Editor’s Note Sept 2025: After months of advertising “coming soon”, Catch Surf seems to have scrubbed these new boards from their site. Tariff casualty?

Your friendly new EW editor is always on the lookout for fresh river boards, especially those that find a solid price to performance ratio for beginner/intermediate surfers. I’ve long been a fan of Catch Surf for their decent build quality, FCS compatible fin boxes, and variety of shapes/fin setups to handle just about any river wave out there.

For 2025, they’ve launched a new premium softboard line, Shred Tech. I haven’t gotten to see one hands-on, but appears to be higher build quality that results in a lighter board with more aggressive concave and rails. Especially enticing is the smallest model: the 4’10” thruster. On paper, this looks like a strong option for River Run Park, Salida, and Pueblo. At $400 retail, it’s at the upper end price-wise for a softboard, but might have a nice “Goldilocks” spot between the very short 54 Special and the beginner-friendly 5’0″ Stump. I’ll be sure to update with performance notes if I can try one this summer.

Catch Surf’s specs & marketing spiel below:

SPECS: 4’10” x 19.25” x 3” (33 Liters)

FEATURES:

• Deep single concave bottom with high-performance rails.
• Harder bottom slick skin for even more performance.
• Textured deck skin with impact-resistant foam layer.
• Super-stiff dual-composite core with double (x2) maple-wood stringers.
• High-pressure thermal-bonded for watertightness and durability.
• V2 High-Performance Fin System with removable fins.
• Eco-friendly manufacturing with lower carbon footprint.
• Designed by Catch Surf® in California, USA.