do not understand the craze of CI, rusty, lost other mass produced boards

a lot of it's marketing & wanting what the pros have, but i also think that some of it is repeatability. KNOWING that you can go into a shop & get THE SAME EXACT BOARD, no questions, not ifs, ands, or buts.
that said, i've had great boards from my local guys & i've had crap boards from my local guys. but i've also had great boards from CI & crap boards from CI. sometimes there's just no telling. price will definitely be cheaper from the local guy, but some folks don't care about that.

 

I've owned several of both CI and Rusty boards. I preferred the Rustys, but both brands are built very well and with computer aided consistency.

My last 2 boards, however, were a Quiet Flight and a unknown local brand. Both were only $499+ tax out the door.

The cool thing about Quiet Flight is they're actually shaped by Bruce Ragan (shapes CJ Hobgood's boards), not some ghost shaper like you'd get on a Rusty or CI. QF are handcrafted through every step so they don't have the absolutely perfect look of the big name computer aided brands, but they surf great.

The local brand is also 100% handcrafted and glassed, in house, by a guy who was born and lived all his life a few blocks from the spot I ride his board...the board has visual flaws, but rides my local conditions better than any other board I've owned.

 

CI, Rusty and Lost are brands, started by very knowledgeable and talented shapers... some would argue among the best in the world. But the "craze" has little to do with that other than their talents have made them successful and their market is now global. The craze is over the brand... which I'm sure people know more about than the shapers themselves. Some may not even know their names, and most certainly won't know the names of the ghost shapers and groove smoothers that finish shape the machined blanks for glassing. And I'm also certain nobody knows the names of the glassers, not to mention the sanders!

People buy what they know. "Everybody's got one... they must be good." That's just the way it works... whether that is right or wrong is another discussion.

But there will always be a segment of the board-buying public that wants to seek out something else... that want to be part of the process, at least to some degree. They want to take ownership of some part of the board, even if it's just the conversation with the shaper, and they believe that going to a local shaper and ordering a custom board will give them the opportunity to have more fun in the water. Buying a board is exciting for most of us... and it's even better when you have an idea in your head of what you want, and you can go to somebody local who can give you a beautiful, functional board that's exactly what you envisioned. Maybe that vision in your head IS a Lost or CI or Rusty. And you can go to your local surf shop and get that perfect board for you. But that's just not the case for everybody.

 

channel islands boards have the best shapes and designs. I broke my Quiet Flight and got a CI and started surfing better that day. CI boards are glassed super thin though so don't expect them to last a long time. Ive made like four repairs on my board and only had it for a few months

 

my feelings are that CI's and the like are for pros and spoiled cali kids who are basically sponsored by their parents.

Take any CI board into someone like Tim Nolte and he can make you a "fryer" or a "dumpster driver" for $450 or so, if you know what I mean.

Take your intentions/ ideas to a guy like Jesse Fernandez or Tmoore (I have a thing for wrv) and they will always amaze you. That is basically what the pros get to do with Al Merick.

I think having a guy that surfs the same waves as you making your sticks is critical. Having the right equipment is what is important, not what the sticker says or what pro's are riding it, because guess what? Pros are better than you and that pro model board is only holding you back.

 

Its just like with anything else in life......call it marketing but I prefer imitation. People are like sheep, when one goes down the path, others will follow. Many want to belong to the collective and know nothing about individuallity. Young surfers see a pro on a certain board and they gotta have it thinking the board is the key. Rippers will rip on a piece of crap because they can. It's not the board so much as the talent. Most high end boards are lightly glassed and just arent going to hold up. Many boards the pros ride only last a couple sessions before they are discarded. In my years Ive only had one high end board I truly enjoyed riding. When I went custom I realized even that board did not compare to boards made just for me. Everyone should try a local custom at least once. I'll never buy another in store stick.

 

they surf really well thats why i stick with them

 

Matt Biolos is about my size, admits hes not a pro surfer and QA's his own shapes. I bought a motivator after a lot of demoing and research and this has been my magic board since the purchase(I probably caught 5x as many waves as my buddy the other day... best day of surf all summer). I also own a psycho ward i bought for a good deal on CL. CI has outsourced their shaping (from what I understand) and I don't think Al works much with anyone other than pros (Where Matt tests his shapes such as the plank and the motivator). To sum it all up, I think marketing plays a part in it, but also think that once youve found what youre looking for you stick with it. I respect the mom and pop local shapers but know the glassing is a bit heavier most of the time. That was a deal breaker for me (traded a chris burch in for the lost)...although I just bought a moonlight glassed Campbell Bros thruster on CL for 180....YEW!!!

 

sorry, but that's all in your head. either that, or your quiet flight was a gigantic POS & being on a half-decent board made a big difference. "best" is a subjective judgement & will always be a matter of opinion. i think boards w/ single-double concave w/ vee out the back are the best boards. but others think that a straight single is the best. po-tay-to, po-tah-to.

why is this acceptable? if you really like the board, wouldn't you want it to last a while? is it really so necessary for the average surfer to have a super light board? maybe it's just me b/c i'm hell on decks, & i can kill a 4x4 deck in 1-2 sessions, but it seems like, for an average surfer, a 6x4 deck is the way to go. protect that baby for a while...make her last. i really don't understand when the concept of the disposable surfboard became commonplace. working at a shop, i saw an old 80's board come in...an in the eye, i think. it had an "ultra light" glassing lam on it...6x4 deck, 6 bottom!

 

as sorry as it seems the reality is that a computer will cut a board more accurately and more symetrically then a person(and faster too). but just because rusty uses a machine to cut the board shape, it still MUST be finished by human hands before it gets glassed.
Its just the way the world is going.

 

Accurate is accurate, and symmetrical is symmetrical, whether cut by hand or machine. You can't get "more symmetrical" than symmetrical. If your shaper can't do that, find another shaper. I've seen enough snapped boards to know even the big names don't get it right sometimes. Just because you have a machine shaped blank does not mean it's perfect. There's a lot more to machine cutting than just popping a board up on a rack and pushing a button.

As for glass jobs... Greenlight Brian says you should be given a choice... "strong" or "light," and I agree. Only a custom board builder can do that for you.

 

I think your premise is right on target Lee, but let me give a counter argument based on a couple of decades of trial and error. I used to religiously use only local shapers, have owned many boards shaped by Nolte, Fernandez, McCarthy, Head, Hickman, Frierson, Keesecker, Kearns, Jimenez (all local shapers).

There are two among this list that I developed long standing relationships with. The first, after a couple of years, began to press me to ride boards that were more in keeping with the general trends of the market than in line with my surfing. This brings up problem #1: Local shapers are often REACTIVE rather than CREATIVE, meaning that they wait for the next big trend to hit and start cranking out copies of the latest Mayhem shape (remember "golf ball" dimple-bottomed boards in late 80s, early 90s). I worked longest with the second shaper. He and I dialed in some dimensions that were really working great for me. Of 4 boards that were supposed to be exactly the same, 1 was great, 1 was decent, 2 were dogs(!), and one inexplicably weighed about 2lbs more than the others (although the glassing was supposed to be identical). Which brings us to problem #2: When you are not using a computer-assisted shaping machine, boards of "exact" dimensions will never be truly the same board. There is certainly some variation with CAD boards, but much less.

Both of the aforementioned shapers are skilled craftsman and popular to this day. But, personally, I've come to a point where I know exactly how my surfing will work with a particular board. If I destroy a favorite (let's say a Merrick Dumpster Diver), I would love to put the exact same board back under my feet.

Certainly, a large % of the surfing population is only buying CIs or Mayhem's because they have no clue and think that somehow owning a NeckBeard will allow them to do a quadruple-flip-rodeo-nosepick like Dane. However... there are reasons that go deeper than pure marketing for why these shapers have become so popular.

 

I would not define industry leaders' popularity as a "craze," but I definitely think that the given labels are highly overrated. CI was recently bought out by Burton and a lot of their shapers joined up with other labels. Rusty hit rock bottom when they moved their facility to Mexico. Now, you can buy Rusty clothing at K-Mart and other blue light special shops. Clothing aside, I do not trust Rusty boards anymore, despite the fact that "they are back." I do not have a grudge on Lost, but I think we can all agree that we can get similar, if not greater quality, from local shapers or other labels. At the end of the day, a surfboard is simply a surfboard.

 

have you ever heard the term "its not the board,its the surfer"....it doesnt matter what board u ride,i seen guys get barreled on fukin doors and plywood!u can get barreled and throw spray on a longboard.i see too many kids nowadays trying to ride shortboards,and i seen guys on longboards with more style.i understand u have to start somewhere but its not that hard.maybe because i skated my whole life so i know how to carve and punt,but it doesnt matter what board your on.personally,id love to try to surf on a ci,or lost or rusty.but im a poor guy that can only afford beat up used boards,and they work great for me.sometimes u break boards when its big,so id rather break a board i payed 50$ for rather than break a 700$board when i could have used that to pay my rent.everybody starts off on a longboard,and over the years u transition to something shorter,but lately i just see guys surf,and videos on here with people that have no style.like why are u surfing?seriously??if i had the funds and the support some of u kiddies get from your parents,id definitly be on the pro level.i can only compare myself to dean randazzo.he is a legend to me,and hes more important than the president.heres a guy who surfed hurricanes on ducttaped boards,scavange enough doe to buy a plane ticket to a contest in brazil,and have to sell half his quiver for a plane ticket back...thats how i am.maybe its just that people who come from fukd up backgrounds are the ones who succeed in the sport,as a shytty life brings out real character and we have to fight hard for what we want.but ill never be a pro cuz im a fat drunken kook

 

I never would have guessed.

 

Good point philosurfer... Consistency is valuable.

 

I've got a CI Pod and its the best stick I've ever ridden, hands down. I had a Fletcher Chouinard shaped up for me a few years ago and its not bad when its 5+ foot and heaving, but in anything else it was poor at best. Probably my mistake for dialing in a rocketship when my homebreak isn't in Tahiti - live and learn. I still break it out when there are walls, but the Pod seems to perform as good (if not better) in heavier stuff as the FCD. If the surfboard gods allow for it, I'll ride the Pod for another couple of years, easy. Plus the local shops treat the locals well, so I'm not paying the ultra top dollar for the "Kelly Factor".

 

I can appreciate this. Personally I think variety is the spice of life and I feel like my surfing and what I want to do is always changing/ evolving... But if you know what you want, and have trouble getting it locally, you gotta do what you gotta do. Sounds like you are vb / obx if you want get up for a session some time do holler.

 

Well said... I believe that you have officially concluded this discussion!