Just wondered if any of you out there go for wax on their boards with a tail grip rather than a 3/4 deck grip and if so how are you getting on with it? I am thinking of doing the same on a shorter SUP....
Great topic. I prefer a GOOD wax job anytime over full deck grip. I had this on my 9'3", and it was awesome if you can be bothered to wax your board for every session. But because your standing all the time, you'll find you slide the wax around alot under your feet, and you'll need to re wax your board every 10 sessions or so to avoid ugly bulky gripless wax jobs. When you get a good deck grip with a good tail pad it's so much easier, resulting in more waver time and less waxing time.
So i guess I would say, if you've got the time and ability to maintain a GOOD wax job, then wax rocks. However I have a 3/4 deck grip on my board now, and love it!
I use booties and they work very well. My board has a matt pro finish.
For a future board I might consider going to a more grippy finish on the board. Maybe a cloth texture or a fine sugar coat. Don't want to be leaving chinks of flesh on the board either.
Go the sugar coat, you can tone it down with sandpaper till you get it exact, once a year re coat and your in business, wax on a hot day is crap on the roof of your car! Cheers Scott
For a surf SUP I really like wax. After the deck pad on my Naish 9'3" started coming up I took it off and went with wax. Although I was worried at first on how it would go without a deck pad I have found it to be stickier, have a better feel for the waves through the board, and more responsive under my feet. For a cruising board where you would be keeping the same stance for long distances I prefer a deck pad for comfort reasons.
