Paragon Surfboards - Review
When I first learned how to repair surfboards I’d frequently scroll through Craigslist and Offer Up looking for cheap damaged boards that I could repair. Occasionally, I’d see some brand new Paragon boards pop up in my search and was always intrigued by how cheap they were, but that’s all I knew about them. A little while ago, I finally had the opportunity to ride a couple and am stoked to be able to share some of my thoughts.
Background
From Paragon’s website you can learn that their boards are made overseas (one reason why they are so cheap) but are designed and tested by surfers. I spoke with Alex, one of the owners, and he mentioned that they went through a lot of boards to dial in shapes and dimensions that worked well. So, while ‘chinese pop-outs’ are the boogieman of the surf industry, these boards have a lot of testing and care behind them and that really shows in their performance.
7’6” Mini Log - Foamy
The first Paragon board I got to ride was this Mini Log. When I took this board out I was expecting it to be just a shorter Wavestorm, something that catches waves well but lacks any sort of performance. With just one wave, I knew that I’d underestimated this board. While it does cruise easily into waves, it’s really lively on the face as well. I only rode it in smaller mushy waves, but I could feel the board calling for an open-faced point break.
One really cool design feature of this board is the chined rails. They create a nice base for powering through mushy sections of waves, but make it really easy to transition from rail to rail. They make this board feel at least a foot shorter and much more maneuverable.
The only drawback I found with this board was the center fin box. It's not a standard Bahne box and only fits one size fin screw. The board comes with a basic 8 inch fin, but I wanted to use a 7 inch one I had laying around. Because of the screw issue, I had to run it with one that was undersized. This is not that big of a deal, but something to pay attention to when buying fins for this board. Conversely, the side bite fin boxes were true Futures Fins boxes which is great.
This board would be perfect for newer surfers looking to progress further but still offers a lot to anyone looking for a fun board. Also, not needing any wax is perfect for anyone who has to leave it in the car for a little.
5’10” Retro Fish
This was the second board I got to ride and it was a blast. It’s a classic shape and looks great. I think the ‘fabric inlay’ looks killer even though it was placed slightly off in the board I rode. Knowing that this is a chinese board, I was curious to see the quality of the glass job. I was surprised to see that there were no issues, burn-throughs, bubbles or anything.
Along with looking fantastic, this board was super fun in the water. It has plenty of foam in the nose to catch waves easily and rides really smooth. The board felt just how a retro fish should feel. It comes with a set of basic Futures Fins, but I opted to run it with a set of keels I had in another board. It’s a great board that can fit nicely into anyones quiver.
Overall
These boards were super fun to ride and really changed my thoughts on boards made overseas. While supporting local shapers is super important, these readily available boards are a great option for those looking for solid boards on a budget.
Check out Paragon Surfboards on their website and instagram, @paragonsurfboards.