Are you thinking of dropping your hard-earned cash on a new surfboard?
We’ve made a list of the top shapers and brands, so you know you’ve got the best fibreglass under your feet.
Pyzel
John Pyzel has been crafting high-performance shortboards on Hawaii’s north shore for over 25 years. He had humble beginnings in a backyard shaping room before becoming one of the world’s best shapers.
His meteoric rise is partly due to John John Florence’s success in competitive surfing and surf media. The two-time WSL world champion has been riding his boards since he was a tiny grom, and their relationship has led to continuous success in the surfing world.
Florence’s rail surfing at spots like Margaret River and Bells Beach left the surfing world dumbfounded and instantly put the spotlight on Pyzel’s boards.
His shapes were a massive hit worldwide, with the Ghost, Phantom, and Gremlin all achieving wide commercial success as surfers all flocked to the opportunity of surfing just a little like John.
Now, the Red and White Tiger look set to become some of the best surfboards of 2024.
Check out the Pyzel website here.
Channel Islands Surfboards (Al & Britt Merrick)
The king of surfboard design in California, Al Merrick and Channel Islands Surfboards has been a mainstay under the feet of pro surfers for decades.
It started in 1959 when Al and Terry Merrick started a shaping factory right by the beach in Santa Barbara.
But they didn’t see success on a global scale until Tom Curren began riding Al’s shapes in competition and went on to become world champion.
Later, the GOAT, Kelly Slater, jumped on the team, with most of his titles coming with Channel Islands boards under his feet.
And if that wasn’t enough, absolute charger, Dane Reynolds was on the team, leading the charge of progressive surfing at the time.
After spending his childhood roaming the factory, Britt Merrick, Al’s son, quickly took a shine to the trade and now sits firmly at the helm.
Head over to the Channel Islands Surfboards website to check out their massive range of shapes and see if there’s a board for you.
Lost Surfboards
Lost began its life in a classroom in San Clemente. Matt Biolos (Mayhem) started by scribbling the Lost logo in school books.
Other classmates joined, and ‘team lost’ was born. Matt began printing the logo on t-shirts before turning his sights on shaping and design.
He began with a job in spraying and finishing, helping other more established shapers deal with their backlogs.
After getting a chance to shape surfboards for some of San Clemente’s more rebellious surfers, Lost began to find its place as a rebellious brand.
Now Lost Surfboards is well known for pumping out some of the best shortboards around, with world champ Carissa Moore riding Lost sledges to victory several times.
So much so that Lost’s designs have become iconic, the Round Nose Fish and the Driver have cemented themselves as part of surfing history.
Head over to the Lost Surfboards website to marvel at Matt’s range of board designs.
SuperBrand
SuperBrand is a surfboard manufacturer run by surfers.
Dion Agius, Clay Marzo, and Ry Craike are some of the best free surfers in the world, and they’ve poured their expertise into these boards.
They test everything and hand-pick shapers worldwide to add to their ‘Shapers’ Collective’ range of boards.
They have all manner of surf craft in the collection, and any of their sticks would be a great addition to your quiver.
LSD
The well-known shaper, Luke Short, created LSD out of the Gold Coast of Australia. He was perfectly situated next to some of the world’s best point-breaks to hone his shaping skills.
Working alongside local shredders, Luke focused on high-performance surfboards that helped his riders get deeper in the pit and higher above the lip.
This drive for performance makes LSD’s designs a perfect fit for surfers trying to add flare and power to their surfing repertoire.
With a solid team of sponsored surfers, including Noa Deane, Soli Bailey, Matt Banting and Ellie Brooks, you can’t go far wrong with an LSD logo under your feet.
Head over to the LSD website to find out more about this rider-focused brand.
Fourth Surfboards
Fourth Surfboards hails from the chilly shore of the UK in Newquay, Cornwall. Part of a group of highly skilled surfboard shapers in the Newquay area, it’s leveraged networking and great marketing to position itself as one of the UK’s best surfboard companies.
They built a relationship with the forecaster Magicseaweed to help them stock their boards in their online store and sponsored up-and-coming local surfers like Angus Scotney, Luke Dillon and more.
Helmsman Luke Hart is responsible for the fantastic range of designs being produced at the Fourth factory, and his love for progressive surfing and surfboard tech has led Fourth from strength to strength.
Find out more about Fourth Surfboards and meet the team riders.
Erik Arakawa
Eric Arakawa is somewhat of a surfing/shaping legend. Starting out life in Hawaii, he was already learning to surf by age 10, and only four years later, he began to shape his first surfboard.
Today, Erik draws on over 40 years of surfing experience to create some of the North Shore’s best boards. They’re just as good at maxing Pipeline as they are on the rolling waves of Waikiki.
In 2003, Eric won Surfing Magazine’s Shaper of the Year, cementing him as one of surfing’s greats and highlighting his impact on our sport.
Head to the Eric Arakawa Surfboards site to learn more about this north shore legend and his wide selection of finely crafted blades.
Maurice Cole Surfboards
Maurice Cole Surfboards stands out as one of the world’s top brands for its quality boards and unique history.
Hailing from SA, the man behind the brand brings a personal touch to board design, emphasizing a deep connection with the surfer’s individual style and needs.
His approach is guided by the principle that surfing is a diverse and personal journey, where every surfer’s path, ability, and choice of waves are respected and catered to.
Webber Surfboards
Spearheaded by Greg Webber, these sticks blend traditional, step-by-step refinement and bold, radical experimentation in surfboard shaping.
This unique approach has positioned Webber as a notable figure in the evolution of board design, particularly for his ability to integrate contrasting design philosophies.
The shaping bay boasts diverse models like The Dart, The Syrena, and The Diamond Electra, each crafted to cater to different waves and surfing styles.
Cast your eyes on some of his latest creations here.
Haydenshapes
Unless you lived under a rock, it was hard to miss the Hypro Krypto by HS. The weird-shaped board went from being a novelty to a full-blown success.
Craig Anderson showed the world what the board can do in everything from knee-high slop to pumping Desert Point.
The black rails and epoxy construction stood out, and if you could deal with the price tag, it was an excellent choice for a one-board quiver.
Check out Haydenshapes full board range here
Sharp Eye Surfboards
Sharp Eye Surfboards is all about high performance and quality.
Founded in 1992 by a master-class shaper and laminator, Marcio Zouvi, from Rio De Janeiro, the company prides itself on its ‘Zero Compromise’ approach to everything.
And with Filipe Toledo taking out the world title for the last two years in a row, it seems to be working.
Pukas Surfboards
Pukas hails out of the Basque Country. Its three founders Iñigo Letamendia, Marian Azpiroz and Miguel Azpiroz are all key figures in Basque surfing culture.
The family-run business has gone from strength to strength. From organising local parties and surf competitions in the shape of the Pukas Pro events to opening their own factory in 1988.
With this came global fame, and shapers worldwide have come to make their mark at the legendary shaping bay in the Basque Country.
Pukas is lucky enough to have an all-star lineup of shapers on the team with icons like Grant ‘Twig’ Baker, Matt Biolis, Alex Lorentz, Son of Cobra and Chris Christenson all adding to the growing library of surfboard designs.
Cruise over to the Pukas Surf website to find out more about the shapers and the history of one of Europe’s oldest surfboard makers.
Firewire Surfboards
Hailing from Western Australia, Firewire is a reasonably new addition to the surfboard market. It blazed onto the scene in 2003 by introducing a 100% EPS foam core.
Founder Nev Hyman wanted to lower the environmental impact of surfboard production, and his new technology looked to solve an often undiscussed issue in the surfing industry.
Eps/epoxy surfboard manufacturing proved to produce up to 50 times fewer VOCs (Volatile organic compounds) when compared to the production of traditional PU surfboards.
This, alongside the sturdier construction, led to longer boards and less environmental damage attached to their manufacture.
Firewire surfboards were a hit, and apart from some early issues with delamination, the brand grew as more surfers flocked to the new construction.
Find out more about Firewire Surfboards
DHD
DHD, or Darren Handley Designs, is one of Australia’s most popular surfboard shapers.
With surfers like Mick Fanning, Ethan Ewing, and Steph Gilmore on the team, there’s no doubt his boards are something special.
Growing up on the Gold Coast, Darren has been immersed in surfing culture for over 50 years, and he’s one of the world’s most respected surfboard shapers.
Darren has spent his life perfecting his designs. Now, he pumps out a whole catalogue of high-performance focused sticks, with the DNA range being a massive hit with pro and amateur surfers.
Check out all the DHD boards here.
T.Patterson Surfboards
Coming out of San Clemente, Califonia, Timmy Patterson Surfboards represents the raw surf culture of the 80s with a modern, high-performance twist.
Timmy is a self-confessed garage shaper, working tirelessly seven days a week.
His humble beginnings as a ding repair guy quickly accelerated into shaping boards for some of the most exciting surfers at the time, like Dino Andino and Christian Fletcher.
Now, Timmy’s hard work has paid off in the shape of a thriving shaping bay with a whole stock of high-quality boards and custom shapes popping out of the factory daily.
Visit Timmy Patterson Surfboards
Simon Anderson Surfboards
The man, the myth, the legend.
Simon Anderson is responsible for transforming surfing. His addition of a third fin to create a thruster meant more drive and manoeuvrability in larger waves.
Since then, pro surfers have adopted the thruster as their weapon, helping them throw themselves into steeper drops and more aggressive manoeuvres.
Now, Simon is still shaping boards out of his Sydney-based factory. Iconic shapes like the Mollusc and the Face Dancer offer a perfect balance of wave-catching ability and seamless rail surfing.
Head over to the website here.
JS Industries
JS Industries is the proud creation of Jason Stevenson.
His easily recognisable tractor symbol has sat under the feet of many a pro surfer with a cool four world titles tucked under JS’s belt.
Some key members of the JS surf team include Dusty Payne, Julian Wilson, Ryan Callinan and style master Joel Parkinson.
Jason’s Monsta range is multi-award-winning, with the original design winning surfboard of the year in 2013 before the Monsta Box went back-to-back in 2018 and 19.
Find out more about the boards and the riders here.
Slater Designs
If 11 world titles aren’t enough to convince you this guy knows about surfboards, we don’t know what will!
Kelly is a force in the surfing industry, and with an artificial wave pool already under his belt, a surfboard brand was almost a given.
Kelly rode his boards to several wins, and Aussie workhouse Stu Kennedy showed exactly what Slater’s boards could do at the Gold Coast, performing endless high-speed rotations as he sped down the line at Snapper.
Check out the whole range of Slater Designs, including the iconic Sci-Fi model.
Lib Tech
Lib Tech surfboards have gone to the extreme to make their boards as durable as possible.
I’m not going to pretend to understand how ISO Construction, Nitrogen Cell Foam, Bio-Matrix resin or Woven Basalt Fibre works, but if you’re a chuck it in the boot with no board bag type, this could be perfect.
And they’ve got some great Lost Colab boards with heaps of volume, perfect for beginners and intermediate surfers.