They were originally scorned, ridiculed, and mocked. Walking down to the beach with one under your arm was a surefire way to be branded a kook by all those in within eyesight. But now it’s 2016, baby! And they have just become latest cure for your small-wave summer blues.
Yep, we’re talking softboards. Those brightly coloured and oddly shaped things that are infesting your local lineup whenever the conditions are less than ideal (read: shit).
The softboard has become big business in 2016, and no longer do these boards look like they were spat out of the same machine that makes pool noodles and stubby holders.
Interchangeable fins, deck grips and hand crafted rails are just some of the features that have become common sight on softboards, making even the most stubborn of surf purists lean in for a closer look.
But what features perform and what are just money-grabbing gimmicks? What boards would make a handy addition to your quiver and what would be best left for the kiddie pool?
We enlisted the help of a couple Mad Hueys — Dean ‘Dingo’ Morrison and Brent ‘Brenno’ Dorrington — to find the answers to these burning questions.
