Van der Waal Reviews & Mentions

Some friends, customers and press were kind enough to send us their feedback and reviewas about Van der Waal surf grips. We call them Waalers and you can check their testimonials here.

AWARDS

SURF EUROPE 2018

“No more melting issues in a hot car, dramas with hire care upholstery, headrests, etc. No more nasty nasty on the sleeve of your fave Pharcyde hoodie, no more waxing the underside of the surfboard stacked above or below, referred to in the age of political incorrectness as the ‘Irish’ or ‘Chinese’ wax job.”

van der waal reviews THE INERTIA

The Inertia

“bonus points now that you can also confidently leave your board in the car without coming back to a runny pool of wax in the footwell of your passenger seat.”

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van der waal reviews surfbunker

SurfBunker

“the folks at van der waal like to keep things simple and I’ll do you the same courtesy, their design and their concept works”

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van der waal reviews surfing sections

Surfing Sections

“it’ll be interesting to see how the grip lasts over time, but if it continues to perform well, then van der waal may have cracked the market for those looking for an alternative to waxing up.”

van der waal reviews 360guide

360 Guide

“now to the most important question – does the grip work? Yes, it does. (…) when it gets wet the grip improves and when I stood up and rode a few waves I could not feel any difference in grip between van der waal stickers and regular wax”

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van der waal reviews having fun

Having Fun

“c’est le premier point important. Des waxs il y en a plein : la terra wax, la sex wax, la green fix, la matunas, etc etc… van der waal surf grip a décidé d’oublier la wax « classique » qui a ses défauts c’est clair : fond au soleil, noirci, s’enlève rapidement, accroche mal, demande de l’entretien comme le bon vieux dewaxage par exemple, etc etc (tout dépend des marques bien sûr, certaines wax sont très correctes, d’autres un peu moins, c’est un autre débat 😉 ).”

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van der waal reviews snowaction

SnowAction

Why wax when Van Der WAAL Surf Grips will do the job just as well with no downsides says our multi-task test guru Steve Leeder who has been checking out this great innovation, and some cool GoPro mounts, over summer.

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van der waal reviews surf actual

Surf Actual

“en el último año parece que la moda es dejar de usar cera/parafina/wax en la tabla de surf. Hemos visto el regreso de los grips dobles, muy populares a finales de los ochenta, y la aparición de varios productos que llegan para sustituir a la parafina.”

van der waal reviews surf total

SurfTotal

“chama-se van der waal e procura ser a alternativa ao wax. Trata-se de uma clara alternativa antiderrapante ao wax (cera), fácil de instalar e quase sem manutenção. ”

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van der waal reviews beachcam

BeachCam

“o van der waal acabou por nascer de uma simples necessidade de martim. “ele tinha comprado uma prancha nova e falou-me desta ideia antiga de arranjar uma qualquer coisa que não sujasse a prancha toda com o wax”, revela o parceiro, afonso. ”

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van der waal reviews mar de sal

Mar de Sal

A composição do wax tem na sua essência o petróleo. Ora, se pensarmos nesta produção e na quantidade de wax que gastamos ao longo do ano, não é sustentável nem amiga do ambiente. Apesar de saber que existe cera ecológico, a Van Der Waal acaba por ser uma solução mais prática.

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van der waal reviews lineup

LineUp

“the idea of finding an alternative to wax for our more than 200 rental surfboards, was not so much a desire but a necessity, the constant maintenance that it requires satisfying our customers, multiplied by 200, consumes us a lot of time and energy.”

van der waal reviews andrew

Andrew W

"Looking for some alternatives to surf wax? I review two different types of clear stick on surf traction: van der waal 2.0 surf grip and RSPro hexatraction deck traction. ”

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van der waal reviews utopia

Utopia - Surf&Yoga Eco Lodge

“most of the average surf waxes are derived from bi-products from the crude oil and petroleum industry. This means they contain chemicals such as paraffin wax, petroleum jelly, micro-crystalline wax, vistanex as well as synthetic glues, resins, dyes and fragrances. (…) aren’t we as surfers supposed to be more eco friendly beings, aligned and in tune with nature and the oceans? Fortunately there are some really cool alternatives to the wax dilemma. ”

van der waal reviews surfpreneures

Surfpreneurs

“how a story with broken surfboard evolved into a business”

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van der waal reviews surf simply

Surf Simply

“harry also mentioned that there were companies making alternatives to wax and deckpads that you could use for the same effect.”

Podcast
van der waal reviews surf and fun

Surf&Fun

“estamos hartos de echar parafina a nuestras tablas, de que se ensucien, de que cuando hace sol se derrita y se ensucie todo!! Es por eso que hoy os presentamos a esta maravillosa marca portuguesa que ha ido un paso mas adelante en el surf! ”

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WAALERS

Testimonials

Some friends and customers were kind enough to send us their feedback about Van der Waal.
We call them Waalers.

Jorge Rebelo

I've been addicted to surf wax for 25 years. All my life as a surfer I used it and there was no surf session where I did not pass the wax bar on the surf board. When I receive Van Der Waal to test, I wondered if it would work.
The first test I did was on a northeasterly day as the sea had a little storm. I got the impression that it was not bad, but it did not totally convince me.

I realized that the more you surf, the better Van der Waal "grip" function works. At this moment I do not notice absolutely no difference in the way of surfing, since the board is always with an impeccable appearance. The test that totally convinced me was made last Sunday, in the beach of Aguçadoura with waves of 1.5 to 2m and with tubular sections. Van der Waal never failed. It is undoubtedly the best alternative to the wax I have ever tested. Congrats!

Pierre Emanuelle

Je recherchais depuis longtemps une alternative plus propre et pratique à la wax, relativement salissante pour le matériel et l'environnement tout en nécessitant de fréquents renouvellements, ne serait-ce qu'à l'inter-saison. Après nettoyage puis installation sur ma planche j'ai été très agréablement surpris de constater que ces hexagones fonctionnent à merveille; Même si cela peut paraître déstabilisant au début je n'ai ressenti aucune différence en terme d'accroche, et l'adaptation a donc été immédiate dès la première session. Vous pouvez ajuster les hexagones exactement comme vous le souhaitez. Pensez juste à bien couvrir la zone de prise des mains au niveau des rails sur votre board. Adieu donc les soucis de wax fondue en été, sans dommages collatéraux sur housse et leash, avec le plaisir de surfer une planche toujours propre. Un vrai régal!

surfing with van der waal

Diogo Mota

Really enjoyed. Van Der Waal came up with an excellent idea. I do not always have wax when I go surfing, often the wax loses qualities over time and has disadvantages like getting dirty, clinging to covers, car, etc ... I always had the desire to look for something that could replace the wax but nothing was functional. This grip, in addition to make my board look like new, helps me feeling it under my feet, the hexagons have a smooth roughness that the wax does not offer and that makes all the difference to me when I want to press the foot more safely in the manoeuvres. Besides that, it does not disturb anything when I want to correct my feet position on the board. I will rely on this grip on all surf sessions.

rodrigo with Van der Waal

Rodrigo Campos

I've never been a big fan of surf wax and this is exactly what I was looking without even knowing. Give me the mobility I need to quickly reposition feet while ridding a wave and the grip needed to keep from slipping. Both in tubes, carves and aerial maneuvers have not failed anything. It has the perfect and balanced texture

apply traction pads on surfboard

João Agostinho

Van der Waal fascinated me from the first minute. Even before testing the product I was enthusiastic with the idea of replacing the traditional wax by a much more environmentally friendly solution.
After many surfing sessions using Van der Waal I think it's a very good product. It allows full grip. It is easy and comfortable to adjust the position of feet on the board.
In addition to its main function, grip, Van der Waal allows me to keep my surfboard clear of sand and dirt, thus avoiding having to remove and apply new wax frequently.

joao dornellas surfing with van der waal

João Dornellas

As a lousy surfer I must admit Van der Waal didn't improve my surfing skills at all but to be honest it didn't disprove as well. It worked and it's still working really well and way better than traditional messy wax. I believe that if those magic hexagons can't put my 95kg flying like John John nothing will do the trick. 

surfboard with van der waal

João Saraiva

Just tried Van der Waal on my summer board. Surfing in the Algarve means many days of warm water and hot weather - and that annoying melting of wax under my feet while surfing, or the proverbial puddle of wax in the car. Now that's all history, and board looks awesome and the grip is just like wax. Bring on the heat!

miguel surfing with van der waal

Miguel Banhudo

As a surfer that feels more comfortable with a considerable layer of wax on the surfboard, it's really amazing to have that same grip without any wax at all!

fishboard tail pads

Marcos Costa

Just came back from a surf session (first time with Van Der Waal under my feet) and I guess I'm already a better surfer cause today I did not fall on any wave!! :) It works perfectly and in the after surf I don't have to worry with the sticky wax on my car or clothes. Fully recommended!!