CI Boards...Are they the best?

"best" is such a personal thing...

But Merrick deserves everything he gets. He is a very creative, skilled board designer and shaper. His expertise and experience make his boards highly desirable and reliable.

He's also a great business mind.

 

a lot of it is marketing...CI has slater, curren, machado, reynolds, etc...riding their boards. that pulls in all the little grommets that just HAVE to have what slater's riding!
i will say that i've had (& still do have) boards from them. & they work. i've had only 1 board from CI that was a dud, but that's going to happen from time to time. the ones i have now are all great boards (i have 4 of them).
very little is real original design. i think the genius is that they can take designs & refine them, put them under the feet of top level pros, give it a snazzy model name, & market the hell out of it.

 

merrick actually stole the design for the tri plane hull from paul mindich and also stole the dumpster diver design from the white diamond board. after i heard that i stopped buying ci's

 

i heard mark zuckerburg stole facebook from some classmates i stop using facebook ..... the government stole the internet from al gore i stopped using the internet...Al gore shapes all my boards now

 

haha awesome!

I have a biscuit (one of my favorite boards), and I have a flyer that I liked ( but was a little too small so I traded it in). I can't say that I know a lot about the history and all that like some of you, but I'd give the boards I've had experience with a thumbs up.

 

i never got into the whoe CI thing . Merrick know how to make a board its proven but they just dont appeal to me.

I think one board I would want it the Machado Single fin. I almost got one Set up like a Bonzer for 200 bucks but I drug me feet too much and someone scooped it up from under me

 

this shows a horrific lack of knowledge about how design has typically worked in surfing...everyone borrows from everyone else. that's how progression occurs. by your logic, every shaper who puts fins on their boards is stealing from tom blake. anyone riding a thruster stole from simon anderson, anyone riding a gun in biig waves is stealing from pat curren, etc...w/out question elements were borrowed, but that's how things work in surfing. as i said in my first post, CI has historically been really good at taking shapes & refining them.
i have 4 CIs currently in my quiver. all but 1 is "custom". that said, there's still nothing better than working closely & having a personal relationship w/ the guy (or gal) making your boards...personally, i wouldn't have gotten them if i didn't have an "in" & get them cheaper than retail. $700 for a plain white shortboard is ridiculous IMO.

 

shows your horrible lack of not getting the point, obviously progression is going to occur, but your really going to steal someone else's DESIGN and call it your own? your not stealing when your buying a board with fins on it or buying a thurster its the fact that the design was stolen and he took credit for something someone else did, yea taking shapes and refining them WITHOUT PERMISSION without giving the original person credit is stealing in my book. im sure you would be pissed if you made that design and could of made a lot of money off of it but some dude from bradley beach that moved to cali stole ur idea and is set for life from it

 

Were the original designs patented and can you provide some detail on how they were stolen.? I agree with NJ, surfboard design has always been about copying someone's design and refining it (and for the record I'm not a big CI fan). In my own experience, Jon Ashton is always taking designs he sees from other makers and adoption them as his own. He may do something different with the bottom contours but the general outline is very similar. Is that stealing? IMO no because he is altering the original to better suit our waves.

 

merrick and lost are for people who want to be cool and surf like other people and be like other people

 

you're such a rebel! i think i'm selling all my ci's to be just like you! can we get a pic, shredder?

 

Dumpster diver and White Diamond are two completely different boards. Same concept but that concept has been around forever. There where no blueprints of the dimensions that Dane took photos of on his bowtie camera and brought them back to Al Merrick and said "I got the plans"

 

I have said it a few times on this forum...I love CI's foils...real smooth and even. Great stuff that has been refined and refined! Personally, I have had a few CIs...2 MSFs, 1 MSFG2, and a Proton...liked 'em all at one point or another, but all were bought used and could never justify buying a new one. Flat out they're overpriced...

In my opinion, the problem with CI is that they're a west coast company pumping out boards for a west coast coast type of surfer--only 1 board in their line even speaks to/about east coast waves and wave types--not saying that they only work on one coast, but our geography is quite different. Local shapers get it...they surf our fickle conditions and know what works---you're not dealing with only an order form...typically you can find someone local enough to talk to about your shape and design..what you're lookign for, will a straight single or just a double benefit you,etc.

As for the issue of using similar type of technologies and such (bottom contours, etc.), the problem with this type of industry is that it is apprentice based and incredibly small. Cross over is going to happen everywhere and refinement is going to occur...unless whatever you are doing is part of your branding...realistically, haven't seen much issue with this yet. Even the Dane/WD issue was moreso a contractual issue...bottom line the Dumpster Diver is nothing like the WD.

 

CI makes the best pop-out on the market. Way overpriced, but i guess they have to be with a payroll like this http://www.cisurfboards.com/team.asp

If your a pro, you get a hand-shaped board from Al himself. You can sit in the bay with him and tell him which direction to sand. If you are ... you and I... you can buy a very nice CNC copy that was glassed by some migrant workers and shipped to your local franchise surf shop. Iv paid the $7something for a new flyer, and I really liked it. I have paid a lot less for locally made boards that are as good or better, in my humble opinion.

 

travy,i'm not a rebel,or a shredder,so you can sell your ci's,it won't make you like me.sorry if it bothers you i don't want to be or surf like other people

 

so sounds like the 'migrant worker' did a great job for you?

there are some valid points made against buying a ci but i swear most of the criticisms make no sense and are completely uninformed. if you don't understand why they're great boards, you probably shouldn't comment on them.

 

unless you're riding an alaia or a garbage can lid or something, you're surfing like other people, bruh.

 

True. I think your post nailed it. And Merrick has done exactly that with great skill, precision, and creativity. People question his creativity and innovation. But creativity isn't just creating something new. It's also the creative application of things that already exist. I've only bought one Al Merrick board in my life. Great board. But I've examined hundreds if not thousands of them.... and I mean I studied them almost in an obsessive/compulsive way. From both a design and craftsman's perspective, his boards are brilliant. No question about it. Nothing over the top whacky. No miracle "next great thing" faddishness. But very complex and cohesive elements of design brought together in a synergistic fashion to create a board that has an intended purpose.

Slick marketing? Luck? Divine intervention? Whatever, man. The guy's boards are great. Now it's up to you to pick the right one for you, for where you surf... he's got plenty to chose from.

 

Actually, I lost the flyer to tail rot, a common problem with CI's. Im sorry that your so defensive about this. I mean-You knew what you were getting into when you bought it, its for show and for go. The show costs you an extra $250. Dont get me wrong, they go. I tried not to get all localist hippy on you, but every CI board that sells for $700 lays the path for next years $750 model.

Again- CI certainly isnt keeping kelly (or you) out of any tubes. Good surfers surf well on whatever fits their style and wave conditions, regardless of manufacturer.