Saw these in the shop at only 500 bucks and they look sick. Was suprised to find out they are JS designs that are made in china. The gliding fish looks awesome and might just be sneaking onto my board rack.

If its made in China it may not be in your rack for long.

Why it's not gsi and I doubt JS would allow crap to be linked to his name

Yeah you could be right. I just like the local product. But hey whats local these days.

Agree I usually go local too for my real boards..or at least Australian ....just ordered a rusty custom by aido...but as a super cheap summer groveller I reckon the liquid lines fish looked ok

Yeah I think its great that there are some options around and a lot of them are cheap enough to grabb an experimental board. They come in handie for the kids to. Good luck with the board.

Select to expand quote

beastsurf said..

If its made in China it may not be in your rack for long.

If you buy big named board brands, then you have bought a product that has had parts of its manufacturing process down offshore.
weather its CNC shaping, glassing, graphics or inlays.

Oh and china is out, its Indo the Philippines and other countries with **** minimum wages.

I've owned offshore made boards, I've owned local.
Unforutnately i can't always buy local, so the offshore options has meant i get on the water more.

If your in the water more then your a winner.

I bought a Hot buttered H-bomb that i didn't realise the China made sticker. Mostly because i got thrown off by the tested in Narrembeen sticker Put my fingers through the glass duck diving, pulled the fin plugs out once and it was slow, and terrible under paddle. Sold it after 6 months

hahah really my mate has just bought one and reckons they are made in Aus. He would never have bought it if he knew it was a pop out.

Select to expand quote

jbshack said...
I bought a Hot buttered H-bomb that i didn't realise the China made sticker. Mostly because i got thrown off by the tested in Narrembeen sticker Put my fingers through the glass duck diving, pulled the fin plugs out once and it was slow, and terrible under paddle. Sold it after 6 months

Well....do you realize yr FireWire is made in Thailand ??

Better still look for the made in WA logo on the back of boards Can guarantee they are all aussie

Select to expand quote

Ctngoodvibes said..

jbshack said...
I bought a Hot buttered H-bomb that i didn't realise the China made sticker. Mostly because i got thrown off by the tested in Narrembeen sticker Put my fingers through the glass duck diving, pulled the fin plugs out once and it was slow, and terrible under paddle. Sold it after 6 months

Well....do you realize yr FireWire is made in Thailand ??

and other big names do their shaping offshore...

Select to expand quote

Ctngoodvibes said..

jbshack said...
I bought a Hot buttered H-bomb that i didn't realise the China made sticker. Mostly because i got thrown off by the tested in Narrembeen sticker Put my fingers through the glass duck diving, pulled the fin plugs out once and it was slow, and terrible under paddle. Sold it after 6 months

Well....do you realize yr FireWire is made in Thailand ??

Select to expand quote

Ctngoodvibes said..

jbshack said...
I bought a Hot buttered H-bomb that i didn't realise the China made sticker. Mostly because i got thrown off by the tested in Narrembeen sticker Put my fingers through the glass duck diving, pulled the fin plugs out once and it was slow, and terrible under paddle. Sold it after 6 months

Well....do you realize yr FireWire is made in Thailand ??

and other big names are shaped OS.

Select to expand quote

CraigWalsh said...
hahah really my mate has just bought one and reckons they are made in Aus. He would never have bought it if he knew it was a pop out.

The one I saw has made in china written on it

Select to expand quote

Ctngoodvibes said..

jbshack said...
I bought a Hot buttered H-bomb that i didn't realise the China made sticker. Mostly because i got thrown off by the tested in Narrembeen sticker Put my fingers through the glass duck diving, pulled the fin plugs out once and it was slow, and terrible under paddle. Sold it after 6 months

Well....do you realize yr FireWire is made in Thailand ??

Yeah i now. But it isn't marketed as Aussie made..Thats how i felt about the other when i bought it Its also not sold at a bottom end price point, like many cheap offshore boards are.. Thats were my post was from. The H-bomb was cheap, in more than just $$$$ is what i was pointing out

Very happy with my Bourtons though

Select to expand quote

Ctngoodvibes said..

Saw these in the shop at only 500 bucks and they look sick. Was suprised to find out they are JS designs that are made in china. The gliding fish looks awesome and might just be sneaking onto my board rack.

Just a question, why is this getting red thumbs Its a valid point isn't it..

People hate the idea of boards made in a non surfing low cost country I think JB. But IMO, if it means I can buy an extra board, especially one that looks pretty sick then it's a good thing. Js obviously agrees as he has both sides of his company. That said, my good wave boards will always be Australian.

My local shaper can produce a short board for me for approx $750. He has been in the same location for 40 years. I have a friend in Newcastle who gets his boards from Peter Mccabe. Don't know the price. My point is what? I like to talk to my shaper about my board. I suppose its all about initial cost, but if my board falls apart (which I know it wont), I have somewhere to go to sort it out. Whats the resale on these OS produced boards? I think we will get smarter as time goes by in regards to what we are purchasing. If you bought a 2nd hand board what would you choose. I think if you can afford it, buy 100% Australian made. My point is I don't like big business selling me whatever makes them a profit. Although most boards now are machine cut, many of the old shapers are still refining them. I understand the attraction of the cheaper initial price. Last point I want to make is what are the working conditions in these OS factories? Is there boards being produced in places like Bangladesh? So we get a board $200 cheaper at whose expense?

If it means people can afford a new board and get stoked.. good.. get one! have fun!

I'm in a lucky enough position to be able to afford locally produced boards and enjoy the experience and process that's involved when dealing with a local shaper. I also like the connection I have with a board when I have had input into it, I know where/when/how it was shaped and by who. it just feels good and gives the board a really good feeling. For me, that is worth the extra money.

Having said that.. heaps of my friends ride pop outs and big name brand boards and have the same stoke with their boards.. so whatever works for you!

Buy Aussie made boards only. If you cant afford one, save up for a bit longer,or buy a second hand one.
Lets keep the jobs and skills in Australia

I agree, buy australian made if it is being "hand shaped" then its worth what you pay for it. But unfortunately there are very few people that "hand shape" anymore.
The sad thing is that anyone of us can now become a "shaper".
Its so easy, you can download a shaping program online, measure a few tried and tested boards, play with the downloaded program, get a blank cut, take 20 minutes to finish. Pay for it to be glassed. Hey your a "shaper".

The art of shaping a board has died, so no wonder imported boards are taking over. Im certainly not paying $700+ dollars for a board to be spat out of a machine just because it has a logo and a shapers name saying "Designed by" BUT i would pay $700+ for a board to be hand shaped.

So when your talking about asian pop outs, you can also say Australian pop outs. whats the difference?

the difference is in the glassing isn't it? My boards are aussie shaped and glassed, bought a HB pop out for the grom, I was fixing the nose within three surfs! I knew that the glass job on it was not going to be the same as my boards as it was 300 bucks cheaper but it really is a bad job, never again will I buy these OS boards.

Select to expand quote

McDougal said..

I agree, buy australian made if it is being "hand shaped" then its worth what you pay for it. But unfortunately there are very few people that "hand shape" anymore.
The sad thing is that anyone of us can now become a "shaper".
Its so easy, you can download a shaping program online, measure a few tried and tested boards, play with the downloaded program, get a blank cut, take 20 minutes to finish. Pay for it to be glassed. Hey your a "shaper".

The art of shaping a board has died, so no wonder imported boards are taking over. Im certainly not paying $700+ dollars for a board to be spat out of a machine just because it has a logo and a shapers name saying "Designed by" BUT i would pay $700+ for a board to be hand shaped.

So when your talking about asian pop outs, you can also say Australian pop outs. whats the difference?

I still can see a difference. If a Shaper has gone out and tried and tested a design, got one that works well and if he then uses a machine i see no issue with that. I guess in that case your more a designer but still it is his design. Not someone else's and just copied

If a board maker can design me a board, build it the way i want and with the quality i want who am i to complain how he makes it. By hand or machine As long as i get what i was offered and paid for.

Thats the deal with cheap pop outs..My point is that they are cheap and IMHO not cheap enough for the value..

i agree to a certain extent, but whats original anymore? and i hate the word pop out, as it doesn't matter if your getting a board from Asia or a board from Aus, if they are machine shaped they are shaped the same way. So its safe to say to 90% of people are riding a pop out!!

From your photo's it looks like your riding a bourton and a firewire! do you really think Murray had any input to shape your board? and dont get me started on firewire.

If you can get an imported board for $400 (a fish or fun board) i think your doing alright.

My boards are fully hand-shaped. But I pay handsomely for them.

I have seen plenty of boards go through a shaping machine and give them to a know it all internet geniusfark them up. You still have to know how sand the concaves the rail etc. That takes experience and skill. Then the glassing another easy job for the all opinionated know it all's. Then I have seen good boards get to the final sanding and screw them up. What gives me the sh1ts are the big boys who charge a 1000 only to have some ghost shaper doing it. Now that sucks.

Yes muzza still sands the boards himself after they are machine cit and yes he does a lot of r&d for his shapes. I have heard his boards will soon be all manufactured os soon if he has not already done so. Also I will use SDR. As an eg, he has a model that goes through a machine yet he can have 2 different surfers wanting that model. One bloke might be want softer rails the other might want something d else. This can only be done by hand sanding and refining the board to the customers needs and wants. So not everything that comes out of a machine is a pop out. Fmd

cheap blanks and subpar glassing come to mind when I think of OS made pop outs

Select to expand quote

Sham1984 said..

cheap blanks and subpar glassing come to mind when I think of OS made pop outs

you might be surprised which Aussie blank manufactures ship container after container to Asia. but yes you can still get cheap subpar blanks. it all comes down to materials used. same as anything you buy.

I lifted this quote from this discussion paper on this very topic

ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=2186&context=scipapers


"For another experienced shaper, cheap imports threatened the viability of local workshops:

Do you want a slave‐laboured dude getting US$3 a week making your surfboards, or do you want a guy who knows how to stand‐up in a barrel? And, you know, do you want a piece of art made with human love and heart and soul, or one churned out on a computer? This is one of the last industries that you can buy custom. But if I don?t get enough business to stay in business, because of China, popping out boards for $280, that hurts everybody...all the way down the line...that?s my official farking position."

Nb I haven't read thru it all yet it's quite long



I dunno who you guys get customs off, but my last pu custom was 580 with fins and extra strong glass job, I think the key to keeping board prices down is low overheads

Select to expand quote

surferstu said..

I lifted this quote from this discussion paper on this very topic

ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=2186&context=scipapers


"For another experienced shaper, cheap imports threatened the viability of local workshops:

Do you want a slave‐laboured dude getting US$3 a week making your surfboards, or do you want a guy who knows how to stand‐up in a barrel? And, you know, do you want a piece of art made with human love and heart and soul, or one churned out on a computer? This is one of the last industries that you can buy custom. But if I don?t get enough business to stay in business, because of China, popping out boards for $280, that hurts everybody...all the way down the line...that?s my official farking position."

Nb I haven't read thru it all yet it's quite long

Thats half the problem, they are not pieces of art anymore and they are not (apart from the select few) being made with Heart and Soul in Australia. unfortunately the surfboard industry is a business, and a business needs to make money.
Heart and Soul left the surfing world along time ago, and it all started with the big 3 companies.