'The Beach Cruiser' by Gnaraloo surfboard review by the South Coast Kook.
My aim is to review boards and products for the average knockabout surfer (or ‘kook’ like me), without all the technical terms and manoeuvres.
I get it all the time. Every time summer rolls round, I get an influx of messages from friends who say this is the summer they want to learn how to surf.
They just want a surfboard so they can learn on their own, because they don’t have time for surf lesson’s and they live too far from the beach to throw themselves at surfing seriously.
They don’t want to spend a bomb on a hobby that they will only do a couple of times a year and they don’t want to keep going back to square one every time they get a chance to get in the water.
I have found the perfect board for people like this, The Gnaraloo ‘Beach Cruiser’.
Before I even hit the water, I wanted to highlight some features that the ‘Beach Cruiser’ has. There is a convenient carry handle located in the middle of the board which made lugging it down the beach so much easier, especially if you have small arms or in my case, a toddler in the other arm.
The ‘Beach cruiser’ also comes with a flexible thruster fin set, Which have a rubber edge for safety this is a concern for many people who have heard about the dreaded ' Fin chop'. Another bonus that there is no extra hidden costs when you get to the checkout.
These fins flex and snap on the wave to help generate speed but also gives the rider confidence that they will be safe if they get hit by their own fins, and same with any nearby surfers.
I tested the 7’6 ‘Beach Cruiser’ at 75L, with the theory of pretending to be an absolute beginner, and working with the rough guide of 1L to 1kg of body weight.
I noticed straight away when I got in the water how incredibly buoyant the ‘Beach Cruiser’ was. I felt like I was sitting heaps high above the water which made paddling onto waves easy with minimal effort.
I found the best quality about the ‘Beach Cruiser’ was that it gave me a chance to slow everything down. I could paddle for a wave and almost break down, every part of my ‘pop up’ to ensure that each movement was perfect. This included my stance. If my foot was slightly off or my knees not bent enough, I found that I could do slight adjustments with ease without loosing a lot of momentum.
Your initiation into the world of surfing starts with a Gnaraloo Beach Cruiser, available in a variety of sizes from 9’0” right down to 7’0”. Starting at just $450, it is an affordable but reliable, entry level foam board
At the start of this review, I said I was going to approach this board as a complete beginner. So with my scoring, I figured it’s only fair to continue on and score this as if I was new to surfing. For a complete beginner, Grom or a couple of times a year surfer, I give the ‘Beach Cruiser’ a 9/10.
I have been doing surfboard reviews for a while now, One benefit is that I have had the opportunity to surf a whole lot of different softboards and foamies. This has given me a great understanding of what the different brands and shapes have to offer. This is why is highly recommend The Beach Cruiser.
If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me or To learn more about the amazing company Global Surf Industries , Click here to listen to the podcast episode I recorded with the CEO Mark Kelly.
I appreciate your ongoing support of my small business, by purchasing a surfboard through this Global Surf Industries Link, you are helping the South Coast Kook podcast continue to run. To say thanks I would love to send you a small token of appreciation to help you get your stoke on your new board. Simply contact me directly at southcoastkook@gmail.com after purchase and I will gladly send you a FREE GIFT!
Disclaimer - This Free Gift has no connection with Global Surf Industries. You will only receive the gift if you contact me directly via email.