Best "off the rack" groveler boards for summer

I'm with you on the Verner Mini Simmons. Great small wave board. Here is a great review of it... I have one and concur on all fronts.

http://www.realwatersports.com/surfing/surfboards/vernor/mini-simmons

And as far as Barry's opinions... they are ridiculous. On a knee high day you can ride a Simmons, Long Board, Lost Bottom Feeder, mid-ength single fin, etc. You get a totally different vibe on each and all have there merits. I personally love a mini simmons on small waves.

 

Grovelers are indeed a piece of crap, so are many fishes. Just because YOU are unable to surf waves on one of the 4 I mentioned (they cover ALL waves) doesn't mean grovelers are an essential shape. Years ago, we saw an explosion of Kane Garden fishes. They are gone. No longer fashionable. So will the Groveler go as well - they add zero to existing performance. And you will be hooked into the next fashion with your non-critical thinking.
Hell, some people even have fun on doors, ironing boards.....that doesn't mean they are essential.
You are gullible; a victim of fashion- nothing more.

 

You clearly don't surf... or you're an absolute moron. Either way, from hence forth, you should be completely ignored on all things surfing.

 

IDK I think they have their place, I mean I see your point, you certainly can cover all your bases with 4 boards, I have more than that but really only use two boards 99% of the time, because they cover most conditions I surf. I think a groveler with the right sized rider and conditions can be fun, like any surf board is when it actually catches waves and allows you to do a little something with it. It's not a necessity (a groveler), but I think some people just want variety and shapers get bored doing the same ole same ole so they reinvent the wheel, not a bad thing, sometimes you stumble onto something and it works really good, but it won't work good for everybody, it just depends. For ole 2FUN or guys his size, if he's going to do something other than a LB then I believe the Simmons is the route to go, based on what I've seen in the water.

 

I have to disagree... I have a long board, but I have way more fun on a fish. I'd rather a short stubby fish/groveler than a long board. Occasionally I pull out the LB and I do have fun, but not too often.

And that's what it's about, right? Having fun...

 

unless you catch just the right punchy micro-swell at the right tide and wind, anything under waist high is usually mushy and very difficult to ride on any type of shortboard. People that excel in that sort of stuff on shortboards surf a hell of lot and are in excellent paddling shape. Any of the off the rack grovelers will work for them.

Don't think getting a groveler larger than recommended is going to make up for anything less than supreme paddling muscles. As much as surfboard makers hype their grovelers, a lot of it is just marketing. Get the correct recommended size for your weight.

As far as your list, I'd probably go with the puddle jumper. The manta is actually more interesting, but my experience with EPS is it's just too light (been a while since I went that route, so maybe the tech has changed).

I also like quads on my grovelers. Grovelers are just slightly improved shortboards and quads are just slightly faster fins setups. If you want a more thruster-style performance on your groveler, look for a quad w/ the trailer fins closer together.

 

Sunday I rode a shortboard. Monday I rode a fish (a real fish). Today I rode a log. So what...

The groveler is a functional design... which rose out of the severe limitations of the hpsb in weak surf, particularly when ridden by average surfers.

Alt shapes are for people who are either board (Doski) with the standards, or who are sucked into the trend du jour, because they do ride differently. The only difference between the two types of surfers is their motivation.

To pigeon hole yourself into only buying a name brand off the rack is potentially missing out on a magic board some local shaper has been dialing in for years... "generations" of board design and experimentation. Again, I'd bring up the motivation factor here...

Finally... if you haven't done so yet... try building your own. That is... if you have a half way decent eye and hands that have actually done some work.

 

Just FYI, these things aren't mutually exclusive.

 

The short, fat, bullet nose ,bump squash is the way to go in small sh!t surf. My 5' 6" puddle jumper is the raddest little toy for anything under chest high. I believe the Average Joe is equally rad!!

 

Grovelers are absolutely functional boards for those of us who do a lot of our surfing in soft waves. I love longboarding, but most days when the waves are in that knee - waist high range or a little bigger but soft on the face, I'm on some kind of grovel shape. You got a lot of good advice already. If you really want it to come alive on small days, I'd go with something that has a wide square tail which feels to me like it gets up a goes best in two foot mush. Someone else mentioned these two....I've never ridden either one, but this board shape is the kind I'm on when its small and weak.

 

I don't know how much you weigh or how often you surf but trying to ride any of these boards in waist high or smaller conditions probably won't cut it. Look at a Mini Simmons, old school twin fin or Sweet Potato if you want to make the most out of your sessions. I really like a Sweet Potato in onshore waist high summer conditions. The other two in glassy smaller stuff.

 

Haha Nice!

 

How does this treade hath none of the rack pics?

Btw Hanna that's been taken already by "the pretenders"

Nosedive experts is still availbs

 

I think you mean Flying MantA...not MantIS???

They're two different boards and the Mantis isn't really a groveler.

 

Whatever you like best.

Surfboard "models" is a marketing gimmick.

 

Although there is tons of marketing of models, surfers are not this^ homogenized. Also, who pulls out their Rhino Chaser in small summer time surf? This comment is a product of your age, nothing more. Surfboard innovation is awesome and if you have chosen to not embrace ALL the opportunities out there, you are missing out (on more fun). When I got a sub 6' shape it changed how I surf in smaller weaker surf and made it way more fun.

I have a good friend who is old like you and he had the same way of thinking until he got a board shaped for small summertime surf and he likes to say it took 10 years off his surfing life.

If all you want to do is paddle, stand up, turn, and glide down the face then your quiver works fine.

O troll

 

Much more eloquently stated than my post, but right on. Either that, or he doesn't surf. I have two 5'6" Simmons. One has glassed on keel fins and the other quad controllers. Both are crazy fun on knee-waist waves.

 

How long you been surfing 2Fun? If not long, check this out: My 1st 3 boards were off the rack boards, they "worked", as most ANY board will if it floats. I progressed some on these boards but not much, but they served a purpose. My next 3 boards were custom shaped specifically for me, my size, ability, and local surf conditions, shaped by someone who surfs the same conditions and is a master craftsman. I progressed far more on my first custom than I ever did on my first three off the rack boards combined. Moral of the story, talk to a shaper, go custom. Pay the same or less, get a better product.