Ok, so it's not officially summer yet, in fact, it's really only a couple days into spring. And in fact- it feels like winter around here with all the big NW swells we've had, pouring rain, and south wind storm surf. But it's never too early to start dreaming about south swells, trunking it, and girls on the beach. That's why this Deal Alert! is all about boards for summer. And we've got a little something for everyone- the salty old school local (you know who I'm talking about), the guy who's trying to re-live his glory days (that's me), or the new school punk who swims circles around you out in the line up (watch your back kid). First things first: My idea of a board for summer is not an spongy 8' softboard that's only good for safety reasons- not high performance slashing. Secondly, I don't ride 10' aircraft carriers with a paddle in place of a propellor. And lastly, my idea of a summer board is not a high performance 9' longboard. That's an oxymoron, with the emphasis on the word moron. My idea of a summer board needs to be fast, float and paddle in gutless waves, be indestructible, turn on a dime, smaller than my shortboard for responsiveness, and I want to blow the tail out in 2' surf dagnabit! Which brings me to my first board shown above, from the legend himself, Larry Bertlemann. Larry as you remember is a legend in both the surf and skating world due to his 'new school' turns back in the old school days.
I remember practicing day after day on my 'Bert' turns in my driveway. And the result? I still surfed and skated like Mike G. The Bertlemann board shown above is from Santa Cruz Surfboards and has:
- Futures fin boxes provide the stiffness needed for hard cutbacks and powerful riding
- PowerLyte multi-layer construction blends power and durability around an ultra-light EPS core
- Flyweight Rhino glass layer fused to the EPS foam provides the stiffness and durability at the core level
- Super Flex hull armor is a high-density wood veneer wrapped around the core to help reduce the chance of a broken board
- Carbon fiber spines run nose-to-tail to balance the board's flex—both lengthwise and torsionally
- Scud Enamel epoxyskin fiberglass puts up a final barrier against dents and dings
- Outer layer is a dampening skin that absorbs vibration
- Cruise Missile single to double vee concave provides the rail-to-rail quickness
- Dimensions are 6'0" x 20" x 2 5/8"
- A steal at $495
- Cruise Missile Concave- Single to double concave bottom with vee’d out tail
- Tail- Double wing swallow
- Construction- PowerLyte EXT
- Futures fins in a tri-fin set up
- 5'11" x 18 1/8" x 2 1/8"
- Practically giving it away for $330. You buy two of these and it's still less than most boards!
And for all you kids out there who don't know who Bert or Archy is (it's a shame- kids should take a history test before they're allowed to paddle out for the first time- kind of like a driver's license test), I give you the Steve Boysen Amplifier.
- TEC (Thermal Epoxy Compression) construction technique uses heat and pressure to fuse the epoxy layers to the foam core for added strength and response
- FCS tri-fin boxes set into high density foam that is fused into the core with fiberglass and resin
- Classic fish shape with added nose rocker and modern foil create a more agile yet stable board for aggressive styles
- 5'8" x 19" x 2"
- Price is right at $475
