It’s a simple question: wax or deck pad? To put it simply, surfboard wax gives you traction from falling off. Also, at first sight, it looks kind of cheap and you can choose from a lot of options in the market. But if you look closer, there are some cons when choosing wax to give you traction. Just to name a few, surf wax is super time consuming (getting old wax off and new wax on can take time, not to name scratching and reapplying wax before each surf session and, running out of wax - and we all know that only happens when waves are pumping and there is no one around you). Besides that, wax melts... melts on your car, clothes, and worst: into our oceans.
Oh, did I said that wax it’s a cheap solution? Check it at the end of this post.
We are in 2021 and surf technologies and options have evolved. I truly believe that we have better ways to give traction to our boards so that it's less messy, easier, and better. For us as surfers, for our gear and for the waves we ride. Let’s face it, wax is annoying. Maybe some surfers think the 'surf wax ritual' it's cool, but unless they are using an eco-friendly wax solution, in fact, they are just polluting our ocean with paraffin. And that doesn’t sound cool to me.
From Wikipedia: "Paraffin wax (or petroleum wax) is a soft colorless solid derived from petroleum, coal or oil shale that consists of a mixture of hydrocarbon molecules containing between twenty and forty carbon atoms."
Despite it's really hard to get that glue effect wax has with a traction pad. I know it, as I did a lot of tests. Van Der Waal front pads came with some important advantages when compared to wax: They are really thin and lightweight, easy to apply, crystal-clear, and will last for ages (2 years on my board now, and still working).
Of course, that permanent traction option only pays off if you are riding your board for a long time. We always say that is no worth sponsoring pro-athletes as they break so many boards that our grip would not have any advantage compared to surf wax.
So, if you break your board a lot, a biodegradable surf wax brand it's the right option. If you are a common surfer as I am, and you ride the same board over and over again, maybe it's time to consider a clean alternative, that doesn’t melt into oceans and doesn’t grab a lot of debris.
To end the discussion… is surf wax really cheaper than traction pads?
And if you think wax is a cheaper solution, maybe it’s also time to reconsider it.
