softech rocket

[flojo]

Has anybody tried one of these? I saw it in one of the local surfshops today. 52" and comes with fcs keel fins. Sort of a simmons type shape--
sort of. Anyway, looked like it could be fun and was wondering if anybody has tried one.

[krusher74]

There have been a lot of small "bodyboard construction" stand-up boards around over the last few years, with the catch surf beater spearheading it http://catchsurf.com/beater-all.php,
i'm sure they would "work" but with the average bodyboard being 42" I would expect them to have far to much volume, maybe an over 6footer heavy rider would suit one. The extra volume can be fun and kinda like a paipo longboard.

[Poobah]

I've ridden prone on the soft top skimboards made by Area 51, and it's a fun option for a crowded day in the swim zone. The one thing I didn't like was the stiffness. The internal stiffeners meant permanent nose kick. I'm guessing the various incarnations of the Beater also have a stiff nose. If they didn't the boards could crease at the nose, and that would be bad for business. I wonder if you could get one custom made with a floppy nose...something you could flatten out during the ride.

Way back when Wave Skater came out with the one piece molded PVC foam boards, I was hopeful that we'd see more variety with that construction method. As far I can tell the twin pontoon channel bottom is still the only option. I'd still like to see something different, like a soft PVC foam hull. Until then we're stuck with relatively flat bottoms on sandwich construction soft boards.