Soft-Top Surfing Goes Hard (Video)

Originally posted on SURFER | By Dashel Pierson | Last updated Mar 24, 2025 5:00 PM ET

A couple weeks back, while perusing the booths at San Elijo Campgrounds in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, during the annual Camp Shred surf expo, I came across the BlakBear Surf Club tent. I had heard of the brand, seen their logo – a set of teeth, heavy on the canines – mostly on traction pads.

But at Camp Shred, they were debuting something else: a line of soft-top surfboards.

In case you missed it, soft-tops have come a long way since the mass-market dominance of Costco Wavestorms. These boards were different. It wasn’t just a hunk of boogieboard foam, with some plastic fins stuck in ‘em. Not only did they look good, but they looked like they’d go well in the water. Turns out, my eyes didn’t deceive me – just have a look at the latest BlakBear Surf Club edit below:

Billy Kemper packing massive mainland Mexico pits on a 7’2”; Balaram Stack gliding parallel-stance on the North Shore; Eimeo Czermak charging overhead Pipe on something under six-feet.

These boards have range.

They even caught the eye of Kelly Slater, who had to stop by and give ‘em an extra-close look during another surf expo. “It has a pretty good rail on it,” Slater admired.

BlakBear’s soft-tops feature an epoxy and fiberglass core, which helps with that high-performance aspect. Then, they’re wrapped in EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate) foam, the same stuff you see in hot tub insulation, gym mats, etc. The lineup comes in a range of shapes, sizes, and designs – from a 4’10” beachbreak womper, to a 6’8” step-up, to a 9’ glider, all the up to a 10’ beginner board.

But more than anything, as this edit shows, these boards are built for a good time – still sticking to the age-old soft-top ethos. “Guaranteed to provide some fun,” the edit says. Amen.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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