The Best Soft-Top Foam Surfboards of 2023

Hard to go wrong with the classic Wavestorm. Photo: AGIT Global

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When you get down to it, surfing is all about one thing: having fun. And while all surfboards are technically made for having a blast, soft-top surfboards are particularly devoted to it. They remove the stress of damaging your delicate fiberglass boards, and let you try new things risk-free like leashless surfing, finless surfing, or charging some pounding shorebreak that would snap a “real” board in seconds. So, in the never-ending effort to increase the amount of fun people are having, here’s a list of soft-top surfboards that will increase both your wave count and your smile count.

We’ve divided this guide according to shortboards and longer-boards (7′ and above) to cover the wide range of soft-tops available on the market today, and have done our best to categorize each board as a soft-top epoxy or a true foamie (see below), as well as pointing out the fins each board uses.

For more detailed info, check out our comparison table and buyer’s guide, below. And if you’re looking for a list of soft-top boards specifically geared towards beginner surfers, click here.

What Are the Best Soft-Top Surfboards?

Long(er) Boards (7 ft. plus)

Best Performance: JJF by Pyzel Log

Classic Foamboard Fun: Catch Surf Odysea Log

Best Price: Wavestorm Classic Surfboard

Tons of Options: Boardworks Froth! Surfboard

Shortboards

Best Performance: Degree33 Cloud Epoxysoft Shortboard

Classic Style: Catch Surf Skipper Quad J.O.B. Pro

Best Price: Wavestorm Swallowtail Surfboard

Durable and Recycled: Formula Fun Shortboard Fish

Easily-Removed Fins: Softech Eric Geiselman Flash

Best for Kids: South Bay Board Co. Guppy ($279)

Longer Boards

Best Performance
JJF by Pyzel Log ($700)

Length(s): 7′, 8′
Construction: Soft-Top Epoxy
Fins: Thruster, Futures

JJF by Pyzel brings you the best of master-shaper John Pyzel’s designs in a more user-friendly, and fun, package. The line ranges from shortboard shapes you can find on the rack at almost any surfshop around the world, like the Gremlin, to fishes, funboards, and longboards. The Log packs a classic cruiser longboard shape into an eight-foot frame, perfect for beginners who aren’t worried about the board’s underlying hardness. It’s also an incredible shape for smaller days, with the 7′ version being quite rip-able.

Classic Foamboard Fun
Catch Surf Odysea Log ($374)

Length(s): 7′, 8′, 9′
Construction: True Foamie
Fin Setup: Thruster, Futures

Ah, the easy summer fun of the Log. These boards have been around for a while, and with good reason as they’re loved by everyone from beginner to pro. With foam construction through and through, it’s ready to charge shorebreak or let the kids romp around on. The 9′ version is great for larger riders and those wanting more longboard glide. The 8′ version is great for an average-sized beginner, or anyone looking for fun on a smaller day. The 7′ Log is long enough to be a wave catching machine, but short enough to fit in the trunk, and makes a great step down from the 8’0 as one progresses to smaller boards.

Best Price
Wavestorm Classic Pinline ($236)

Length(s): 7′, 8′, 9′
Construction: True Foamie
Fin Setup: Thruster, screw-through

Ah, the original soft-top. Ridden first by beginners, then later by absolute rippers and now by basically everyone, Costco’s iconic blue and white (and yes, Rasta colors, too) will always be the Grandaddy of foamies. While the 8-foot version is likely the most popular, Wavestorm has shapes and sizes all over the map. From a 5-foot swallow tail to a 10-foot SUP, this foamboard manufacturer has a stranglehold on the foamboard market.

Tons of Options
Boardworks Froth! ($269-674)

Length(s): 5’0, 5’6″, 7′, 8′, 9′
Construction: Soft-Top Epoxy
Fin Setup: Single Fin/Thruster, Futures

Like most soft-tops, Boardworks made the Froth to help people catch more waves. It’s your classic soft-top epoxy, with true performance characteristics and a bit more foam for ease of paddling. If you’re into more of the classic longboard feel, the single fin you see above might be your style, but if you’re not, Boardworks also makes a 7′-8′ funboard and a 5′-5’6″ shortboard.

Shortboards

Best Performance
Degree33 Cloud Epoxysoft Shortboard ($645)

Length(s): 5’7″
Construction: Softtop Epoxy
Fin Setup: 5-fin, FCS 1

If you’re looking for a shortboard that feels soft, looks soft, but actually performs like a decent groveler shortboard, you’ve come to the right spot. Degree33’s line of EpoxySoft surfboards are constructed from a durable epoxy board covered in a thin layer of on the top and rails for durability and a decreased potential for injury. However, underneath that soft layer is still a hard surfboard, so performance is fairly well-preserved. Five fin boxes let you choose your fin setup, and allows you to use your (FCS1-compatible) surfboard fins as an upgrade over the plastic fins that ship with the board.

Classic Style
Catch Surf Skipper Quad J.O.B. Pro ($399)

Length(s): 5’6″
Construction: True Foamie
Fin Setup: Quad, Futures

If fitting in with the crowd isn’t your style, Jamie’s Quad with Catch Surf is a hoot, and performs very similarly. It’s made with a dual-composite core, three maple stringers, and a small fish tail. It’s 5′ 6″ and 42 liters, which gives it plenty of float for a wide range of surfers, and the nod to JOB gives it a few extra style points.

Best Price
Wavestorm Swallowtail Surfboard ($192)

Length(s): 5’6″
Construction: True Foamie
Fin Setup: Thruster, screw-through

Like we said before, Wavestorm has a whole lot of shapes and sizes to choose from. While the O.G. Wavestorm is generally thought of as the classic blue and white 8-footer, they’ve branched into the modern day with this little swallowtail. Coming in at 5’6” x 21” x 2.75”, it’s got 42 liters of volume, which should be enough to float just about anyone.

Durable and Recyclable
Formula Fun Shortboard Fish ($265)

Length(s): 5’3″
Construction: True Foamie/Hybrid
Fin Setup: Twin, Futures

As a person who likes to surf in the natural environment, you’d be right if you were concerned with what surfboards were made of. Foamboards snap often — as you’ve probably seen in garbage cans near the beach — and the stuff they’re made from wreaks havoc on the environment. Formula Fun does it differently. Made entirely from recyclable materials, these boards aren’t thrown in the trash. Once it’s well and truly dead, you can mail it in or drop it off at the brand’s Irvine, Calif. headquarters for a $50 credit towards your next board. And just because they’re recyclable doesn’t mean they’re not fun, either. They have, as the name implies, the formula for fun. Their soft-top construction is one of the highest performing in the game, with copolymer foam that is significantly stiffer than your average foam board.

Alternatively, as Amazon has had some stock issues with Formula Fun, check out Thread, who offers a very similar alternative.

Easily-Removable Fins
Softech Eric Geiselman Flash ($375)

Length(s): 5’0″, 5’7″, 6’0″, 6’6″ and 7’0″
Construction: True Foamie
Fin Setup: Thruster, FCS2

As you might have guessed from the name, this foam board leans a little more towards the shreddy side of things. The Eric Geiselman Flash comes in 5’0″, 5’7″, 6’0″, 6’6″ and 7’0″. It has an FCSII fin setup and a 100 percent waterproof EPS foam core, which is nice if you’re the type of person who dings boards. This is a great option for someone looking to still paddle into waves easily, but doesn’t want to sacrifice too much performance. It also comes in a whole bunch of colors. If grey ain’t your thing, Softech has a pretty well-rounded selection that’s worth a closer look.

Mason Ho and Filipe Toledo also have their own, very similar, Softech designs. Check out Filipe’s Wildfire here, and Mason Ho’s Mason Twin here.

Best for Kids
South Bay Board Co. Guppy ($279)

Length(s): 6′, 7′, 8′
Construction: True Foamie
Fin Setup: Thruster, screw-through

Guppies gotta learn, too. And that’s what South Bay Board Co. created this six-foot wave-catching machine for: learning, especially for groms who don’t get around the ocean every single day. The Guppy comes in kid-friendly blue jail stripes and is standard with fins and a leash. The price point means you won’t lose your you-know-what if it gets beat to a pulp. Which it probably will.

Comparison Table

Buyer’s Guide

What’s Better for Me? A Soft-Top Epoxy or a True Foamie?

Not all soft-tops are the same. There’s actually a pretty big difference between epoxy soft-tops and true “foam” surfboards. Epoxy soft-tops are constructed from a durable epoxy board with a soft foam layer covering the deck and rails. They are higher “performance” due to the solid construction, but that comes with a higher risk of board-inflicted injury. The foam padding can only do so much. True foam boards are made of foam through and through, resulting in a decent bit more flex, which is great when colliding with the board, but not quite as helpful when laying down a deep bottom turn. That being said, it’s not truly one-or-the-other, as there are plenty of boards on the market that seek to bridge the gap, but the distinction is worth considering in your buying decision.

Chances are, you’ve seen a Wavestorm or two in the lineup before. Photo: Derek Owens//Unsplash

Do Fins Matter on a Foamie?

In short, yes. A crucial aspect in a board’s performance is how the fins are constructed. Some true foam boards, like the Wavestorm, use screw-through fins for simplicity, while the rest (and all soft-top epoxies) make use of Futures or FCS fin boxes. This is where soft-top epoxy boards truly shine, with superior rigidity due to their solid construction providing noticeably better hold on the face of a wave, especially when it gets steeper. Even with real fin boxes, a true foam board’s fins will just have a bit of give to them.

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Editor’s Note: For more gear reviews and features on The Inertia, click here.