The deck pad on my Laird surrator is terrible (see pic)......sometimes I glue bits back down. Other times I despair and simply rip them off. Got a $70 pad off trade me to put on my PSH......lifting at corners. Got $70 pad to put on my Bula. Worked like magic.....but they stopped selling them.
Going to rip the pad off the Laird. Trying a Creatures of Leisure 6 piece pad (heavily discounted at Torpedo 7 at moment)

Auckland company Ocean Culture have Art in Surf deck pads reduced from $169 to $99.....but no reviews published

The best pad I tried is the FCS 3mm dimples. It is quite expensive, but:

- it grips while not being abrasive. I have tried grips with even more traction but you get skin rashes quick when climbing on the board .
- it is thin, you definitely feel the board better than with a 5mm pad
- it is waterproof, it does not soak water
- it is quite dense, so it offers a good protection for the board and your feet do not sink in it, for a more precise feeling
- it has been on the market for some years, so by shopping around on the web, you can find it at some discounted price
- the ones "pre-shaped" (not the rolls) have archs on the sides for a better grip of the toes, if you like this kind of things. But the rolls are cheaper.

www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=25925.0;attach=55267;image

If you are looking for a cheap quality pad in europe, have a look at the full length Gong pads. They are 5mm so a bit thicker and softer than the FCS , but they have also a good grip without being abrasive. 49 euros for a 200x60cm rectangle of quality pad is quite a bargain. They exist in black or white:
https://gongsupshop.com/epages/box1707.sf/en_GB/?ViewObjectPath=%2FShops%2Fbox1707%2FProducts%2FGON2DECKPADBLANCDIA

I like the sound of those full length Gong pads Colas.......maybe not available in NZ
Maybe NZ needs a Gong dealer. It probably does......not me though

Oh wow......they have wonderful colours......not just black

@gizzienz- the other thing you can do is just import one from eBay from someone in china. I did that with my last one and got a few surfboard deck pads for about $10 that I onsold for $20. 3m adhesive and all the works- was really good and think the full 7pc sup pad was about $40

oam would be my pick. they are the same that Infinity use...

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GizzieNZ said..
Oh wow......they have wonderful colours......not just black

And various "Cammo" patterns.
Having done several, I now understand black is often standard because your feet are filthy, and the filth comes off on the pad, and black doesn't show it.
All single colours do,
The Cammo ones probably show it too, but you can't see it

OEM top notch. Better than FCS, Creatures.
Hobie, Rawson, Angulo and other customs are naked hull to quote a famous shaper.
Tried many and the OEM is a better mousetrap.

+1 on OAM though I am not positive it is closed cell foam but doesn't matter much in my surfing it. I run the Blurr Pad on my 8'10 and love it--best pad I ever used! Here is the pic I posted on the Surrator thread:

that's really cool.......is kick pad pard of their product. Or an add on?

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GizzieNZ said..
that's really cool.......is kick pad pard of their product. Or an add on?

Kick pad is part of the product. 9 piece I believe. Has grip for days.... only complaint I have heard is that some folks think that the animal pattern is hard on their knees but I have no complaints though I don't spend much time on my knees.

Well my pain your gain.....can't recommend the creatures six piece deck pad. Is tiny.......comes a bit over halfway along the board. Some NZ sup shops selling this pad for about $240

And I remember some of those breeze threads where people did cool looking deck pad patterns

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GizzieNZ said..
And I remember some of those breeze threads where people did cool looking deck pad patterns

The mosiac thing is not something I like the look of, however, the grip is meant to be awesome.

AJSP...

I am thinking the OAM Blur pad will also be too small for the 9'10. My Surrator is 8'10. Perhaps some of their other pads are bigger or may have to look at the diamond deck pads that come in sheets and cut to size.

Me too thinking it too small. The 9'10 is the starboard whopper version of the surrator
Am hoping Hoppo is correct when he says the creatures is a good quality pad.
Got another six piece pad. Got a creatures extra wide kick pad. Will chuck them all together

And where should you put your kick pad? Most boards i have owned that had "pretend deck pads" I never actually touched with my foot

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benjl said..
@gizzienz- the other thing you can do is just import one from eBay from someone in china. I did that with my last one and got a few surfboard deck pads for about $10 that I onsold for $20. 3m adhesive and all the works- was really good and think the full 7pc sup pad was about $40

This is a good point of view.......but if it is a board that you are fond of.....spent hours getting rid of last deck pad.....you want a quality product

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GizzieNZ said..
And where should you put your kick pad? Most boards i have owned that had "pretend deck pads" I never actually touched with my foot

I lined it up with the back of the original pad. I am sure more experienced folks can chime in but I don't think getting back to the heel kick (which is more a foot stop) is key as much as getting back onto the arch bar which is something I am working on. That said on the Surrator I haven't often gotten that far back as the board is so reactive it just gets more twitchy that far back. On a friend's Starboard Pro that I tried this past weekend, however I got my foot all the way back. If I am remembering correctly, Sean Poynter once told he takes his back foot to the kickpad on his cutbacks but then brings it slightly forward on the bottom turns.

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805StandUp said..
I lined it up with the back of the original pad. I am sure more experienced folks can chime in but I don't think getting back to the heel kick (which is more a foot stop) is key as much as getting back onto the arch bar which is something I am working on.

It depends on the length of the board.

On a 7' board, getting the foot locked between the arch and the kick pad is mandatory for top turns. On a 9' foot board you do not need to get as far back, and may even remove the kick pad for reducing drag.

Am getting it together

The creatures deck pads do look good quality. But almost too small to be called "sup deck pads". This was two six piece creatures sup pads......with two pieces left over (needed a centre panel as pads two narrow otherwise)

But really.....if you getting a new sup.......should try and get one without a deck pad. Then you can put a pad of your choice on easily. Wouldn't have to scrape off old crap

Seriously: some of these pads are more than $200 ? For some foam?

Hey Gizzee,
There is an eva supplier in Tauranga that some from. I will post up a photo and contact details tomorrow.
Cheers Greg

Whoa, there is no way you are going to exploit the potential of this board with a tail pad so far forward, especially with a quad setup...

To the kiwis, see the attached photos.
Yes I got 1m x 2.4m length and have gripped 3 x softtop surfboards so far. I need to glass a deck repair and use on 8'4" mini mal, I'm so used to the feel that its better than wax for me.

Forgot to mention the cost of deck grip from surf shops is expensive.
Good luck

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515 said..
Forgot to mention the cost of deck grip from surf shops is expensive.
Good luck

why should it be so expensive? The 3m backing is not that much