This article ran in the September 1964 issue of Surf Guide magazine. It has been edited and shortened. To get a better look at the guide pages, below, drag each image from EOS to your desktop.

The Buyers’ Guide was designed as a service both to the surfboard industry and to the customer who at some time will buy its products. As for the guide itself, it is mostly self-explanatory; those few elements needing further clarification are explained below. Inasmuch as we are dealing with an industry that is for the most part a “custom” industry, there were some problems in categorizing, objectifying and standardizing information. Each manufacturer makes a surfboard that differs at least slightly in nearly every respect from every one of his competitor s products. And at times it was difficult to generalize—to extract these differences from the realm of opinion. But we felt that since there were so many surfboards available, a guide listing and categorizing the basic characteristics of each board—so that they might be compared—would put the customer that much closer to making an intelligent choice when it came time for him to buy.

In effect, the guide is a comparison—but not an absolute one. It would be impossible to list, analyze and compare every characteristic of every surfboard. And we also realize that it will even be impossible for the average surfer to completely understand and apply all the information we have presented. But this is an important reason that our magazine is called “Surf Guide”: our goal is to entertain and to educate—to guide the surfer.

Many felt a guide such as this was impossible; we could not have succeeded without the industry’s excellent cooperation. In the future, we will do much more. Not only do we plan to catalog the remainder of the surfing industry—accessories, car racks, trunks, etc.—but we will compile equipment performance evaluations. We will isolate the many elements that are presented in this guide and analyze them individually: Just how good are the various foams, resins, glass cloths, and fins? What really does make a better surfboard? What is a better surfboard? It is our goal to help you determine this for yourself!

EXPLANATORY NOTES FOR CATEGORIES OF THE BUYER'S GUIDE


An average of the experience of the particular manufacturer’s shapers; a generalization, the purpose of which is to assure the buyer that the employees who have shaped his board are experienced and skilled. Thus a shaper of one year’s experience might possibly be quite talented.


Manufacturers listed in this guide are for the most part custom manufacturers, and as such they are willing to make any shape variation the customer desires. Still, some specify a “standard” shape (or shapes) which they recommend. Others recommend no one shape; they leave it up to the customer’s discretion. The “standard” shapes have been divided into four distinct categories:

conventional, hotdog, or beachbreak board.

speed board, pointbreak, or reef break board; popularly confused with semi-gun; also referred to as “baby gun”.

semi-gun (popularly confused with gun board) can be used for extremely large California surf, but more often used in medium and large Hawaiian surf.

gun, used exclusively for large and very large Hawaiian surf.


The weights of fiberglass listed below are approximate. 10-oz. cloth, for example, may range from 9.7 oz. to 10.9 oz. The distinctions between the various finishes and weaves of glass cloth are too technical to be dealt with in this guide.


Although there are several methods of constructing glass fins, no distinction has been made in this guide. Manufacturers offering choices as to types of wood fins available have been indicated under “special features."


Board sizes represented in this category are taken as average lengths in use by most surfers.

SURF GUIDE'S "FIRST ANNUAL BUYER'S GUIDE" (1964)

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