traction pads

[DreamSurf]

let me enter this longboard thing since we have one now. is a tractionpad still necessary? like the fish or shortboard? i see them in funboards. but when i look some videos there are no taction pads at all.

[jaffa1949]

Below this post on the page are a number of other threads about traction pads. Have read. Entirely your choice.
Even one on how to remove them.

[DreamSurf]

ok thanks. so it is optional.

[waikikikichan]

so it is optional.

Don't worry, the traction police aren't going to give you a ticket if you don't have one. Traction pads aren't even "mandatory" on short boards. One of the best carving, hardest hitting off the lip surfer was Occy. He hates traction pads. He would borrow boards and give them back with them ripped off.
As for me, I have traction pads on all my board Long, Fun, Fish, Sponge, vintage ( not on my Alaia ).

[oldmansurfer]

There are many discussions on traction pads already existing in this forum. Did you know there is a search function at the top right side of the page? You will find that many or most of your questions have been asked before and you might even find the exact information you seek. I don't use traction pads but they can be useful for added traction as well to gauge your back foot position. The pad is usually applied right where your back foot goes but on bigger boards they may not be where your back foot goes all the time however say like a longboard typically you might popup forward of the traction pad however if you want to crank some turns you will move your back foot on it or at very least touching or close to it. As you are learning to surf, if you find your back foot slipping off you can always apply one at that point (I never have had that problem)

[DreamSurf]

so it is optional.

Don't worry, the traction police aren't going to give you a ticket if you don't have one. Traction pads aren't even "mandatory" on short boards. One of the best carving, hardest hitting off the lip surfer was Occy. He hates traction pads. He would borrow boards and give them back with them ripped off.
As for me, I have traction pads on all my board Long, Fun, Fish, Sponge, vintage ( not on my Alaia ).

was watching occy.

[barber87]

This might come out the wrong way but here goes.

I dont like it when people are constantly directed to the search button because something has been discussed before, here's why.

1) Theres only so many things to talk about, so eventually all conversation on the website will die unless we allow repeated conversations.

2) People will say they can't be bothered/expected to explaim something that already has been. Then why are you spending your time writing a reply just to point somebody in the direction of the search button?! Just don't reply, you are under no obligation. Maybe the poster just wants to discuss it with a human rather than scroll through old posts.

3) Conversation is the whole point of a 'surf chat' section. This is not a library.

Sorry, rant over

[DreamSurf]

This might come out the wrong way but here goes.

I dont like it when people are constantly directed to the search button because something has been discussed before, here's why.

1) Theres only so many things to talk about, so eventually all conversation on the website will die unless we allow repeated conversations.

2) People will say they can't be bothered/expected to explaim something that already has been. Then why are you spending your time writing a reply just to point somebody in the direction of the search button?! Just don't reply, you are under no obligation. Maybe the poster just wants to discuss it with a human rather than scroll through old posts.

3) Conversation is the whole point of a 'surf chat' section. This is not a library.

Sorry, rant over

im just starting to surf swoosh the forums. i did search before(now it has come out) on google. and it forwarded me to this forum LOL. but basically what i want is to keep it alive and have some conversation that might bloom and perhaps a perspective that hasnt been added yet. im just a squirrel in this sport and i really try to get there.

also the obstacles are major not just in surfing. where i live at the moment having waves is a woow factor. so once it gets flat imma have to think to move to another country cause realistically speaking you can not maintain what you have if you surf once a 3 months or even 6 months. those traction pads are really new to me. i have some vcr videos where guys back in the days didnt have them. and some traditional surfers still refuse them. waikiki just mentioned occy ( i didnt know the dude) and hey he shreds and rips and knows what he is doing and does not need a traction pad.

ill have one anyway cause to me its not the grip persè, but to me it is orientation in my beginning fase.
also on the internet there are all kinds of sc hematics of how to prepare a surfboard and the longboard does not have traction pads. but waikiki uses it.

would you call him out of the rule? or is it just a choice that isnt judged upon. how open is the surfboard world?
in skateboarding in 80's you had mongo skaters and it was allright. even pro's skated mongo. mongo is:

this mongo stepping is a foot on the tail and stepping that way. hey i dont care in my opinion they skate good they do the same tricks as a pro. but today it is frowned and hated. you cant even join a skate tournament if you push mongo.

is this comparison the same for a longboard with traction pads?
u feel me?

[oldmansurfer]

When I learned everyone pushed mongo. Traction pads are optional on any board.

[DreamSurf]

When I learned everyone pushed mongo. Traction pads are optional on any board.

in the opinions of the sponsors the mongo pushing looks silly. on the contrary mongo pushing gives good feeling for a one feet manual. it is better for sharp turns. to me it still feels the way to go. only in tournaments i would push their way. but i have to make my board loose a bit.
mongo pushers are being discriminated very hard. i know with my last video my sponsor micha left Rotterdam started going mental when i made a whole line of tric ks sequences and tehn when he saw it was mongo i had to do it all over.

ofcourse i did. but i didnt enjoy this unusual way of pushing. i was between that ol skool and new skool

ontopic
ok but what if let us say someone comes with no traction pads and does a 360 judo air and carves like a madman(occy) surely that is respected because without traction pad it would be lesser grip? or do you just wax the thing? and it is doable.

do you still longboard for variacy? how does a shortboarder look up or down on a longboarder? like it is some simple thing to do. or is it more like oh well yeah he is a surfer that is into longboarding. surely there is a gap or no?

[oldmansurfer]

I don't do a lot of advanced maneuvers (no airs) , I can do tail sliding maneuvers that require more traction and no traction pad seems fine however if I did something and found my back foot slipping off all the time I would put a traction pad on my board. Most maneuvers I do require force applied into the top surface of the board more than sideways force so the wax on the board is enough to successfully do everything I do. However I am only surfing about an hour a week so my rate of learning is slow. If I were younger and surfing more often then things might be different but there is always an option to add one if you need one

[waikikikichan]

is this comparison the same for a longboard with traction pads?

Pushing Mongo is about STANCE. To use or not use a traction pad is about equipment. So for skateboards, regular boards use harder bushing, while carving longboards skateboards use softer bushing, to make it easier to pivot and turn. But like you said, you like softer bushing than what others skateboarders use on their boards.

As for STANCE and different body positioning, look at the way Dave Rastovich does a Layback cutback versus mostly everybody. Or look at the way Donovan Frankenreiter does Soul Arch bottom turns. It's not wrong , it's style.

BUT.......... some people say traction pads on a longboard isn't good style.

[icetime]

Only advice is, traction pads are for personal preference, if it makes your surfing a better experience go for it, even if it looks silly, who cares?
Even on a shortboard or fish, a traction pad isn't necessary either, most people use them to feel their foot placements and also helps with duck diving but for a minimal, you wouldn't need one for any reason but if you want one, go for it

[dtc]

I've never heard anyone care whether you have a traction pad or not, it's not an issue that is relevant to performance or style or being fashionable. Username o even or don't depending on your surfing style and needs.

Except

- if it's in the wrong place (too far forward)
- it does look a bit weird on boards over 9ft but if you show you use it then no problems
- covering your whole board in traction pads like a SUP. Just one at the tail

[oldmansurfer]

There are some shortboarders who are putting them for their front foot too http://www.theinertia.com/surf/resurrecting-the-front-deck-grip/ I think if anyone wants to complain about your traction pad you could always just say that is the way you bought it I ride in between boards not long and not short so I can feel free to place them anywhere and no one will say anything other than "there goes that crazy old man" well that is what they say anyway so whatever..... but once again so far no need for a traction pad. I think the whole board traction pads were a thing for a while but they lead to rashes unless you are wearing a wetsuit.

[dtc]

. Username o even or don't depending on your surfing style

Use one or don't- stupid autocorrect

no one will say anything other than "there goes that crazy old man" well that is what they say anyway so whatever.

Once you get to a certain age becoming a crazy old man is a badge of honour - better than being the boring old guy

I have a pad on my 6'10 - came with it - and I do use it. Or, at least my back foot goes up against the pad for the big bottom turns. But my 7'4 doesn't have one and I don't notice its absence; although I do surf it differently - less hard turns more cruise turns. And I'm not doing 180 turns off the lip or anything with either board

[RinkyDink]

This might come out the wrong way but here goes.

I dont like it when people are constantly directed to the search button because something has been discussed before, here's why.

1) Theres only so many things to talk about, so eventually all conversation on the website will die unless we allow repeated conversations.

2) People will say they can't be bothered/expected to explaim something that already has been. Then why are you spending your time writing a reply just to point somebody in the direction of the search button?! Just don't reply, you are under no obligation. Maybe the poster just wants to discuss it with a human rather than scroll through old posts.

3) Conversation is the whole point of a 'surf chat' section. This is not a library.

Sorry, rant over

I agree. There's one more reason for me. If you really want to understand and learn something, then you need to be able to explain it. I learn by explaining and discussing. If I explain something incorrectly and get corrected, then I learn even more. I also ignore certain threads all the time because I have zero interest in them. It doesn't even bother me that the same topic shows up every two days. I just keep ignoring it until one day for some reason I feel like reading another beginner board recommendation thread.

[oldmansurfer]

well so still search first then ask if you still feel the need to. I know my answers will change with time so I am up for answering the same questions over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over etc..... I think many get tired of answering the same questions but what I would like to see is the newbies putting in some effort to keep from requiring us to answer the same questions ad nauseum. That would be cool but if not you might notice I am still answering stuff even when it is repetitious because I also improve my understanding by having to think about it again

[Big H]

This might come out the wrong way but here goes.

I dont like it when people are constantly directed to the search button because something has been discussed before, here's why.

1) Theres only so many things to talk about, so eventually all conversation on the website will die unless we allow repeated conversations.

2) People will say they can't be bothered/expected to explaim something that already has been. Then why are you spending your time writing a reply just to point somebody in the direction of the search button?! Just don't reply, you are under no obligation. Maybe the poster just wants to discuss it with a human rather than scroll through old posts.

3) Conversation is the whole point of a 'surf chat' section. This is not a library.

Sorry, rant over

Yes and no.

This particular question, the right answer is "entirely up to personal preference". There are already pages and pages of anecdotal posts boiling down to what their personal choice was. For a quick answer to an itchy newbie who needs to know if they should stop off at the Surf -n-Go on the way home or not, accessing previous posts is very useful and can boil a couple of weeks of conversation down into red light reading.

The point of all of us who hang around here is to chat surfing....obviously the regulars enjoy that. Loads come through with a singular question and then they're off never to be heard from again. That's fine too. And then there are topics that are more worthy of discussion as they do not have clean cut answers like whether or not traction pads are necessary.....discussions about water safety, identifying rips and the importance of knowing your limits for instance is not a check the box discussion and while other threads exist, these are topics when hashed out tend to produce gems and pearls from those involved in the discussion.

Examples:
Topic A
What skateboard best simulates surfing - go look at the existing threads.

Topic B
On a slow breaking wave that can be ridden as a right or a left, who has priority when two persons catch at just about the same time 50m apart and ride toward each other - time to discuss!


Don't be put off.....some questions, especially the big one which is "what board should I get" followed closely by "I've been told to get a longboard to learn on but because of A/B & C I want a shortboard" letting a person immerse themselves in hundreds of posts again of anecdotal stories from previous posters explaining the tough love message that in spite of wanting to rip like Slater, a foamie will better serve the vast majority for the first stage of development.......once that person reads through they have their own time to come to terms with what would appear to be the harsh truth......then we can all follow up with more discussion if they so choose.


You have to admit, questions like "how do I tie my leg rope to my board" really don't need varying points of view; a push in the right direction to the instructional pages on this site is all many need, but if you want to expand the topic, no one is stopping you bro. Thing about it is, with all the different parts of the site as a whole, the links, the instructional sections, the years on years of archived posts that are searchable on the site and via Yahoo! and Google............well, it IS very much a library.

[Big H]

Also....for all of those who come and ask one question then p... off forever.....it isn't a shocker that folks don't necessarily warm up to you immediately.....become part of the community and share some experiences......everyone knows you catch more flies with honey.....