Rusty Surfboards 2024 Preview
Retail Buyers Guide: 2024 Surfboards Retail Buyer’s Guide
Brand: Rusty
Interviewee: Craig Butcher – Distributor via SARL Hurricane Surf
To a certain extent, the surfboard market relies on custom-made products and on demand manufacturing. Does this means the business is relatively spared from the poor sell-out and overstocks reported in other boardsport categories?
Not really, all of the bigger brands have well known models and stock levels need to meet demand, which is obviously increasingly hard to predict. That said, with a heritage brand like Rusty, there are no real ‘fly-by-night’ models and stock remains current for sell through in a later season.
While the board offer has never been so wide nowadays, which were the top trends of 2023?
Twin fins and mid-lengths continued to sell very well and we expect it to continue going in to 2024 and beyond.
There is a noticeable step-back from competitive surfing: did this affect the sales of high-perf models?
Not really, the masses haven’t changed their taste based on this and Rusty’s history of producing high performace boards for the world’s best since the eighties means that consumer confidence in the brand and these specific models remains solid.
There is no arguing: twins and midlengths still are crowd favorites. But which will be the trends within those two trends in 2024?
High performance twins like the Rusty DEUCE are starting to do really well and we don’t see this slowing down. Whereas the best-selling twin fins in the past have been with fish or hybrid style boards, the trend here seems to be getting the Twin fin feel on a high performance shortboard shape.
After the release of the Channel Islands Mid, the launch of the CI Log is a clear indicator of the appetite for classic longboards, outside the perimeter of niche hype brands. How is your longboard game for 2024?
Rusty Preisendorfer and his team has created a great range of classic mids and longboards to match their world famous shortboard offerings.
There are two main paths when it comes to sustainable surfboards: the eco blanks & resins, or the low-waste vacuum-made EPS boards. What is your take on the matter?
Any effort to lessen a negative environmental impact is great. Whilst most boards manufactured are still traditional PU construction, we need to ensure that the 2nd hand market lives on and that the boards are passed on instead of landing in a dump.
Key Products:
DEUCE:
The Deuce is a collaboration between Rusty and Noel Salas of Surf ‘n Show. A user-friendly, high-performance Twin Fin that engages the rail easily. The single winged swallow tail offers additional pivot and bite through sharp turns, while the Rapid Entry single concave promotes additional speed. A definite best seller.
Deuce_front
KEG:
Designed by Rusty Preisendorfer and Wade Carmichael, it features a high nose and tail rocker with a fairly deep concave through the bottom deck. Surfline’s Lincoln Eather recently reviewed the KEG and claimed it to be ‘’The best all-round high-performance surfboard I’ve ever ridden off the shelf’’.
keg-deck
EXPRESS:
A Hybrid midlength that gives you the option to ride it as a single or a twin, depending on the conditions and the approach you want to take. With a mellow rocker, pulled in pin tail and a single to double vee, this versatile midlength works great in all conditions from knee high to overhead.
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