Wavestorm Surfboards: 3 Reasons for the Tempest

Jul 28 2009

Wavestorm Surfboards: 3 Reasons for the Tempest

Posted by Tyler at 10:31 am on July 28th, 2009 to Surf Equipment, Surfboards.

While soft top surfboards are definitely not a new edition to the surfing world, the Wavestorm, available at Costco for over a year now, is literally “storming” the coastlines. It doesn’t matter where you go, there is bound to be at least (extra emphasis added to this at least) one of these eight foot blue bombers in the water. The question is what has caused this explosion? I present three main reasons:

1) Cheap.

Cheap surfboards and easy to assemble, I have literally seen people putting them together on the beach, as if they made their annual trip to the beach, stopped by Costco on the way down and decided, “100 bucks! They are practically giving these things away!” One Benjamin Franklin and a two minute assemblage later, several of which I have seen done on the beach, they are well on their way towards fulfilling their lifelong surfing dreams. Aside from attracting beginners, it also appeals to people who occasionally want to surf a longer board and are not willing to spend the money on a hardboard.

2) User Friendly.

There is probably no satisfactory substitute for beginners than the Wavestorm. Soft tops have generally attracted beginners as they are wavestorm-beginner-shot1 typically more forgiving than a hardboard, but still provide a lot of stability. The problem that most foam boards have dealt with is taking on water. It seems like from the first ride they commence taking on water and every use after that adds a few pounds. I swear that my sister’s BZ weighed like fifty pounds before we finally got rid of it. Not only was it a struggle getting the water logged board down to the beach, but once in the waves, paddling around and surfing a foam board that heavy is frustrating work. The Wavestorm is way lighter and so far as I can tell doesn’t take on water, though I don’t suggest stabbing, slashing or puncturing the board in an effort to test this theory.

3) Fun in all types of surf.

When the waves are good I typically prefer riding a shortboard, but I have taken the Wavestorm out a few times in bigger surf and really had a lot of fun. The board is fast and maneuverable enough to pull off steep drop-ins and long rides. Chase Carlson taking the Wavestorm to new levels Here is a picture of a Chase Carlson shredding on one. Beware of course that Wavestorm’s still fall under the foam board category that may bring with it a particular notoriety at better surf spots as they are often synonymous with beginners (even though just about every surfing household has added a Wavestorm to their quiver in the past year). Most importantly, in ankle to knee high surf, when you are not sure you even want to paddle out, the Wavestorm provides a solution. You can seriously catch anything on the board it floats like a champ and almost every size of wave will push it. If you are just looking for a fun activity during junk surf, there are few better options.

Now considering these three reasons, whether or not you feel the Wavestorm a curse or a blessing towards ocean aquatics, it seems like the storm will continue to rage.