Best Surfboard Brands

SBBC have become synonymous with quality when it comes to soft-top surfboard construction.

They use a range of premium materials, including wood laminate fiberglassed bases on many of their most popular boards.

Although some of the kids and beginner models are made more simply, they're still a cut above the equivalents from most other brands.

It's not just the build quality that gets me excited about these boards though, SBBC put as much thought into their designs as their construction.

There are shapes to suit pretty much every level and style of surfing imaginable, from kids' boards like the Guppy all the way up to an 8'8" longboard.

My personal favorite offering is the Mahi quad fish: small, fast, loose, and a ridiculous amount of fun.

Having been in the foam board business for over 15 years, Wavestorm are one of the most recognizable and best-selling brands on the market.

With sales regularly reaching hundreds of thousands per year, there must be something attracting customers to the surfing arm of Agit Global.

The answer is simply, value.

There are lots of cheap surfboards out there, but Wavestorm consistently hit the sweet spot between having a product worth buying and making it cheaply enough to attract customers. 

Although they do offer a 5'8" Fish design, there are better options out there in that size range.

Where Wavestorm come into their own are their 8' and 9' beginner models. Big, friendly, and forgiving, they're just what new surfers need.

Peruvian-based Liquid Shredder have been making foam surf craft for over 20 years and, unlike many of the other surfboard brands in my review, they have made a serious attempt at dominating both ends of the market.

At their most basic, models like the EZ-Slider and Blackball are fun shapes with basic construction and accessories.

These budget boards work well, although they aren't built to last forever and aren't really ideal for those seeking high performance.

However, Liquid Shredder also have two higher tier ranges, Hybrid and Hi-tech.

Hybrid boards such as the Ghost series use aluminum stringers for extra stiffness without unnecessary weight.

This allows for a slimmer shape, especially in terms of tapering into the rails.

Giantex make everything. Practically any sort of household items, outdoor equipment, sporting goods or beach accessories you can imagine rolls out of one of their factories somewhere. So how does making washing machines and trampolines help a company to make surfboards?

The answer's simple enough; manufacturing experience and economy of scale.

In other words, Giantex buy vast enough quantities of the relevant materials to keep the price down and knows about every possible way to shape and combine those materials.

Okay, so they're not really a surfboard brand as such. They only produce a basic 6' learner model, and the shape is not exactly subtle or refined.

But why should you care? When you're buying a board at these prices it's all about fun and games, not performance surfing.Buy one, buy two, hell, buy a six-pack of them and get the whole family (plus dog) out in the water. Isn't that what surfing's really about?

Odysea are the board division of the Catch Surf brand. Similarly to Liquid Shredder, they have boards in all sorts of styles and to suit a wide range of budgets.

The strength and durability of Odysea boards are good but nothing particularly special compared to some others in this highly competitive market.

So why do Odysea make the list? It's their collaborations which really give this company an edge.

They've teamed up with industry giants such as: North Shore legend Jamie O'brien, former CT regulars Taj Burrow and Kalani Robb, master shaper Matt "Mayhem" Biolos (Lost), etc. to produce signature series boards.

These are as varied as they are brilliant, as you'd expect when informed by some of the best surfers and shapers around.

Kona Surf Co. started out as a hard top surfboard shaping company, started by East Coast surf veteran Mike Sciarra way back in 1969.

Decades of shaping experience have helped Kona make the transition into the world of soft tops, where they've shown little interest in just churning out basic beginner surfboards in classic shapes.

Their two shortboard models, in 4'4" and 5'5" pack a surprising amount of foam, the latter being a great little shredder even for adults.

They do also make a learner's Malibu model, but even this board has a couple of fun twists such as a swallowtail and high fin separation for maximum speed and stability.

The only negative thing I would say about the soft boards from Kona is there are other manufacturers with similar shapes in higher-end materials. That said, they tend to be a lot more expensive and Kona Surf co. are definitely one of the best surfboard brands in their price bracket.

Thurso Surf are primarily an SUP company whose first forays into making surfboards, the Aero 7' beginners funboard and Lancer 5'10" fish, have proved surprisingly popular with beginners and intermediates respectively.

The company's watersports pedigree shows in the durability of the boards, with a similar EPS core and multiple stringer construction as many other trusted manufacturers.

In terms of price point, these sit somewhere between the budget options like Wavestorm and higher-end models e.g. SBBC, which is also a fair indication of their quality and longevity.

If your last board was an 8' or 9' Wavestorm, the Aero is the ideal next step on your journey towards shortboard surfing.

Boardworks are another surfboard brand who originally specialized in stand up paddleboards.

Their Froth! division currently produce two soft top performance shortboard (in 5' and 5'6") along with 7' and 8' thruster funboards and a 9' single-fin longboard. As with most of these SUP crossover companies, their surfboard construction is strong and durable.

In fact, these aren't really even soft boards at heart. Boardworks make maple-stringered epoxy hardboards, then wrap the top surface in a soft HDPE skin to combine fiberglass board performance with soft top safety. What this process allows is significantly more refined designs.

Even the larger boards hide their foam in the middle, before tapering out to fairly thin rails, allowing much better carving opportunities than most. The shortboards are very lively indeed and I'd highly recommend them for those with advancing young teenage surfers especially.