The tail of a surfboard showing fins, a leash plug, and traction
Pexels / 1753689

Gear

What belongs with the board

Fourteen checked Amazon listings: fins, a leash, pads, wax, a day bag, ding resin, a wetsuit, a rash guard, and two soft boards. Nothing here is a ranking, and nothing is a local shop.

Find a board firstFCS versus Futures

Gear

Soft-tops

An 8-foot foamie is the usual first board. The 54-inch Beater is a different, smaller board for people who already surf small shorebreak.

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A blue foam board carried into shorebreak. Illustrative photo, not the Catch Surf Beater.

Catch Surf

Catch Surf 54" Beater Original Soft Surfboard, Finless, Black

The 54-inch Beater is a finless soft board for small shorebreak. It is not an 8-foot learner log.

Worth knowing

  • Soft
  • Short enough to toss in a car
  • Finless, which is a different feel

Limits

  • Too small for most adults on day one
  • Finless is not a thruster foamie
  • Photo is a different foam board

Verdict. Fun in tiny shorebreak if you already surf. For a first board, start longer.

Wikimedia Commons / Blue Foam Surfboard

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Wavestorm 8-foot soft-top surfboard, the Amazon listing photo.

Wavestorm

Wavestorm Classic Soft Top Foam 8ft Surfboard

An 8-foot soft-top is the board most adults should learn on: long enough to paddle, soft enough to fall on.

Worth knowing

  • 8 ft length
  • Soft deck
  • The usual kit includes fins
  • Amazon listing photo

Limits

  • You will outgrow the performance
  • Hard to duck-dive
  • Colorways change by year

Verdict. A sensible first board for an adult in small waves. Check the volume calculator before you size down.

Amazon listing photo

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Gear

Fins

Futures and FCS do not share plugs. Buy the system that is already in the board.

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A display wall of surfboard fins. Illustrative photo, not the Futures listing image.

Futures

Futures Fins Legacy Series F8 Honeycomb Thruster

The F8 is a medium all-round thruster template. Honeycomb construction is lighter than a solid fiberglass fin of the same outline.

Worth knowing

  • Single-tab Futures box
  • Familiar all-round template
  • Honeycomb is lighter than solid glass

Limits

  • Fits Futures boxes only
  • Not a small-wave specialist
  • Colorways change

Verdict. A straightforward thruster set when the board already has Futures boxes and you want one everyday template.

Wikimedia Commons / Surfboard fins.jpg

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A single surfboard fin on a board. Illustrative photo, not the Futures listing image.

Futures

Futures F8 Legacy Thruster Fin Set Gray/Black

The same F8 thruster idea in a gray and black layup. Buy it as a spare color, not as a different fin.

Worth knowing

  • Futures single tab and screw
  • Same all-round template as the honeycomb F8

Limits

  • Does not fit FCS plugs
  • Overlaps the honeycomb F8 if you only need one set

Verdict. Choose this or the honeycomb F8, not both, unless you want a backup set.

Wikimedia Commons / Surfboard Fin

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A quad fin layout on a surfboard. Illustrative photo, not the FCS Performer listing image.

FCS

FCS II Performer Tri Fin Set (Medium)

Performer is FCS's all-round thruster template. This listing is the medium set, and it clicks into FCS II plugs.

Worth knowing

  • Tool-free FCS II install
  • Medium template covers a lot of everyday boards

Limits

  • Will not fit Futures boxes
  • Click-in fins can feel looser than a screwed fin in heavy surf
  • Small and large are different ASINs

Verdict. The FCS-side all-round thruster, if the board has FCS II plugs. Match the size to the board.

Wikimedia Commons / Diamond Quad.jpg

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Gear

Leashes

Match the leash to the board length. Six feet is a shortboard leash.

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Dakine surf leash, the Amazon listing photo.

Dakine

Dakine John John Florence Kainui Surf Leash (6 ft listing)

A 6-foot leash is the usual match for a shortboard. The cuff and the swivel are the parts you notice every session.

Worth knowing

  • 6 ft length for shortboards
  • Dakine cuff and rail saver
  • Amazon listing photo

Limits

  • Too short for a longboard or a step-up
  • This ASIN is the 6 ft listing, not the 7 or 8 ft versions

Verdict. A normal shortboard leash. Ride something 8 feet or longer and get a longer leash instead.

Amazon listing photo

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Gear

Traction pads

A tail pad belongs on a hard board. A soft-top already has a deck you can stand on.

Surfboard Life participates in the Amazon Associates Program. Links below are affiliate links: if you buy, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only link ASINs we checked, and we do not invent ratings. Affiliate disclosure.

Dakine Andy Irons traction pad, the Amazon listing photo.

Dakine

Dakine Andy Irons Pro Surf Traction Pad

A three-piece tail pad adds grip where the back foot lands and keeps heels from denting the deck.

Worth knowing

  • Arch for the rear foot
  • Three-piece deck coverage
  • Amazon listing photo

Limits

  • One-shot adhesive
  • A pad on a foamie that already has deck skin is redundant

Verdict. For a hard board you want to lock a back foot onto. Skip it on a soft-top.

Amazon listing photo

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Dakine Launch traction pad, the Amazon listing photo.

Dakine

Dakine Launch Surf Traction Pad

A simpler three-piece tail pad than the Andy Irons model, with a flatter kick.

Worth knowing

  • Basic tail grip
  • Amazon listing photo

Limits

  • Less arch than the pro pad
  • Still the wrong add-on for a foamie

Verdict. A basic tail pad when you do not need the higher arch.

Amazon listing photo

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Gear

Wax

Pick the water temperature, not the scent. Tropical wax is for warm water.

Surfboard Life participates in the Amazon Associates Program. Links below are affiliate links: if you buy, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only link ASINs we checked, and we do not invent ratings. Affiliate disclosure.

A surfer rubbing wax onto a board. Illustrative photo, not the Sexwax listing image.

Mr Zogs Sex Wax

Mr Zogs Original Sexwax, Tropical, Coconut

Tropical wax stays tacky in warm water. Cold-water wax goes glassy in the tropics, and tropical wax smears in cold water.

Worth knowing

  • Warm-water formula
  • Easy to find

Limits

  • Wrong bar for cold water
  • You still want a base coat underneath
  • Photo shows waxing a board, not this bar

Verdict. Buy the temperature that matches the water. This bar is for tropical water.

Wikimedia Commons / Waxing a surfboard.jpg

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Gear

Board bags

A day bag is sized to the board. This Dakine listing is 6'3".

Surfboard Life participates in the Amazon Associates Program. Links below are affiliate links: if you buy, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only link ASINs we checked, and we do not invent ratings. Affiliate disclosure.

Dakine Daylight surfboard day bag, the Amazon listing photo.

Dakine

Dakine Daylight Surfboard Bag Hybrid, White, 6'3

A day bag keeps wax off the car and takes some UV off the board between sessions. This one is cut for 6'3".

Worth knowing

  • Listed length is 6'3"
  • Enough padding for a day at the beach
  • Amazon listing photo

Limits

  • Will not fit a funboard or a longboard
  • Not a travel coffin

Verdict. Right if the board is 6'3" or shorter. Measure before you order.

Amazon listing photo

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Gear

Ding repair

Solarez polyester resin is for polyester boards. Epoxy boards need a different resin.

Surfboard Life participates in the Amazon Associates Program. Links below are affiliate links: if you buy, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only link ASINs we checked, and we do not invent ratings. Affiliate disclosure.

The underside of a surfboard. Illustrative photo, not the Solarez bottle.

Solarez

Solarez UV Cure Polyester Ding Resin, 2 oz

Sun-cure polyester resin fills small cosmetic dings on polyester boards. It does not cure properly on epoxy.

Worth knowing

  • No mixing
  • Small bottle for a car kit
  • Cures in sunlight

Limits

  • Polyester resin on an epoxy board will not bond the way you want
  • Not for snapped boards or fin boxes
  • Work outside or with real ventilation

Verdict. A glovebox kit for small polyester dings. If the board is epoxy, buy an epoxy resin instead.

Wikimedia Commons / Under the surfboard

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Colorful surfboards standing in a rack. Illustrative photo, not the Solarez kit.

Solarez

Solarez Polyester Weenie Travel Kit

A smaller travel tube of the same polyester UV resin, for a ding you notice on a trip.

Worth knowing

  • Packs smaller than the 2 oz bottle
  • Same sun-cure idea

Limits

  • Still polyester, not epoxy
  • Tiny volume
  • A touch-up, not a structural repair

Verdict. The travel size of a polyester ding filler. It will not rebuild a board.

Pexels / 757133

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Gear

Wetsuits and rash guards

A 3/2 fullsuit is for cool water. A rash guard is for sun and warm water, not winter.

Surfboard Life participates in the Amazon Associates Program. Links below are affiliate links: if you buy, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only link ASINs we checked, and we do not invent ratings. Affiliate disclosure.

A surfer stretching in a full black wetsuit. Illustrative photo, not the O'Neill listing image.

O'Neill

O'Neill Hyperfreak 3/2mm Chest-Zip Full Wetsuit, Men's

A 3/2 mm fullsuit is the usual thickness for cool water, not icy water. A chest zip is warmer and slower to put on than a back zip.

Worth knowing

  • 3/2 mm for cool water
  • Chest zip
  • Men's cut

Limits

  • Sizes are separate listings
  • Too warm for the tropics
  • Too thin for a true cold-water winter

Verdict. A cool-water fullsuit if you already know your O'Neill size. One listing is not a universal fit.

Wikimedia Commons / Man in wetsuit

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O'Neill short-sleeve rash guard, the Amazon listing photo.

O'Neill

O'Neill Men's Basic Skins Short Sleeve Rashguard, UPF 50+

A short-sleeve rash guard is the warm-water layer: sun on the shoulders, and less wax rash on the chest.

Worth knowing

  • UPF 50+ as named on the listing
  • Short sleeve
  • Amazon listing photo

Limits

  • Not a wetsuit
  • Men's cut
  • Size still matters

Verdict. The usual warm-water top. It does not replace a wetsuit when the water is cold.

Amazon listing photo

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