The Best Tail Pads & Traction For All Surfboards

The Best Tail Pads & Traction For All Surfboards

Surfboard tail pads, grip pads, traction, deck pads, kick pads, whatever you call them there is a vast amount of choice out there, this guide will point you in the right direction of which one suits your board.

Tail pads and front foot pads are good for three reasons:

1. Board durability – a lot of surfers are heavy on their back foot so having a pad gives you board a little extra    protection

2. Foot positioning – helps you get your foot in the same place

3. Grip – gives more purchase for hacking into your turns

Surfboard grip is not the sole preserve of shortboards nowadays either, more and more surfers of mid lengths and longer boards are using pads too…time to get involved if you’re not already.

Fitting A Tail Pad

Tail pads should be fitted as close to the tail of the board (without covering the leash plug!) as possible, the idea being that the pad  is directly above the fins so that when you apply pressure to the pad its works on the axis of the fins so making for effective turns. If the pad is ahead of the fins your efforts turn the board will be less effective.  

Best Tail Pads For Fish Style Boards

Tail pads for these types of board are generally flat and feature exaggerated back sections to get the pad to fit as close to the back of the board as possible

1. Sympl Number 2 Tyler Warren - Reliable, functional, adaptable and sustainable. The Sympl No.2 surfboard tail pad  guarantees improved grip. Working on modern style fish and swallow tails as well as fitting classic style twin fin fish boards too, this pad is an incredible traction pad to help your back foot stay glued to your board. The pads are made from bio degradable eco-foam and the packaging is both recycled and recyclable

2. Channel Island Arch Fish - If you are looking for a low profiled, super grippy tail pad that works on any fish or swallow tail board then Channel Islands have you covered. This fish pad with added arch gives amazing board feel with great toe to heel transition. The CI Fish Arch 3 piece tail pad is sleek and smart and should be at the top of your list when searching for your new traction

3. Firewire Machado Go Pad - Designed to add back-foot traction to any fast n' wide fish surfboard like the Go Fish and Seaside or the CI Twin

4. Gorilla Skinny Fish Pad - Almost paper thin, the Gorilla Skinny Fish Pad gives you the sensitivity you get with no pad on but the traction your back foot has means you can push the tail hard and with confidence. Gorilla use high quality EVA foam to make their tail pads, this gives incredible grip, is lightweight and does not absorb any water

5. Channel Islands Fish - The alternative pad to the CI arch fish pad, this is the answer for ultimate board feel. The pad is incredible thin so it’s like you have nothing there but with the grip you need when surfing.

 Best Tail Pads For Shortboards

Surfboard traction for more conventional short board shapes is more focused on performance, you’ll often find a raised central arch bar and higher kick tail. These features are fairly self explanatory, they are there to give more performance, ie harder turns.

1. FCS Julian Wilson -  Julian's signature 3 piece grip features a custom arch bar with channels for extra resistance, a high tail kick, sanded surfaces throughout and an ultra-thin profile for excellent board feel.
2. Slater Designs 3 piece - Slater Designs 3 piece - This 3 Piece Arch traction pad has been designed for maximum grip through hacks and agressive turns, maintaing speed and drive through every manouvre
3. Sympl No.4 Oliver Kurtz  – Sympl’s Number 4 tail pad is a 3 piece pad with a medium central arch bar and a 30mm tail kick. You get a lightweight, incredibly grippy tail pad when you have this on your board. The ribbed texture gives you maximum grip while not giving a non abrasive feel, it won't tear your chest apart if you are lucky enough to be surfing in boardies and ruin your wetty.
4. Firewire Machado 3 piece - This 3 piece traction pad is Rob's 'go-to' for all his thruster boards which he has been ripping on lately. it looks great, is super-light and feels incredibly grippy!
5. Channel Islands Mixed Groove - This 3 piece tail pad has a raised arch-bar with horizontal cut-outs to reduce weight and enhance grip, and features 32mm kick-tail for back foot security when pushing hard. Using the Mixed groove technology, the pad blends the classic diamond groove with the ultra-grippy vertical grooves which run from front to back. Having the mix allows you to get all the grip in the world, but the vertical grooves, promote easier foot movement when making small adjustments.

Front Foot Pads

Front foot grip pads are a worthy alternative to wax, some people love waxing their board before every surf others just want to grab their board and go!  Front surfboard pads do away with the need for waxing and although not everyone’s cup of tea but are getting more and more popular. There is a certain belief that you can’t use a front pad if surfing in boardies in warm water because the friction caused by the pad will rub your skin off, this used to be the case but nowadays the materials used are far softer and less abrasive so it’s not an issue.

1. Slater 3 Piece Front - This 3 Piece front Foot traction pad has been designed for maximum front foot grip and will also afford some protection for your deck from compression dents and foot wells.
2. Channel Islands 4 Piece Front - The Channel Island’s teams go-to, premium traction. You will see all the air guys with these on there boards! The CI Pad is constructed from the highest grade EVA foam and features 4 x thin pads with vertical grooves. You get insane grip and increased protection on your deck, for when your are stomping airs!
3. RSpro Cork - The RSPro Front Deck Grip is a great choice for surfers; completely temperature independent (works in any water temperature), feather light and thin and absorbs no water, no melting and no contamination.
4. Gorilla Mid Deck Front Foot Pad - This front traction is perfect for all styles of boards, from a shortboard, mid length or bigger board. The slim & skinny design gives riders ultimate sensitivity and control. Its a 2mm thick EVA pad with a sanded finish to give great grip, but don't worry its not abrasive to the touch.
5. Ocean & Earth Monkey Magic - This 6 piece centre deck pad will suit many different board shapes and styles from your regular shortboard to longboards, kiteboards and anything else in-between.

Something Different… 

Have you seen the Van Der Waal and RSPro traction?! These are the wax alternatives that are taking over. You can use these as tail traction, front traction or the most popular is to have this all over the board, to give the best grip you can ask for!

Van Der Waal & RS Pro are both unlikely sounding name for a surfboard traction company but that’s what it is! The names are probably a bit odd but the products they have on offer are far from odd. They are leading the game for traction to replace the need for changing your wax every season.

This surfboard grip system features individual hexagonal sections that you lay up on the board to give as much or as little coverage as you like. It works really well too, the grip is as good as wax and there is none of the maintenance and re waxing required.

In short you can basically customise your grip! It comes in a variety of colours so get browsing!

Eco Pads   

The cork deck grip from the RS pro and Eco pro brands is the obvious face of a more environmentally friendly way of getting grip on your board but the other players in this field are making headway as well.

Kelly Slaters Slater Designs pads are produced with Bloom foam, BLOOM is a high performance flexible foam made from algae biomass which has been harvested from freshwater sources around the globe.

Dakine have also launched their ‘friendly foam’ range of surfboard traction. It uses a biodegradable EVA foam with EcoOne additives to accelerate biodegradation. If we want oceans to surf in we’ve all got to start making the change now.

If we want oceans to surf in we’ve all got to start making the change now.

Hopefully the minefield of choosing grip for your board is a little more straightforward now! There is a lot of choice and at Boardshop we only offer the stuff that we know works, we all surf and all use different pads for different boards so if you ever need advice or guidance call us on 0044 1243 674250 or email info@boardshop.co.uk

We are here to help.