S U R F B OA R D S S S 22
retail buyer’s guide
RETAIL BUYER’S GUIDE
TOWN AND COUNTRY
A relatively recent phenomenon, at least in the history of surfboards, the category of “summer boards” has now made it into all the shops. A preview-premiere of what’s to come for summer 2022. By David Bianic.
Surfboards also have the right to their own
Spring/Summer collection, just like fashion does. While this season traditionally shows a spike in production/sales, the idea of summer specific designs is still new. “I would say 80% of our boards could be classified as summer boards…” reckons Peter Saari, co-founder of Lib Technologies. At Hurricane Surf, the ratio is at least 50% reckons Craig Butcher, Managing Director. Summer boards have to be “fun” boards (not to be confused with funboards) As Diogo Cecelio from Flowt enjoys reminding us, “The best surfer out there is the one having the most fun”, while highlighting their range of premium soft boards.
“I would say 80% of our boards could be classified as summer boards…” Peter Saari, Lib Technologies
But what ultimately characterises a summer board? “These are paddle-friendly boards that will get you up and going in the most subpar conditions while still working really well in up to a little overhead waves”, summarises Susana Santos, Marketing Director of the Portuguese workshop Xhapeland (Chilli, Rusty, Simon Anderson…), hence the success of their BV2 from Chilli, Voodoo Redux and Jason Todd models as well as the Miso from Rusty. 25
