The beauty of surf travel is that there’s always somewhere to go. No matter what time of year, world-class waves are breaking somewhere. In the summer, surfers in North America typically head south across the border into Mexico and further south to Central and South America, where warm water and summer south swells are abundant. In the fall, cold water hubs like the Pacific Northwest and Western Europe light up with early Northern Hemisphere swells while summer air and water temperatures linger. During the winter, the northern Pacific comes to life, and many West Coast residents are content to surf their home break, while others chase swells further north or head to The South Pacific to feel the full power of Open Ocean swells. Regardless of where your surf travels take you, you’ll need a dependable quiver that can handle any wave you come across. Continue reading below to find out What to Pack to Score on Your Next Surf Trip: Breaking Down the Ultimate Surf Travel Quiver.
Surf Travel Quiver Essentials: A Performance Shortboard
A performance shortboard should be the central focal point of every surf travel quiver. Whether you’re a touring pro or a weekend warrior, you’ll want at least one performance board that chest-high to well overhead surf. The ideal performance shortboard is highly responsive and maneuvers with ease. A finely tuned board has plenty of rocker and refined rails that allow you to perform critical moves in the pocket. Your performance shortboard is your good wave surfboard, and it’s what you want to be riding for the majority of the trip.
A Fish/ Groveler
While every surfer hopes to score during their travels, that’s sadly not always the case. More often than we care to admit, our trips underdeliver in terms of swell. Instead of sitting on the beach and tossing back beers while wishing you were surfing, pack a small wave board like a fish or groveler and make the best of what the ocean provides. The wide outline and flat rocker of the fish make it an ideal small wave board. Its shorter length makes traveling with a fish as easy as traveling with a shortboard. Surf trips are for surfing, even when the waves are small. A fish is a must-have surf travel quiver essential.
A Step Up
Quick-strike trips allow you to pinpoint swell activity at locations within striking distance. Occasionally, the stars align on a farflung surf trip, and maxing swell greets you at your destination. For better or worse, you may get exactly what you’ve dreamed of . When you find yourselves in waves of consequence , your shortboard is a death sentence. Instead, opt for a step up. Heavy surf requires more length, which is why a step-up should be the third and final piece of your trusted surf travel quiver. A step-up is similarly finely tuned like a performance shortboard, but it’s typically ridden a few inches up to a few feet longer than your standard shortboard. The extra length and volume give you the necessary paddle power to stroke into heavy surf, heavy winds and to handle the speed and power of maxing surf and the stuff that surf fantasies are made of.
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