How to choose your surfboard racks

The choosing of a horizontal surfboard wall racks seems, at first, to be simply a question of the product’s visual aspect, but the reality is quite different. Indeed, before purchasing your racks, it is necessary to take into consideration a few technical factors:

The board’s style

There are different surfboard shapes ranging from small shortboards to big longboards (over 12 feet) to paddleboards. The longer and more curved your board is, the wider the rack that holds it will need to be. The upper rail needs to rest against the wall and allow the board to tilt backwards. This position will avoid any tragic accidents!

The fins

There are two types of fins, fixed or removable, as well as both single and multiple configurations. The essential question to ask yourself is: which side of your board do you want to display (the deck or the bottom)?

Some fins can be quite long and can quickly become cumbersome if you decide to expose the deck of the board. In this case there are two possible solutions: dismantle the fin to expose your surfboard or use ‘offset’ racks that will prevent the fins from touching the wall to which the racks are fixed.

Which side of the board do you want to display?

You have understood that the choosing of which side you wish to display will influence your choice of racks, with the fixed fins of an XL sized board being the most restrictive.

Nose and tail rockers

The nose and tail rockers give the curved shape of your board and are particularly important for handling a big take off. However, a board with large rockers, exposed horizontally against a wall, can lose its balance and fall if your racks are not wide enough to allow for enough tilt and therefore stability.

The thickness of the rails

The thicker the rail, the wider the racks need to be so as to allow the board to be slightly tilted against the wall and not perpendicular.

To resume

It’s all about stability. Display racks need to be proportional to your board’s dimensions. A universal display rack doesn’t exist!

The longer your board and the more accentuated your rockers, the wider the base of the racks must be to allow your board to be held at an the ideal angle and properly maintained. The fins are also an important criteria in the choice of so-called “offset” racks. If the dimensions of your board are unusual, think about going for tailor-made racks!