i have a 6'8" superfish and ride in the nc mush all the time. definitely worth the money, why spend more money for an equivalent board. its got a stepdeck so the little bit of extra foam lets me catch almost anything. sick board sick price and after about 20 sessions i only have one dink in it
regardless, I would always go with a local shaper with whom you can discuss your ability, how you surf, and what kind of waves you want the board to be able to handle. otherwise just buy a used board, that's my philosophy on the matter. If you live by the beach there are undoubtedly skilled local shapers who will be much more than happy to talk shop with you and shape something just for you and the type of waves for the board....peace
Inferior Glass on Super Fish I just bought one of these. The 6'8" super fish. I've taken it out a dozen times and already have 2 large pressure dings. dissapointing. But it's real easy to catch waves and fun to ride.... The durability can't compare to a board with S glass. At almost $500, I'd expect something not so flimsy. I wish I could call up and complain but I don't speak Thai.
my very 1st board was a 6'5 superfish and i still have it and its by far my favorite...big or small it catches it all...the lost shark i got is *****in but since its alot shorter and a bit thinner i gotta have a more powerful wave to push me.
it's an OK board and the price is good but if you are either a quick learning rookie or getting back into it ( like myself being away for 5ish years due to school) then one problem you'll encounter with a few weeks/months is that you'll out grow it and be looking for something new, probbaly a regualr shortboard.
I have a GSI Webber Fatburner .. 6'6" sort of a funboard in disguise as it appears to be a basic full shortboard. My previous 2 boards I shaped and glassed myself so the only shaper I'm putting out of business is me. Previous post about the factory in Thailand is correct.These boards are shaped on CNC machines but so are most domestic boards ( including ...Lost and most others ). The glassers don't surf but they glass full time and they've gotten good at it. I understand they have pretty good jobs for Thais. The Webber is well made and really a lot of fun to ride. Greg Webber used to make all of Taj Burrow's boards and he knows design. I think people have to be careful about casting stones at imports. Your Reef flip flops and the trunks you're wearing ( unless they're Birdwells ) are all made in Asia.
I got a 7'3 and it catches everything and everything whether its ankle to knee or 1-3ft overhead and it rides great. I've even ridden the nose on it. so you all can suck it suckas
7s 's Ya'll are missing the POINT. EVERY TIME you are buying an import, you are putting an AMERICAN GLASSER and SHAPER closer to throwing in the towel. So..you like your 5.9'FISH ?? Order a 6'1'. What do you mean they don't make it ? You want it in a retro color ?? Sorry , you get RED. A little more tail rocker ? NOPE, you aren't getting that either. You weigh 140...but your bud weighs 165. He likes the board.but needs it a little thicker. SORRY. Sure you can ride anything you want. It's a free country.BUT...when you have gained the experience and are ready for that DREAM board...that boys that COULD have shaped it......are pounding nails for a living. 'Everyone wants to save a few bucks.....but in the end....it's going to cost us. THINK.
you'd be suprised how many 'big name' boards are made overseas..... not necissarilly "pop outs" as people say, most are rough shaped by state of the art computers that run anywhere from 50-150 THOUSAND bucks..., and then, the REAL shaper comes in to fine tune every board by hand.... i'll name a few, JS, Channel Islands, HIC,... i'll be the first to agree that nothing is ever going to ride as well as a custom shape, but i've had several boards that come straight off the rack and are great. a shaper can get a board almost identical as a board off the rack... however, unless you know exactly what type of blank was used, the boards will never ride the same. i have several customs that are awesome, but i always find myself reaching for a JS, or a Lost, or a HIC... there is a reason why alot of the guys like mayhem and arakawa are make a crap-load of many each year.... they make GREAT BOARDS!
yeah it does ride pretty decent and is very to easy to catch waves on, but I just don't think that it is going to give you the output that a custom made does. If you haven't every had a custom made well I can only hope that you get that oppurtunity soon... persoalnlly I'm dreaming and scemign to get a custom big wave gun and a trip to Hawaii this winter to see how good old Waimea is doing But, to agree with a post a little ways up, this all does boil down to money; I'd love to have all custom made boards but there not that cheap... lets see I was looking a 9'0 longboard yesterday for $450 at my local shop and what would that be custom?? at least $800 and brah whats with all the negativity in your post??? shouldn't you be stoked abotu that TS that's coming... go charge a big wave
Good point, and alot of this was brought on in the foam(blanks) industry and the closure of Clark Foam. The saga continues, the fact is there is better (overrall) material over seas and as some of you mentioned, it certainly deals with what kind of board you want. The shaping part of it simply boils down to your preference, your ability and mainly what you plan on riding with that board.So there are plenty of elements in where the different revenues stand, why it is greater in certain areas and why it is not. Never discounting any shapers, but the material(quality of the foam) has alot to do with the finished product and the cost of an import/domestic.. This is a good reference in which you can find some general info and numbers at times dealing with this.. http://sima.com/ Better material( foam/blanks), higher demand from the consumer due to performance, durability, etc, higher demand from the shaper( in which the local surf shop down the road shaper is suffering b/c of $$$$, unlike the larger company shapers), which as an import, no need to tell you the prices tagged on to that. Much like our oil problem and my 500 dollar gas bill a month. I think the real challenge is if you are a descent surfer and you can figure out what exact board you need in the given conditions, learning the fin system is a whole different concept. Just ask Slater coming off of runner up at Quik Pro in France. He said it made all the difference heading into the final day of competition. Last trip to the lighthouse under solid conditions, I saw a guy switch out some FCS and it was basically night and day in his performance from what he previously had under that board.
defiently you want the right setup of fins for what your riding. i mean you can have a the best board out there but if you dont have the right fin setup then that board is basically useless with those fins. cause im still trying to find the right setup for my merrick for the east coast waves.
I dont really know how to look at it. To be honest i think there might be a few to many kook local shapers out there. Some guys just arent making quality hand shaped boards nowadays. Any board is gonna ride, but there are only a select few shapers who can make boards that feel like they are stuck to your feet. And if they can make these overseas at a discounted price then more power to them. Its the guys that arent making the high quality boards at home that are scared of loosing thier biz.
i lucked out... i just had a custom shaped up at the shop i work at... we have about 10 Clark Foam blanks left over from a few years back.. (been saving them for a rainy day)... I-FLEX foam is really good, it's made here in the states, so it's kinda pricey... but that's what we narrowed it down to after the EPA shut down Clarky...
I've been surfing for the past twenty years and have had a ton of boards, and the Seven Super Fish is by far the best riding board I have ever had. I've owned two of them so far and will always have one or a board similar to it in my quiver. For the type of waves we have around here in North Carolina it seems to work very well. I think the key is to have G5 side fins and a small trailer fin. As far as quality goes it's not the best but I've had Rusty's, Channel Islands and Lost's fall apart quicker. I would not own any other board they sell, as I also agree to support local shapers. I'm getting a east coast shaper to shape a similar 5'6" right now. So to sum up the question from the begging post, the boards are a good investment for the beginer or for someone just looking to have a fun little board to ride,
