2024 / 2025 Surfboard Buyers Guide

Right now there’s a storm brewing off the coast of Japan. The powerful low-pressure system kicks up cool winds and waves to the southwest. The Kōlea birds took their cue and left yesterday, racing the energy from the storm, rippling towards the Hawaiian islands. We're telling you this because if you don’t have your winter quiver in order, you can stop by the T&C factory and get dialed in before the swell or the Kōlea birds arrive. 

Although the first solid west-northwest swell of the season has already made its way to the North Shore this past week, blessing us with double overhead surf in late September, it’s definitely not too late to get your new favorite board or your entire winter quiver. Whether you’re looking to throw the tail around at Ehukai, draw out your bottom turn at Sunset, or hang ten at Chuns, we all know that having the right board under your feet is what it takes to reach your full potential in the water. That’s why we’ve hand-selected a few boards from each of our resident shapers, Tommy Tanaka, Makani McDonald, and legendary craftsman Glenn Pang. 

The “Mpro 2” by Glenn Pang is your classic everyday shortboard. This thruster will go hard in anything from waist-high to a couple of feet overhead, and the better the wave gets, the better the board will feel. If you’re looking for a high-performance shortboard, this is Glenn Pang's new daily driver with subtle but engaging concaves and a rocker that accents vertical surfing while carrying speed through the slower sections. Order the Mpro 2 with your normal performance dimensions to get the most out of this board. 

Another new one in the lineup for Pang, The “Nomad,” is a round-tail twin-fin with a deep concave. This board is going to feel fast, fluid, and with stability that rivals that of a thruster. The control you get off of the fin placement allows you to surf more critically in the pocket than a traditional twin and has the adaptability of changing the fins out to get a looser feeling or more hold in heavier waves, depending on what you need. For this reason, we recommend adding a trailer fin. The Nomad by Pang is best in dimensions close to your shortboard or a little shorter and wider, but you can make it a bit longer if you would like a step-up version. 

The “MDL” is a bestseller, and Pang‘s spin is on the classic mid-length. Coming from the same family as the nomad with deeper concaves, the board has extra lift and speed without having to work so hard. This allows for more control through your maneuvers and maintains flow throughout the entire wave. It also allows the board to be much more responsive than the standard mid-length, which typically feels slower when going into a turn. The MDL offers a very lively feeling and can handle a wide range of wave sizes from waist-high up to double overhead at some spots, depending on your comfort level. 

Not every day is the best day of the year, and sometimes you need to just get wet even though the waves aren’t firing. The “Afterburner” is Makani’s newest performance groveler shortboard. This thruster features a wider outline and flatter rocker that gives the board more speed down the line, allowing you to drive through your turns and link more maneuvers and sections together. Though this board was designed for small surf, it can easily handle up to a foot overhead for most surfers. This is the perfect board for somebody who is surfing less hollow waves and prioritizes speed and flow in their everyday shortboard.

The “Twinnister” by Makani is a winged swallow, twin fin. This board features a flatter deck that helps carry more volume, allowing you to order it in your normal shortboard dimensions or a little shorter and wider. This twin is going to be the board in our lineup that most feels like a shortboard. If you ride it as a straight twin, it will have somewhat of a looser feeling. If you do put a trailer fin in, the board's drive and control increases, allowing you to do turns very similar to that of a thruster. The Twinnister will also be one of the better feeling backside twins, which is typically something twin fins do not excel in.

The “Missing Link” is the perfect board that blends the gap between your shortboard and your mid-length. Featuring a wider nose and lower rocker, the board is easy to paddle and gets you into waves early. Though normally ordered as a twin fin, as we go into winter, if you need something that provides a little bit more control, the option for a five fin (tri or quad) really makes the board more versatile and can handle a large range of waves. This board will feel best if ordered anywhere from one to two inches longer than your shortboard all the way up to mid-length sizes, depending on the feeling you want. It’s going to feel best in the chest-high to double overhead range. 

The ”Tricon” is Tommy Tanaka‘s highest-performance longboard in his deep lineup of great boards. Featuring an increased nose-to-tail, rocker, and extra V coming off of the tail, this board rolls over easily, is responsive when tail surfing, and can handle large and powerful waves at places like Ala Moana bowls, Haleiwa, and even Pipeline, depending on your skill level. When the waves are pumping, the Tricon will handle the highest peak of performance you can imagine on a longboard. 

The “Glide” is what you end up with when you mix fun with performance. Another bestseller by Tanaka, this longboard features a round nose, lower nose rocker, a little bit of extra tail rocker, and a round pin. Combine that with a five-fin option, and the glide has now taken the paddle ability of a longboard and given you the performance you want to turn tight in the pocket. Order this board a couple of inches shorter than a shortboard all the way up to step-up sizes. The Glide is ideal in waist-high to a couple of feet overhead surf. 

The boys down at the T&C Factory have been working hard to get you set up for winter. So much so, that you’ll likely find most of these boards in stock and in your size. Custom orders are always available, as well as fins, leashes, wax, racks, and whatever else you need to get in the lineup. Stop by T&C Surfboard Factory in Wahiawa Monday - Friday, 10 am - 5 pm, or call 808-621-5000!