Coming to South Africa?
Here’s why you should buy a surfboard here.
#NextWaveIsYours
South Africa plays host to a bucket load of excellent surfboard shapers and waves (which you can read more about here ). There’s no official stat and this may be a complete thumb-suck, but we bet there are more shapers per surfer in SA than anywhere else on planet earth. Every coastal town/city has at least one surfboard craftsman and some cities and towns have multiple. Safe to say, with so much foam dust being spread around, you are bound to encounter some pretty damn excellent surf equipment. From Cape Town through J-Bay and onto Durban, there are new surfboards being created every day. And did we mention that they’re cheap? Marketing rules that you can’t get the cheapest and best. With surfboards in South Africa, we beg to differ. Here’s why you should buy your next surfboard in South Africa.
Wave Diversity
The variety of waves offered in South Africa are as diverse as the country’s people and the waves, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. When it comes to waves, SA has it all. Wanna be a big wave charger? Head over to Cape Town for multiple big wave spots to test your metal. Prefer perfect beach break barrels, don’t worry, we got that too. In fact, South Africa has it all. From death slabs to big wave spots, to the endlessly running point breaks
of J-Bay and the wedgy, fun, warm water rippable waves of Durban. Each wave type stimulates a unique approach to shaping. The long winding walls of J-Bay require a different style board to the wide-open barrels of Cape Town. And thus, whatever conditions you’re looking to tackle, there’s a South African shaper that’ll create for you the
perfect craft.
Cheap
Surfboards in South Africa are cheap. Our country might be riddled with corruption and inequality but at least our surfboards are cheap, our waves are consistently firing and the sun cares little for seasons as it refuses to stop shinning. Oh, the price of paradise. Surfboards in SA have seen an increase in price over the last couple of years but relative to global prices they’re cheap as chips. And if you still can’t afford a new board, simply beckon to your knees and offer to clean your shaper’s factory and you’re guaranteed he’ll hook you up with a deal.
Amber Hurdle once said, “Cheaper does not always equal better.” – obviously Amber hasn’t ridden surfboards made in South Africa.
Shapers that care.
Unlike most places in the world where you’ll sorta amble into a store and just kinda take, what’s on the wracks, South African shapers care deeply for their clientele. They’ll invite you into the shaping bay, listen to your hopes and desires, and needs before whipping up a magic potion and shaping an item to your specifications. Hell, they’ll even throw in a spray to your liking. Buying a board in South Africa is a hark back to the good old days of surf culture. Where MCD was a legitimate surf brand where Billabong had the slogan, ‘Only A Surfer Knows the Feeling’ And shapers were magicians who had the power to forge magic carpets. Where every surfboard was uniquely tailored to your needs and not popped out by some Thai factory at the expense of the worker to enhance profits. In South Africa, we have shapers that care and produce surfboards made from love.
Shapers that shape for world champs
In the last number of years, South Africa has enjoyed the likes of three world surfing champions. Twiggy Baker – Big Wave World Champion, Jeffreys Bay’s very own, Steven Sawyer – Longboard World Champ, and Simone Robb – ladies World Longboarding Champion. To be the best, there’s no doubt, your equipment must follow suit. The best surfers need the best surfboards.
Steven Sawyer rode his father’s boards, (Sawyer Surfboards) to victory at the Long Boarding World Champs in Taiwan and Twiggy Baker rides his own brand of surf crafts shaped by a local shaper. Not only that but Jordy Smith also now rides his father’s surfboards, SMTH Shapes. South Africa has some of the best and cheapest surfboards on
planet earth. Buying a board in J-Bay is a no-brainer. If you’d like to know more about surfboard shapers in J-Bay, you can visit Surf Neutral: here
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