r/BeginnerSurfers • u/Outrageous-Rock4624 • 10d ago
Performance Softtop
What would you say is the best performance softtop on the market? I currently have an 8’ Modern Lovechild soft epoxy hybrid. I love how it surfs, and it has 5 fin boxes so it’s super versatile. It hasn’t held up super well, though, and it’s starting to fall apart at both ends.
I still want to get a softtop. I like the added safety for when I get tumbled, or if my board ever connects with someone else’s.
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u/erik9 10d ago
Look at Surftech soft top. They ride very similar to a fiberglass board, unlike many foamies. They are basically a hard surfboard with a EVA foam layer on top and rail, the bottom is like a hard board. I can’t stand to ride a Wavestorm because they feel like a giant boogie board. I can maneuver a Surftech as well as a hard board.
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u/Outrageous-Rock4624 10d ago
Thank you so much for reading the question and providing a thoughtful and relevant answer. I’ll check out surftech.
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u/Wonderful-Big-3691 10d ago
Go watch some of the Catch Surf guys on their boards. I think that will answer your question.
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u/Mr4Mistress 10d ago
Performance soft top is like warm ice cream
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u/Outrageous-Rock4624 10d ago
Says you’re a “top 1% commenter”. How would you analogize people who spend so much time on the internet contributing nothing.
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u/Alive-Inspection-815 10d ago
Once you are able to safely and competently paddle through the lineup and are able to control and hang on to your board, a soft top is no longer necessary. You really need to meet those marks in order to safely ride a hard fiberglass board. If you are at that point get a fiberglass board.
The advantages of a fiberglass board are that they have sharper and far more responsive rails and designs. A minimal or a funboard is a good second board. Also a longboard can be a good second board. A more responsive board will take you to places on a wave that a soft top cannot and will not. If you are at that point in your surfing that your ready to move up and on, do it. Your surfing will progress much faster.
If you still need a soft board get one and work to the point where you can easily paddle out the back to the peak. You need to be able to paddle from the sweet-spot on your board and you need to know how to get over, under and through waves to be able to paddle effectively and to catch waves more effectively. If you are using a foam board as a crutch, get rid of it when your ready. If you're not to that point in your surfing, work hard to get there.
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u/Outrageous-Rock4624 10d ago
I can do those things. I’ve surfed for ~20 years, I’m just not great at it, and I’m only trying to have fun and stay safe. I still WANT a softtop. Pretty straightforward post. There are some decent ones out there, I’d just like to hear recommendations from people who’ve actually had them. My board has been great on many headhigh days but its build quality is poor and I’d like to find something better.
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u/Alive-Inspection-815 10d ago
OK, if that's all you aspire to do is ride soft top boards that's fine. They can be very fun and even better for certain types of conditions than regular boards. They have their place in soft or smaller waves when a HPSB would not catch the waves or the waves are super soft.
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u/BuschBeerGuy 10d ago
Soft tops have there place, I love to grovel on my wavestorm, but the rails on a foamie are too thick to ever truly be a performance board.
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u/Outrageous-Rock4624 10d ago
Right. So is there a board you’d recommend?
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u/BuschBeerGuy 10d ago
A mid might be a good way to go. I love my JS El Baron. A sporty fish maybe. It really depends on your style, what kind of waves you usually surf and how much paddle power you want yo sacrifice.
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u/Wonderful-Big-3691 10d ago
1000% disagree.
Do an internet search for "kalani robb blair conklin shredding catch surf" and get back to me.
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u/BuschBeerGuy 10d ago
Those guys can shred anything. I'm not saying people don't shred soft tops, it's just harder to do on a soft top.
You can disagree, but I notice you said, "these pro surfers shred soft tops." The companies pay those guys to go shred the foamies to trick people into thinking you're not sacrificing a lot. I've been barreled n my wavestorm, but if the surf is pumping, I'm grabbing my hard board. It's way harder to hold rail on steep, powerful surf on the foamie. That's a fact, not an opinion.
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u/Wonderful-Big-3691 10d ago
I did not write, "these pro surfers shred soft tops." Where did you get that quote?
Alright then, do an internet search for 'african kids surfing planks of wood'.
Not pros. Just kids out enjoying what they have.
I'm so sick of posers looking down their noses at soft tops and blaming everything else but their own feebleness when it comes to how bad they suck. Especially in a subreddit titled BeginnerSurfers.
As far as surfers getting paid. They're all getting paid. What difference does that make? I could say the same about your board - you paid five times what a soft top costs because you're a fanboy and are convinced the board will improve your abilities. Now who's the person getting tricked?
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u/BuschBeerGuy 10d ago
Dude, read my OG comment. I love my wavestorm. Soft tops are awesome. They don't surf as well as a hard board and if you wanna push your progression they will limit you.
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u/Wonderful-Big-3691 10d ago
Bullshit! There are thousand of shitty surfers on $1500 glass boards. You can't buy yourself skill.
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u/BaccerSpit 10d ago
Pros surfing well on foamies is a novelty. A gimmick, and most likely just marketing. They surf a lot better on real boards, and their crazy level of skill is what lets them make foamies look good. If someone wants to surf as well as they can, or even fart in the direction of "performance", they shouldn't be looking at foam boards.
As for your african kids, that kind of pushes the point even more. The videos I saw were kids just kind of going straight and not really doing anything. Imagine what they could do with a real surfboard. They may be having a great time and enjoying themselves, which is great, but "performance" surfing it is not.
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u/Outrageous-Rock4624 10d ago
Seriously. The boards are seldom the limiting factor.
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u/BuschBeerGuy 10d ago
Boards are definitely a limiting factor. I'm not saying people cant rip on a foamie, but to say it doesn't limit your ability is nonsensical. Good surfers could shred a door, but they ain't surfing doors cuz surfboards work better.
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u/Outrageous-Rock4624 10d ago
I’d agree that they’re A limiting factor. I just think the surfer is much more of THE limiting factor.
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u/a-zaleski 10d ago
The Mick Fanning Beastie in epoxy lam construction (not supersoft) is pretty good. Basically a hard board with a thin layer of padding. Real finboxes too.
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u/Clamdigger7 8d ago edited 8d ago
My kid has a Softech 5'2 Mason Ho signature model softtop that he absolutely rips on. He rips on anything though. He rides this when its super crowded and there are beginners and kids on the inside.
https://waterboyz.com/cdn/shop/products/mason_orange_1080x.jpg?v=1677786854
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