Cork boards, are they worth it?

With everyone looking to the horizon in an environmental and sustainable way these days I thought it might be time to wade into the fray. As far as surfboards are concerned, there are an increasing amount of viable alternatives to the standard polyester boards.

The general feeling seems to be that we need to be more conscious about the impact that our sport of surfing is having on the very elements that empower us. Who am I to argue, in fact I am already fully invested in making an effort, I cycle to the beach when I can, I have got some limestone based wetsuits and I use local wax with no petrochemicals.

Is that enough? Surely one of the biggest factors is the PU surfboard which still occupies 80% of the market today. There are many alternatives, the largest being epoxy boards that, although are less harmful to the environment, have a bad reputation. People say epoxy boards are too stiff and are not as durable. The evolution of the 'pop-out' also did the reputation of epoxy no favours. 'Pop outs' are moulded boards which are generally very heavy and sluggish whilst being very hard to break, you will find these boards very popular with surf schools. The fact is that epoxy needs to be given a chance, Kelly Slater rides epoxy boards and to me that should be enough for anyone. I have owned some epoxy boards and loved them, they are different to ride but its just a matter of getting used to something new.

Now that I have introduced epoxy, lets move on to another option, the cork board, which is essentially made from EPS foam, the boards have no central stringer but instead rely on carbon stringers in the rails, the board is then covered in cork. Why cork? Well, the cork is designed to be able to give more flex through the board and also it has the ability to absorb vibrations, and lets not forget the point of all of this, cork comes from cork trees and I would say that shows a step up in sustainability from harmful resins.

Lets talk real life here. I am an average surfer, for me buying a new board is one of the most exciting things and it does not happen as much as I would like it to because boards are quite expensive. I am all for doing my bit with the environment but if it means I have to save up longer because it costs more, that is where the numbers of people buying these boards will dwindle.

The whole point of this article is to let you guys know that I was lucky enough to be able to test a cork board recently at my local break and I was astounded. It seems like they have solved all the problems with epoxy boards in one fell swoop, there was no chop noise and it felt really smooth even when the wind turned on-shore, the kicker is that I did not even have to put any wax on it … totally wax free and no problems. The only question that has not been answered is the one of durability, and only time will tell on that one.

To sum up, I am going to get one and if you get an opportunity to test one, have a go, they are really really fun.

Here is a little clip of Mason Ho surfing his cork board to wet your appetite.