Looking at the website Ando & Friends, I checked out the surfboards section, and was shocked at some of the prices... Generally between 600 and 1000, and not for longboards (a 5'6" Swift for $1,050). Are these shapers like buying chic, designer clothes, paying for the name? I've never heard of most of these and been surfing 20 years: Swift Surfboards, Tyler Warren, Orange Surfboards, Kookbox,
No chick buy the latest fad. With Surfboards you get what you pay for Quality equals $$$$$ the Kookbox boards are insane If I wasnt locked in with getting a log shaped with Wynn when I get my tax return I would love to buy a 9'6 son of sam Kookbox. Heritage in OCNJ has a sweet 5.2 fish with wooden fins .
Handshaped boards, not CNC then finish shaped boards take time. Time is money and so is the knowledge and experience that the shaper has and uses when they shape your board. That and quality glass jobs are getting quit expensive now. You get what you pay for and I have no problem with paying $1000 for a quality handshaped board with a nice glass job. I mainly longboard so if you shortboard your opinions may be different.
Chic...definitely chic...more like CA hipster chic...just sayin'. A 4'11" for $750...come 'on..., however, there are a few deals on there a 9'11" with a custom stringer for $850. But really some of those prices are almost as bad as CI's prices...pure handshape, glass, etc...they better be dropping some new hyrbrid polyesterexopyresinX resin on there to justify the cost... Also the key to a quality glass job is a quality shape (over shaping is a no-no) and a tight lam...not everyone can do it, but most can...maybe some cut cost and use less on their hotcoat and gloss (=inferior product)...but I can get quality glass job on a shortboard for a couple hundred less in the Jersey area (Wynn is a contract glasser in our area...his own boards, cosmic, heritage, etc.) as well as a similar shape...just my $.02.
I think those prices are pretty fare for both of them boards . That Mini simons is pretty sweet. I have been actually wantin one of those for a while but a little bigger than 4'11 definalty you get what u pay for . CNC board from china glassed my someone who dont even know what surfing is for 400 dollars equals a crap board compared to a hand shapped and glassed board from someone who surf and knows what they are doing.
Hey Matt...I have a lot of respect for you...however... I don't think your argument can hold up...a typical CI shortboard, as well as their Even Keel (fish model), retail at around $700+...sure they are CNC'ed (which is fine by me...closer tolerances and consistency), but like most others their glassing is outsourced and that is the problem with most of their boards imho. TYpically, it is not the "cutter/CNC", but the fact that their quality control goes down with their outsource). Their shapes, foils, etc. are incredible...their glassing flat out sucks imo! Tyler Warren, Swift and most of the other "chic" labels out there have their own little niche and can be much more critical of the product that they are putting out...however, I think they're pushing their prices under the guise of functional art...realistically, that TW simmons shouldn't cost over $500 for materials and labor (and I think that is being generous b/c it is that isn't even a bulk rate for resin, cloth, blanks, etc.). If it was 8' simmons...okay I could rationalize that...but $750...? Alright...rant over...thanks!
The reasone you find a CI for 750 is cause they are whats Deamed "cool" by the media. Companies like Kookbox, tyler warren, Bing , Cooperfish ect are hand shaped and they companies let the boards speak for them selves . that Soap Bar is a croos between a Mini simmons and a hull . I dont see CI ,lost or Firewire pumping them out on there CNC
Too rich for my blood. And even if i had the money, I'll probably pass. I think it's more of a collectors item, and could be marketed for the surfer who has top dollar cash. I would like to think the average surfer does not have $800-1000 to shell out for a board, even the most "soulful" ones may cringe at those prices.
Nah they are functional board . It not some mass produce peice of garbage made for the masses ( Quote Craig Stecyk). I dont lose any sleep shelling out that kinda money for a board of that caliber. I am not a rich man just you average workin guy with 3 kids and bills i just know what I like and what works for me Please dont think that I am trying to say that if you dont spend that kinda money on a board you got junk cause I am not saying that. It really what on can afford and is comfortable spending
Consider the source It's Laguna Beach, that should tell you something about price, I mean that's where the Ferrari and Lamborghini dealerships are.
There are car dealerships like that outside DC and in NJ. Bing, Cooperfish, Christenson, and Kookbox have a sweet shapes and are glassed really well. I would much rather have one of these dream boards then shell out money for a China board. And Matt is right, you get what you pay for. Not to say that you can't find a good board for cheap off a used rack, but don't knock a board because its too expensive for your taste.
i personally think there is an element of "boutique-iness" & paying for the name going on w/ those shapers, but if you've ever taken a good, hard look at a properly shaped Simmons or mini-Simmons (& the guy behind swift, richard kenvin, is prob. the best at them right now), there is a hell of a lot going on. step-decks, hull-like belly &roll blending into a pretty deep single concave out the back between the glassed-on marine ply keels...these are not easy boards to shape, even if they are being machine cut & finish shaped. would i pay that sort of $$$? no, not likely. but these are not really my style of surfboards.
Check out Mitch's http://www.mitchssurfshop.com/fly.aspx?layout=product&taxid=69&menuid=55 for pricy hand shaped boards. Pretty sure all of these shapers are more old school / reputable.... I agree - You get what you pay for! Except maybe in this case (LOL!!) http://store.ferrari.com/en/sport/skateboard-surf/ferrari-surf-board-scuderia-spider.html
MDSurfer he has a good point. Bottom line though. if you have the money would you rather buy a ford or a ferrari. Sure ford makes a good vehicle but it isnt a ferrari. Ford builds their vehicles off an assembly line and computers and machines are the real "craftsmen" much like the cnc cut boards. The difference is Ferrari makes their cars in a showroom and it is done by the designers. Its a big difference. The involvement you get from designer to product with a ferrari is what i wish i could afford. But i will drive my ford until i can afford it. Cnc cut boards are good yes but less time required from the designer. So what are you paying for with those boards? You are paying for somebodys house.
It may be a top quality board just like a Ferrari. How many of your friends drive Ferrari's & are willing to take a chance with them parking in crowded parking lots & not get a ding...Same reason as why you don't see any of your friends taking a $ 800-$ 1,000 board to the surf beach to bang around with with the guys who drove to the beach in a car with 4 different colors of paint & the bumpers beaten nearly off. That price is still unrealistic to most surfers & if they shelled out that kind of money for a board, it would be rarely used or a "collector" board.
I totally agree with you, brother. I've seen a ton of posts saying that on Swaylocks...then I got one. I have to say that after seeing the kids on youtube take a flat blank, cut off the nose (square), chamfer the bottom front edge and then go surf what is essentially a flat rectangle, all of the stuff "going on" isn't neccessary and 90% of us wouldn't know if the the shaper didn't succeed in what he's attempting. The 2 design features that I find most interesting are the concave (Bob Simmons only did this on a very few boards) and belly roll (his belly roll consisted of whatever was left after rounding the corners at the rail of a flat bottom). I can understand the scoop deck on the original 9' wood boards, but at less than 6 feet, it's novelty. I'm just saying that the "boutique-iness" goes beyond the art or finish and often shows up in design. If charging extra for time spent on details that are beyond a practical means (to that specific rider) is the issue, there's a lot of overpriced designer boards in the water....and I have a couple!!! I guess I should buy a Surftech.
I see what u are saying but if a person cant afford a higher priced hand shape board and can only afford a 400-500 pop out i think they are gonna still worry about dinging a cheaper board just as much as a expencive board even more so if its there only board. I try not to take my newer stuff out on crowded days and it I do I just go down the beach a bit to a less crowded area. But I really never have anyproblem with crowds and my boards getting dinged. Most of my boards are no the type you wana get in a collision with
http://www.thaliasurf.com/jotusu.html check out the 4/3 kookboxx wetsuit for $625... lol. I'll stick to O'neill, billabong and quicksilver and craigslist for my boards (lol). IMO their stuff looks like overpriced trash.
Spendy Shapes Just thought I would drop a little info for anyone wanting high-end shapes at reasonable prices. surfboardbuilders.com has awesome shapers and ship to your door. . I have been riding Hank Warner shapes for a long while now. Met him while living in San Diego. He is a real shaper and a good dude. He shapes the Kookbox label and he and Skip Frye shaped together in Pacific Beach, both shaping forever. He doesn't have the Skip Frye price but all the skills. Hank puts out some of the best Longboards/Fish in the world...sans Skip!
