Are cheap surfboards a waste of money? What a $596 board taught me
Updated 2026-09-19
A cheap surfboard is not automatically a waste of money. As at August 2024, I paid 596 AUD (about 395 USD) for a Chinese-made twin fin from Boardcave, expecting a compromise, and got a board with a genuinely modern bottom contour that has held up over half a dozen sessions. Price alone does not tell you the whole story. Where the board is made, and what its bottom contour actually looks like under a straight edge, tells you more.
What I check before buying any board
Before I buy anything, I ask two questions: which board in my current rack will this replace, and roughly what could I sell it for later if it does not work out. I ask those questions whether the board costs 5,000 dollars or 500. I also email the manufacturer directly with questions before paying, which most cheaper overseas sellers will answer just as readily as a local shaper.
Where my boards actually come from
Looking through my own quiver, most of my boards are made in Australia. I have two made in the USA, one from Hawaii and one from the mainland. I have one made in Thailand from a well-known Australian brand, which is not a board I am excited about. And now I have this one, made in China. A lot of production surfboards come out of large specialist factories in China and Thailand, often built mostly by machine and finished by hand.
The construction, checked properly
Under close inspection, this board is an epoxy construction with a volan patch reinforcing the area near the tail fins and extra strength where your back foot sits. I do not use a tail pad, and after half a dozen sessions it has not dented any more than boards made locally. Sitting a locally made board costing three times as much next to it, both show the same small cosmetic imperfections in the cutlap and stringer. Cosmetically, there is no real difference between the two.
What different price points actually buy you
From my own price checking: a known, locally made Australian brand runs about 1,500 AUD new (roughly 1,000 USD), or about 1,000 AUD (700 to 750 USD) secondhand. A hand-shaped local board with some customization comes in under 1,000 AUD (about 700 USD). This overseas-made board was 590 AUD (399 USD). All of the higher-priced options were PU; this one is EPS.
The bottom contour is where cheap boards used to fail
The first board I ever owned, an 8'6" fun board, had a bottom contour that did not lend itself to nose riding or to much else. It was a generic, mass-produced pop-out shape with no thought behind it. Running a straight edge along this new board tells a different story: it carries vee the whole way through, moving into a double concave starting about halfway along, and back out to vee at the fins. That is a considered, modern bottom shape, and it reminded me strongly of a JS Black Baron I once owned, which had an almost identical contour and was also EPS.
Fins I tried in this board
This is a keel-fin fish, so I worked through several options. JS keels from Maui Fin Co were light but a little too drivey and not maneuverable enough for me. Captain Fin Co Mikey February keels, on the same template as the CF keel fin, were an improvement, sitting halfway between a keel and an upright with a heavy fiberglass feel. The Soar G10 MMBT fins, whippier with a narrower tip but a good base, were the ones I kept coming back to. If I tried another set, it would be the Honeycomb Captain Fin Chris Christenson keels, set a little further forward for more pivot and plenty of drive. I am close to 100 kilograms, and every one of these fins still worked on this board.
Where this leaves the verdict
I am happy with this purchase. It is fair value for a fair price, and it has stood up to plenty of use across conditions from ankle high to shoulder high without any concern. I would put it in the car and not worry about damage or theft the way I might with a more expensive board. The manufacturer has done a solid job, and it gives surfers an option beyond the secondhand market for a similar outlay.
Questions people ask
Are cheap, overseas-made surfboards actually worth buying?
Based on this one, yes, provided the bottom contour has genuine shape to it. Check that with a straight edge or ask the seller directly, rather than judging on price or country of origin alone.
Does a cheap board cost more to fix or replace sooner?
Not in my experience so far. After half a dozen sessions with no tail pad, this board shows no more wear than boards I paid three times as much for.
What should I ask before buying any board, cheap or expensive?
Ask which board in your own quiver it will replace, and what you think you could resell it for later. Email the manufacturer with any questions before you pay.
Do the stock fins matter on a budget board?
Yes, as much as they do on any board. On this one, the Soar G10 MMBT fins outperformed the stock-style keel and upright options I tried.
Is EPS or PU better value at a low price point?
This board is EPS and the pricier local options I compared it with were PU. Construction quality mattered more than the material itself here; see EPS or PU surfboard for the wider comparison.
For the wider decision on whether to go custom or off the shelf, see custom or stock surfboard, and for a broader look at budget options, cheap surfboards. This board sits alongside the rest of my current lineup on my current quiver. For more on how fin choice changes a board like this one, see how to choose fins for your twin fin surfboard and which type of twin fin suits you.