I'm not a big fan of Tufskin. It gets really dirty really easily. Any contact from yuor hand or putting it down on the ground results in finger prints or dirty marks.
It's supposed to be softer and more durable than a polished finish but I'm not sure that is true. It's still a paint coating.
I was able to polish out all the paddle marks but I still got a few scratches and chips.
I would tend to go for the hard finish because it repels marks and stuff better. I've always had good luck with hard finished surfboards and kiteboards.
I'm not a big fan of deck pads for the same reason. You get all sorts of cuts and chops in them and I hear all the stories of pads peeling off (although that has not happened to me.)
My current board is a custom with a bare paint pro-finish (lightly sanded and unpolished) with no deck pad. Very robust and resistant to chipping. That is great with booties for grip. The only problem is that my bare hand is quite slippery on the deck so grabbing the board and getting going after being caught inside is a touch more difficult. I may add some kind of texture to the deck if I get excited about it. At the moment it is rarely a problem (just don't get caught by the white water
)
