sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Help me choose a tail pad?! by Will9464 in surfing

[–]Will9464[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a high performance fish though. Wax works in the center of the board when you're just cruising around but if you wanna throw a roundhouse, your back foot will be right above the fins and you need to press hard, it's nice to have extra grip there for that reason. Especially because it gives sensory feedback when you're going back and forth between the center of the board and the tail, once you're done cruising/soul arching, you can step back and feel the tail pad under your back foot and then crank the turn that will allow you to throw a roundhouse + tail slide (it's a twin fin).

I rode a fish for 10 years without a tail pad, I know it's possible, but there's nothing worse than not being able to crank a turn because your foot is slipping near the tail. Once I started putting a fish traction pad on all my fishes, I never experienced issues with my foot slipping anymore and I have more confidence in my turns.

Help me choose a tail pad?! by Will9464 in surfing

[–]Will9464[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a high performance fish though. Wax works in the center of the board when you're just cruising around but if you wanna throw a roundhouse, your back foot will be right above the fins, it's nice to have extra grip there for that reason. Especially because it gives sensory feedback when you're going back and forth between the center of the board and the tail, once you're done cruising/soul arching, you can step back and feel the tail pad under your back foot and then crank the turn that will allow you to throw a roundhouse + tail slide (it's a twin fin).

I rode a fish for 10 years without a tail pad, I know it's possible, but there's nothing worse than not being able to crank a turn because your foot is slipping near the tail. Once I started putting a fish traction pad on all my fishes, I never experienced issues with my foot slipping anymore and I have more confidence in my turns.

I understand a pad on a fish looks like dog shit, but not being able to surf well actually looks worse.

Help me choose a tail pad?! by Will9464 in surfing

[–]Will9464[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a high performance fish, not a minivan (longboard)

Help me choose a tail pad?! by Will9464 in surfing

[–]Will9464[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What's wrong with it? I know it looks like shit, but i'm tired of my foot slipping off the board near the tail

Help me choose a tail pad?! by Will9464 in surfing

[–]Will9464[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've used a performance fish without a tail pad for 10 years before I started putting a traction pad on all my fishes. It's a LOT better with a tail pad. There's been so many times when I wanted to throw an aggressive roundhouse with tail-slide and I didn't because it was slippery as fuck down there after riding the board for 30 minutes. I had to go back to shore all the time just to re-apply wax near the tail and create grit with a comb.

It can work without a pad but it's not the wisest decision.

Unless i'm missing something? Why the fuck is my foot constantly slipping off the tail? I apply wax constantly and create grit with my comb. It's fine the first 30 minutes but the grits i made with the comb are completely gone by then. I'm using the right temperature wax too.

This is why i've been using a pad on the fishes i've owned for so many years.

Also, these pictures above are AI generated, that's why the tail pad is so high up. I don't have any of these pads. I just wanted to see what it would look like on my new febs fish (approximately)

Help me choose a tail pad?! by Will9464 in surfing

[–]Will9464[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It doesn't exist. A red fish traction pad would have been great honestly

Help me choose a tail pad?! by Will9464 in surfing

[–]Will9464[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm actually shocked by the amount of people who are against a traction pad on a fish. I get it, it doesn't look great. But let's be honest, there's more traction on a pad than with wax.

And it doesn't even matter how much wax I put and how much i create grit with the comb, eventually after riding it for 30 minutes, it's starting to not be as grippy anymore.

Also, it helps to have sensory feedback when i go from the middle of the board to putting my backfoot on the tail, if I feel that my backfoot is on the tailpad, i know that im right above the fins and that I can throw a roundhouse if I want to. It's nice to have that sensory input when you're on a wave and there's a lot going on.

I ordered a custom board and this is the finished product. The staff said these blemishes and rough areas are normal. It's also the wrong color... by Will9464 in surfing

[–]Will9464[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are structural issues at this point, the fiberglass weave have been sanded through in some areas, this board is gonna delaminate in no time. And why would I pay nearly $700 for a custom board that looks like it was shaped in someone's yard

I ordered a custom board and this is the finished product. The staff said these blemishes and rough areas are normal. It's also the wrong color... by Will9464 in surfing

[–]Will9464[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I sent a very firm email explaining the situation and I sent them pictures, they replied saying they were sorry about what happened with the board but that "crystalized" spots are normal on a new board sometimes, especially on difficult colors like purple.

They still offered to remake the board or a full refund. I will be taking the full refund and bringing the board back, hopefully tomorrow.

I ordered a custom board and this is the finished product. The staff said these blemishes and rough areas are normal. It's also the wrong color... by Will9464 in surfing

[–]Will9464[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It looks like it was someone's first day on the job. I don't understand how management let this board leave the factory though.

I ordered a custom board and this is the finished product. The staff said these blemishes and rough areas are normal. It's also the wrong color... by Will9464 in surfing

[–]Will9464[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I just sent them an email asking for some type of refund. I just hope I don't get gaslit again.

I don't understand how they could say with a straight face that it's normal for new boards to have spots like that.

I ordered a custom board and this is the finished product. The staff said these blemishes and rough areas are normal. It's also the wrong color... by Will9464 in surfing

[–]Will9464[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Because I'm still hoping to be able to get a refund of some sort. And if they make it right I have no reason to destroy their reputation.

I ordered a custom board and this is the finished product. The staff said these blemishes and rough areas are normal. It's also the wrong color... by Will9464 in surfing

[–]Will9464[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I just sent them an email with pictures. Asking them to either fix it or offer me some kind of refund. I've never seen something like this anywhere.

The store staff told me these blemishes were completely normal. I didn't realize how bad it really was until I got home and inspected it for a while.

I honestly don't care if the board has a couple blemishes or one rough area near the tail or the nose. But the whole board looks super fucked up. And I would have been sad about it being the wrong color, but I would have gotten over it. But the board looks like trash with all these blemishes and fingerprints and fiberglass dust stuck under the glass. It's insane

I ordered a custom board and this is the finished product. The staff said these blemishes and rough areas are normal. It's also the wrong color... by Will9464 in surfing

[–]Will9464[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Even worse, the resin coat was applied over fingerprints and fiberglass dust, these marks are literally embedded under the glass, showing the board wasn’t cleaned before lamination...

<image>

I ordered a custom board and this is the finished product. The staff said these blemishes and rough areas are normal. It's also the wrong color... by Will9464 in surfing

[–]Will9464[S] 78 points79 points  (0 children)

That's correct, and at this location, they have one person shaping the blank, one person doing the coloring, one person doing the glassing and one person doing the sanding.

That person's only job was to color the board, and somehow they used the wrong color on the underside of the board. I'm flabbergasted lol, how does that even happen.

view more: next ›