Idea's for the Holidays: Surfboards

The holidays are right around the corner.  I've been trying to get a list of things that I want made; I came to the decision that I'm going to go for a "green" Christmas this year.  I didn't realize how many good things there were out there, and well, I want them all.  The next few posts will be in different categories of things you should get or ideas for your friends and family.


So surfboards, we all love 'em and we all want more.  I myself would like to add another to my quiver.  Currently, I have two nice boards, a 6'0 Global Surf Industries 7S Fish and a 6'1 HIC Eric Arakawa Pilot.  I love them both but my fish is only good in smaller waves and my Pilot is made more for the reef and hollow waves (which we rarely have on the East Coast).  Anyway, I want something that is still good in the smaller waves we have in the summer and can still handle the larger waves of the winter.  I've done a lot of research in the past few months and came across a few great models from well known and not really well known shapers.  BUT, thats not all, remember were going green this year, so these boards are also, somewhat, environmentally conscious.  I went to Al Merrick (Channel Islands), Fletcher Chouinard (FCD and Patagonia), Mauricio Avila (Avila Surfboards), and Nev Hyman/Dan Mann (Firewire).  All have their own "green" boards.  


First is Patagonia; in itself, Patagonia is a Green company.  They are always looking to protect the environment with their products.  Usually, their products are made with recycled matierials.  Their Surf department has really progressed within the past few years.  They have legend Gerry Lopez, and surfers Dan Malloy and Kohl Cristensen representing the company.  With shaper Fletcher Chouinard, they have expanded the department into a new sector.  After looking through their shapes, I really liked each model, but for each coast, their fishes and the Peke model are great.  For me, I would say the Peke is great and uses recycled material (as does all their models).  

 Peke Model

Channel Islands is a typical "go-to" board brand for many surfer around the world.  With surfers like Kelly Slater, the Coffin brothers and many other big name surfers, it is a very reputable brand.  Recently, they have come out with two new and innovative models, the Fred Rubble and Motorboat.  The Fred Rubble was designed by Connor Coffin and Al together.  It is great and many surfers who rep CI are ridding it and love it.  The Motorboat was inspired by Rob Machado, another CI surfer.  Both are designed to work in small mushy surf and hold in bigger surf.  The Motorboat model, more than the Fred Rubble, is made with environmentally friendly material (what else would you expect from Rob), which is why I am more fond of it.  Both are great boards and shapes and should be considered for your quiver.  

Left: Fred Rubble, Right: Motorboat

Mauricio Avila is a not as well known shaper, but offers great, green boards.  On the site Envirosurfer.com, you can purchase two of his shapes, the BullDog and Comet, which are both good in small and large surf.  But this version of the model is made with recycled material.  Give it a look!

Left: Bulldog, Right: Comet

Firewire has really pushed its way into the surfing scene with its unique looks and iconic riders like Taj and Bourez.  Nev Hyman and Dan Mann are pround to use green and recycled material in his board (which usually have wooden rains and won the EuroSIMA Environmental Product of the Year in 2005 and continues to make green boards.  While they are pricy, they are strong and durable and offer a ton of models that are all green.

Left: Dominator, Right: SubScorcher  

Take a look at all of these shapers and boards.  While some offer more models than others that are environmentally conscious, try and go green next time you pick a surfboard to add to your quiver.  I will post a few more posts with different green surf products for the Holidays coming up! Take a look and tell everyone about Worn Trails!