As the sport evolves, river surfers are using a wider variety of river surfboards than ever before. Here, I’ll try to keep track of the ever-expanding list of boards I’ve seen on Colorado’s Front Range. Where I can, I’ll note some of the pros and cons even if I haven’t done a full review. And where I’ve written a full review, I’ll note that as well.
I have excluded from the list any SUPs besides those specifically designed for surfing. Though you certainly can surf something like an 8’6″ Hala Atcha without a paddle, it’s tough and it’s certainly not what the board was designed for.
I’ve also excluded any handbuilt boards from the fine folks at these companies, which all design and build river-specific surfboards. The all make great boards, but their changing catalogs and varying availability make direct comparisons pretty tough. So, for better or worse, we are just talking about mass-produced boards here.
If you’re regularly river surfing a board that isn’t on the list, email me and let me know how you like it.
| Board | Price (Est.) | Pros | Cons | Review? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boardworks Flying Pig | $300 | Hard-board performance at approaching a soft-board price | Not enough volume for slow waves; somewhat fragile | Yes |
| Scott Burke 5'2" Fish | $160 | Inexpensive way to get into high performance boards for high performance waves | Squishy fins, and you get what you pay for | Yes |
| Wavestorm Taquito | $250 | Surfs nearly everything besides very fast, steep waves. Cheap. | Cheap. Has gotten hard to find, though Wavestorm has some similar replacements. | Yes |
| California Board Company 6'2" Fish | $70 | Cheap entry level board; will surf a variety of river waves depending on rider weight. A favorite for Pueblo | Discontinued; replaced by a 6' board that is about the same quality and twice the price | Yes |
| Giantex 6' Surfboard | $65 | Cheap. Not much else. | Basically a toy. Not enough stiffness to surf most river waves without turning into a taco. | No |
| O'Brien Alley Wakesurfer | $250 | Inexpensive entry into the wakesurfer category of boards for steep, fast waves. Quick. | Soft for a wakesurfer. | No |
| Catch Surf Beater | $190 | Fairly stiff for a soft board. Quick. | Not much nose rocker, which can be a liability for steeper waves. Not enough volume for slow waves for most surfers. | No |
| Bic Paint | $210 | Quick from edge to edge, fun on fast waves. | Not enough volume for slower waves. Not much nose rocker. | No |
| Slingshot Alien Twister | $350 | Very fast from edge to edge. Stiff. Loose. | Only suitable for steep, fast waves. Out of production. | No |
| Slingshot Ankle Biter | $315 | Fairly quick though more mellow than the Twister. Fun on fast waves. | Only suitable for fast waves. Can be hard to find. | No |
| Sling Shot Gnarwhal | $650 | Heir to the Alien Twister. Fast and fun. | Expensive, and only suitable for fast waves. | No |
| Sling Shot Space Pickle | $350 | Heir to the Ankle Biter. Same pros apply. | Heir to the Ankle Biter. Same cons apply. | No |
| Glide Sesh | $1,099 | Park and play paddleboard surfable without a paddle. Durable, high volume. | Heavier than surfboards or wake surfers. Expensive. | Yes |
| Badfish IRS | $899 | SUP surfable without a paddle. Rocker and volume let it surf more waves than most boards. Very stable. Updated design. | Not particularly high performance once you're on the wave. Expensive. | Yes |
| Lost Puddle Jumper | $650 | High performance board on either the ocean or the river. Quick. Durable for a hard board | Expensive. Largely only suitable for fast river waves. | River Surf Lab |
| Badfish Sk8 | $699 | River-specific design, high volume, surfs lots of waves | Expensive, often not the best board for the feature | River Surf Lab |
| Softech Mystery Box | $350 | Fairly quick and high volume. Can setup as a twin or quad. Some nose rocker. | Not a ton of volume, though higher than some of the other softies. | No |
| Softech Flash | $280 | Quick on the wave with decent volume for its size. High performance for a soft top | Lower volume restricts it to fast waves for most surfers | No |
| Hala Peno | $1300 | Surf-specific SUP short enough to surf without a paddle. High volume and will surf lots of things. | Expensive. Not particularly high-performance once you're on the wave without a paddle | No |
| Lib Tech Air'n and Yacht Sea | $700 | New boards, TBA | New boards, TBA | No |
| Channel Islands Average Joe | $800 | Similar to the Puddle Jumper; fast from edge to edge and high performance | Needs a fast wave to work given the relative lack of volume | No |
| Softech Rocket Launch | $180 | Enough rocker for steeper waves; finboxes | Small enough that only steep fast waves have enough speed for it | No |
| Softech Torpedo | $280 | Removable fins, fair amount of volume | Pretty flat nose rocker, maybe out of production? | No |
| Hala Milligram | $1,000 | Small for a paddleboard and inflatable. Fits on a variety of waves. | Big compared to shortboards and will be harder to turn/maneuver. Expensive | No, though I reviewed the gram here. |
| California Board Company 6' Slasher | $150 | Similar to the CBC 6'2" fish. But shorter. Maybe a better option for smaller riders. Cheap | Similar to the CBC 6'2" fish. But shorter. Maybe a worse option for larger riders. Getting expensive for the quality. | No |
| California Board Company 6'2" Fish | $140 | Decent size for a variety of waves, billed as a 6'2" Fish but really a 6' replacement for the old, cheap 6'2" Fish | Twice the price of the old 6'2" Fish, basically the same board | No |
| 5' Boardworks Froth | $220 | Decent looking soft top, but haven't seen it on a wave yet | Decent looking soft top, but haven't seen it on a wave yet | No |
| INT Blackball Beater | $250 | Small, aggressive, cheap soft top | Still a cheap soft top with fixed fins | River Surf Lab |
| Catch Surf Odysea Stump | $275 | Good quality for a short board; interchangable fins; versatile volume | Sluggish; good for lots of things but not great for anything. | River Surf Lab |
| Lib Tech Air'N | $700 | Great build quality, designed for (and good at) wakesurfing | Not an ideal river board | River Surf Lab |
| Strongwater Foam Runt | $400 | Well-built foamie, can surf a variety of different waves | Foam top adds weight and shaves performance compared to epoxy version | Yes |
| Album Surfboards | $400 | Good looking soft shorboards; made in USA | Untested | No |
| Badfish Wavo | $700-$800 | Good wave for small, mushy, and shallow waves that are often surfed on SUPs | Expensive, and often competing with cheaper boards at lower price points | River Surf Lab |
| Odysea/Catch Surf 54 Special | $265 | Inexpensive high-performance shortboard with finboxes | Requires a relatively fast wave, but otherwise, not many | River Surf Lab |
| Lost Round Nose Fish | $740 | Versatile shortboard | Expensive, rarely the best option | River Surf Lab |
| Badfish Sk8 High Volume | $700 | Good shortboard for bad/mushy conditions | Expensive option for surfing mediocre waves | River Surf Lab |
| Thurso Surf Lancer 5'10" | $160 | Cheap softie fish. Looks comparable to the CBC Fish/Sushi Etc. | Comparable to the other cheap fish softboards. No fin boxes. Not high performance, but price isn't high-performance either | No, though the CBC Fish review is in the ballpark. |
| Badfish iSk8 | $700 | Inflatable version of the sk8. More durable, better on shallow waves. | Lower performance than the sk8 and expensive. | No |
| Formula Fun Fish | $265 | Looks like a fairly high-performance, inexpensive soft board. Fin boxes. Maybe competition for the Oddysea/Catch Surf Boards | Untested | No |
| GoPlus 5'5" Fish | $80 | It's a $80 surfboard. Should work for fast waves. Could be on par with the Burke | Expect the build quality to be on par for an $80 surfboard. To some extent, you get what you pay for. | No |
| Sol Jah | $599 | Versatile SUP that can be surfed as a shortboard. | Relatively low-performance compared to lower volume options; somewhat expensive. | River Surf Lab |
| Hydrus Montrose | $768 | Durable, high-performance, river-specific hard board | Expensive; small production runs | No |
| Gerry Lopez River Boat | $499 | River-specific hybrid of a soft top and glass bottom. Interesting design, with input from a legend. | Unique design, relatively untested | No |
| Isle Nugget | $195-$245 | Cheap soft shortboard for high-performance waves like RRP. | Untested; you get what you pay for to a certain point. | No |
| Almond Secret Menu | $375 | Higher-performance foam "groveler"-style shortboard. | More expensive than some comparable options, but design and build quality look good. | No |
| South Bay Huevo | $275 | Hard fiberglass bottom; lots of volume (37L) in a small package. Swappable fins. | Dense foam makes for a heavy board relative to its size. | Yes |
| Delight Alliance/Bitter End Boards (Various) | $575+ | High-performance Austrian hardboards shaped for river surfing | Expensive | No |
| Badfish Bomb Drop | $300 | Foam-top, hard-bottom river surfer from a river SUP company | Similar to foam groveler boards already on the market | No |
| Thurso Lancer 5'10" | $180 | Another entry in the cheap foamie shortboard category. Cheap. | Likely cheaply made. Higher-quality options out there for not a lot more money. | No |
| Wavestorm Fish | $120-$250 | Wavestorm has a couple of different cheap "Fish" boards. Inexpensive and easy to find. Can work well on some waves like Montrose. | Too long for high-performance waves, not enough volume for mushier waves. Needs a sweet spot. | No |