Ryan Chachi Craig
2016 FALL/WINTER BEACH & BOARD BUYERS GUIDE
Besides surfing, there’s no other sport where its participants are as tuned into their equipment. We, as surfers, know not just the dimensions of our surfboard’s length, width and thickness, but also the ingredients that go into making it. What also makes our beloved sport so unique is that while other sports - from mainstream to action - essentially have the same equipment, surfing does not. John John Florence’s go to board may have similar dimensions to other competitors, but it’s certainly not the same as Mick Fanning’s or Kelly Slater’s. And the boards of these three icons are certainly different from what you ride at your favorite North Shore spot. In the following pages, we pay homage to this uniqueness, showing you the news and greatest surfboards available today, also exhibiting the endless possibilities for your next winter board. We also talk story with a host of talented and legendary shapers that call Hawaii home on multiple topics - Glenn Pang (T&C Surfboards), Kimo Greene (Kimo Greene Surfboards), Eric Arakawa (Eric Arakawa Designs), Robert Patterson (Surf Design Hawaii), and Glenn Minami (Minami Surfboards) about the advantages of shaping in Hawaii, what direction the future of shaping is headed in, and how to find the middle ground between performance and durability. Good luck finding your next winter board!