the lightness was going to take them to another level.
Well it’s now common Knowledge that they didn’t! The apparent exodus from the Thai made signature models has reinstated my belief that the new sea change customers have plateaued and those that have not abandoned surfing as a fad have hung in and in fact matured are now seeking more specialist advice than just a simple model brochure .

The notion that the Tuflite structure was stronger and would last longer and therefore a must own was ignoring the past culture. Who really wants to be riding the same surfboard for 3 bloody years! Only he who wants to stagnate is simply my answer. It really only takes a regular surfer a couple of months to thoroughly get to know his new board and to realize how much he can possibly improve on it and therefore what stoke life it has before boredom sets in. Most often after a year and sometimes less its time to move on and sell off and update which may cost you in real terms about the same as a big night out. So the hype of new technology materials and their durability’s is irrelevant in my opinion particularly when you have to pay 25% more for them.

I remember back in the sixties when I had a custom board in the pipeline, to me it was almost akin to having a child. The excitement and impatience I endured for nearly 6 weeks but throughout all that time knowing there was going to be a part of me built into that board coz it was a custom and there was a particular Plan shape, a rail and fin that I was sure I had got through to the shaper. I was pacing the floor like an expectant father waiting for the day I could tuck it under my arm and sigh with relief. All good things come to those who wait was my belief. It is certainly more painful than grabbing one off the rack but to me much more rewarding.

If there is one thing I have learnt over the many years I have spent in this trade is that one mans trash can be another mans treasure. There is really no perfect scale when it comes to volumes to customer weight ratios as every surfer has his own idiosyncrasies that in the end have to be dealt with by us the shapers via a direct dialogue with the customer and only then will a custom have any chance of success. There are by all accounts many models in our stores today and a shit load more choice on the rack than there ever was and to those who have unpleasant memories of a custom experience seeing and feeling certainly beats hoping the shaper will get it right. Having said that I have to say those who continually buy off the rack and flirt between shapers lose the opportunity of building and using the experience of a specialist who can through a process of elimination personalize your equipment to a much higher degree.

Quiver building is something we have done for years for our professional surfers so we know how effective it can be to be ready for all sized surf but with common denominators throughout the range to make it easier to jump from one to the other. The modern customer of today is now at this level and over 50% have multiple boards. I would suggest they really need to be planned, designed and shaped by the same shaper if their existence it to be at all effective.

With the super accuracy of the new custom shaping machines and there ability to store information for repeating favourites etc. customizing has stepped up to another level of certainty that is to say you will now get what you expected to get; not always so in the past. Bottom line my advice is to find a shaper that has a good program view his files so you can see the profiles, slices and plan shapes as you would view plans for a new house and become a part of the design process as you move through a series of boards looking for the day that magic board appears. I can guarantee you it will arrive much quicker than it would rifling through racks and racks of production models.

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