People often disparage a soft top as a beginner surfboard but Are Soft Tops Good for Advanced Surfing? Do surfers see soft tops in the line up where the real waves break?
An 8′ soft top commonly made by Wavestorm and others can be a high performance surfboard. I have seen surfers ride 7′ waves and do all kinds of tricks including 360’s and ripping the lip. Surfers who do these feats are advanced surfers but can the beginner progress to advanced with a soft top?
The 8′ Soft Top is a Performer
The 8′ soft top rides foam waves well and performs well catching and riding real waves. You can accelerate for speed, do cut backs, and ride up the face with a bottom turn. The size of the wave is a function of the surfer’s skill, condition, and courage. There are different kinds of breaks. The reef can often create an easier to ride wave than sand bar bottoms. When waves are steep and closing out, a short board is a preferred board.
In reef breaks, the waves often form slow and are good for long boards so a soft top can perform well. They don’t have to worry about the steep drop so by the time the wave has formed into an arc, the surfer is already up and riding. On a sand bar bottom, the wave arcs steeply and the surfer worries about pealing (nose under water).
Three methods can be used in steep waves. The surfer can catch the wave and then push the nose to the pocket before executing the pop up. This gets him into the pocket quick without worrying about riding down the face. The surfer can angle toward the pocket at the top of the wave. If the wave is not closing out, the surfer is in the pocket quick and does not have to worry about pearling. The third method is catch the wave as the pocket is rolling after it has already apexed.
Catching Waves in Already Formed Pockets
To catch a wave pocket as the wave continues to roll right or left, the surfer is paddling along side the wave and at a 45 degree angle toward the beach as the wave gets closer to the beach. The wave rolls under the surfer and the surfer pops up maintaining the 45 degree angle toward the beach.
One advantage of the soft top is it is easy to paddle so the surfer who does not get to the water frequently does not have to be in the same condition as the frequent surfer. It catches wave easily so the surfer does not need the steep arc necessary for short board surfers. The soft top will perform tricks but the surfer has to compensate for a thick rail that won’t carve as deeply as a thin short board.
A soft top could last a surfer there whole life and if he is not a frequent surfer and has not ambitions to be great. Most short board surfers don’t perform all the tricks and on big days there are only a few surfers out at the breaks. Most short board surfers are content with the 4′ to 6′ waves which can be easily handled with soft tops.
Read Other Posts:
Beginner Surfers Learn on Soft Tops
5 Steps to Improve Surfing Performance
3 Ways to Catch Real Surfing Waves
Training to Ride the Surfing Short Board
Short Board Surfing Techniques
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