While soft-top boards were all but written off 10 years ago, these days it seems like everyone has one. From total beginners to pros who rip the snot out of them and paddle them into double-overhead Pipe, foamie surfboards are everywhere. Jamie O’Brien has pretty much built a career around surfing critical barrels on soft-tops, and pulling stunts like mid-barrel transfers from foamies to normal boards. Kalani Robb has seen his career revived after signing with a soft-top brand, and Koa and Alex Smith are notorious for breaking and returning so many soft-tops to Costco that they forced the retail...

…LOST Carbon Wrap Technology …LOST surfboards have long been at the forefront of progress, but now they have taken an even bigger step into the future. The carbon wrap technology available on most boards is a patented surfboard technology that improves flex and performance, making boards snappier and more responsive. The idea originated with Gold Coast designer Dan MacDonald, and leads to lightweight boards that don’t sacrifice strength. It eliminates the need for a wooden stringer, and leads to advanced flex characteristics that make the board feel more alive. The carbon wraps from the bottom, along the rails onto the...

Reinventing the Log Getting to Know Bill Stewart, Father of the Modern Longboard Bill Stewart in front of his air brush in front of his surfshop Bill Stewart is said to be the father of the modern longboard, but his influence started long before curves became cool again. In 1967, Stewart was repairing dings and experimenting with shorter surf craft as the Shortboard Revolution came into full swing. He’d cut down old longboards into shorter designs, then take what he’d learned and build on it the next time. By the time he invented the Hydro Hull he was already established...