china surf boards

pedros

has ant 1 heard good things r does it make a difference once they go

neon_glows

This depends massively.
Its like asking are all japanese cars good. Yes some are good, some arent.
Some factorys in china, thailand and indo are the most advanced surfboard factorys in the world and you will find that maybe 75% of the surfboards in the world come from here, this is becuase the biggest cost in manufacturing a surfboard is the labour involved.
There are 100s of surfboard factorys in asia and boards from even some of the biggest or most well known brands such as NSP, McTavish, Surftech, 7S, Webber, Walden, hot buttered and tonnes of others and the likes come from there... The latter mentioned brands of boards are of top quality and therefor come from a very high standard of factory, on the other hand some board brands that come from china are absolute puke. My advice would be to go to a surf shop where the staff will be more than happy to help you choose the right board for you. The only reason boards are made in china is boards made here cannot compete in price.

promethius

neon_glows wrote: »

This depends massively.
Its like asking are all japanese cars good.
Some factorys in china, thailand and indo are the most advanced surfboard factorys in the world and you will find that maybe 75% of the surfboards in the world come from here, this is becuase the biggest cost in manufacturing a surfboard is the labour involved.
There are 100s of surfboard factorys in asia and boards from even some of the biggest or most well known brands such as NSP, McTavish, Surftech, 7S, Webber, Escape, Beach Beat, Powersource and the likes come from there... The latter mentioned brands of boards are of top quality and therefor come from a very high standard of factory, on the other hand some board brands that come from china are absolute puke. My advice would be to go to a surf shop where the staff will be more than happy to help you choose the right board for you. The only reason boards are made in china is boards made here cannot compete in price.

To be fair, Mark McGuire would be very upset to hear his boards were being manufactured in Asia, when they're in fact made up in Leitrim.

I've owned about 10 different boards through the years, I've had two asian ones, one was an "Isle" sold in california, it snapped in smallish conditions, i got it repaired, it snapped again at a different point on the board in slightly larger conditions.Gave up on it.

I owned another asian board a 7s with a 5 fin set up, thought it was great till it snapped in half in head high conditions. Brought it to conor in waxon to see if it was fixable, he showed me another 7s someone dropped in also split in half in the back room, it wasn't fixable.

Of the other 8 boards i have/had not one has broken, none of them are asian. My first board a bic was driven over by a car and still surfs!

I wouldn't touch any boards coming out of china, you might save a few quid but not much good when you're board's in two bits as i found out.

I've got a powersource custom board by the way and it rips.

Worth getting a decent board the chinese muck is a false economy.
They use the cheapest foam and fibre glass they can find inconsistent as hell. Guys shaping them prob never seen or will see the ocean if that kind of thing bothers you as well.

Cecil Mor

Mark McGuire would be very upset to hear his boards were being manufactured in Asia, when they're in fact made up in Leitrim.

Far as I'm aware his off the shelf boards are imported while the custom boards come from Lovely Leitrim.

Regarding cost some of the brands mentioned above as having come from China/Asia has boards that are more expensive then an equivalent board sourced from local shapers.

Example: In a recent thread I think Tramore Surfshop posted a nearly new Escape Longboard for sale with a New Price of €830ish. Both Conor in Waxon & Glide Surfboards has quoted less for similar sized longboards (Spec Dependant) but of a more sopisticated design.
Both of which would also offer a far better quality of finish then the Asian equivalent.

Manufacturing costs will be considerably less then a locally produced product but it'll only be a cheaper option should that saving be passed on at the point of sale. Always best to at least get a price from the local guys before spending the cash.

thehangtenguy

I agree with Cecil Mor.
A few years ago, i bought a custom longboard from a fairly well known shaper in northern callifornia for 650 dollors. About a year later i was shocked to come across a chinese copy of this board in an irish shop for 1100 euro's. The dollar was weak at the time so out of interest and being a stuborn ould git, i asked the guy behind counter why such a massive markup on a chinese copy but he did'nt know.
My most recent purchase has been from an irish shaper and i don't think i counld have found the same value in a irish surf shop. Custom boards can be a long wait, but are better quality and cheper too. Never go Asian!:)

loctite

thehangtenguy wrote: »

asked the guy behind counter why such a massive markup on a chinese copy but he did'nt know.

Just curious... how much markup do you think there are on boards??
Chineese or otherwise and why do you think that the majority of Irish retailers don't sell Custom boards???

Cecil Mor

Chineese or otherwise and why do you think that the majority of Irish retailers don't sell Custom boards???

Surely if a board is truly a "custom" surfboard it won't be available off the shelf in a shop?

Not getting into a discussion on markups & margins applied to boards in Irish shops regardless of their origin I can give one case in point.

Tubes (I think it was, apologies if I'm wrong and am open to correction) had an epoxy Pearson Arrow longboard on display last year with a sale price of circa €1100ish.
The same board in Polyester/Resin was purchased 2nd hand by an associate in the actual Pearson Arrow shop in Santa Cruz for $350.
New in the shop, shaped & glassed in Santa Cruz & possibly even by Bob himself that board costs less then $700.

One is the real deal the other an Asian copy. I'm sure it sold but I can't begin to consider it was value for money in any way.
That same €1100 would get a hell of a board from a local shaper with a large chunk of change to get it to Morocco.

Having said that good luck to everyone trying to make a living through surfing these days.

seachto7

ive got one for sale over on adverts. Its grand to learn how to stand on, if thats what you want, but for high performance, probably better to go local and get a custom board...