Surfboard design has come so far that, these days, what’s considered crazy anymore? Crazy used to be Nat Young who, when the 1966 World Championships were held in San Diego, blew minds when he rode a board under nine feet in length. Crazy used to be George Greenough who rode on his knees on a glorified lunch tray–something he called a kneeboard. Crazy also used to be the invention of the asymmetrical tail by Carl Ekstrom who changed the way a lot of folks looked at surfboard design. Regardless of what may have been off-the-wall or taboo then, here’s a look at five of the craziest surfboard designs now.
Think there’s a crazier design out there? Add your suggestion(s) at the bottom.
Sam Bleakley tests out the XYZ’s crazy rails in Barbados. Photo: Mark Harris
Meyerhoffer XYZ
This little slice of futuristic design is puzzling to look at. No doubt about that. You might be thinking, “Why the hourglass shape?” “What’s with that pulled in tail?” and, “Who chopped off the nose?” Well, for a mere $1,000 to $1,200, you can figure out the many intricacies of this crazy board yourself. If you’re not keen on ponying up that kind of cheese just to find out, here’s the skinny: it was designed to incorporate all of the best features of surfing a longboard and a shortboard in one. The nose is flat to accommodate the hang ten types, the middle section is meant to provide quick rail to rail ability, the fattest part (a little closer to the tail) is for gaining speed down the line which it achieves with a flatter rocker, and the tail is drawn in to be able to turn on a dime a la your favorite thruster.
Check out more Meyerhoffer designs here.
Firewire Vanguard MPH (Modern Planing Hull)
I remember the day I first saw this board at the 2012 US Open under the feet of Stu Kennedy and thinking, “What the hell?” That is, until I actually tried it. It only took one session at a Firewire demo day to sell me on the Vanguard’s avant-garde shape. Daniel Thomson of Tomo Surfboards shaped the board to be ridden smaller than what was previously considered ideal for high-performance surfing. There’s really something to the diamond nose and twin diamond tail of this one and it will send you hurtling both down the line and through the air. Every bit about this board is unique and designed to expand the possibilities of high-performance surfing.
Learn more about the Vanguard’s intricacies here.
From cars to…this? Photo: Peugeot/Laurent Picard
Peugeot GTi surfboard concept
Peugeot, traditionally a French car manufacturer, has put out a surfboard concept based on three of its performance cars. With a quad fin set up, the board might actually accelerate like the Peugeot we’re more familiar with. That is, if it makes it to the water. Imagine seeing someone ride this at your local spot. What do you say? How do you react? This might be the craziest surfboard design yet as a car company has never created a surfboard concept. You’re probably not in the minority if you find yourself doubting the board’s performance. However, the board remains innocent until proven guilty. Until a documented session goes down, we’ll just be here…speculating.
Read more about Peugeot’s surfboard concept here.
