Beginner Surf Gear

Wave Bandit Surfboards: Everything you need to know

Wave Bandit are apart of the Catch Surf surfboard company. With many people asking if Catch Surf own Wave Bandit the answer is a resounding yes. Catch Surf have been very shrewd in keeping Wave Bandit separate from Catch Surf in order for them to operate two different marketing strategies based on different target markets.

Pro Surfer Jamie O’Brien and his cadre represent Catchsurf’s Beater, Odysea, JOB Pro Model boards. Semi-pro surfer and all round cool dude Ben Gravy, represent Wave Bandit along with signature models as well.

This is why you won’t see Wave Bandit foam surfboards feature on Catchsurf’s US site, and they are instead sold through Amazon. For some strange reason Wave Bandit does feature on Catch Surf’s UK site.

Wave Bandit’s Business Strategy

There is nothing untoward with this bifurcated business strategy. In fact, it’s considered to be an excellent marketing strategy, and you’ll find it in most business text books. Yes, brands have been offering different pricing tiers to their customers for as long as marketing has existed. In Catch Surfs there is not much fundamentally different the Wave Bandit soft top surfboards and the Odysea line.

Catch Surf however wish to target intermediate/advanced surfers with their Odysea line and offer up the Wave Bandit to beginners. Now that we have established the origins of Wave Bandit, let’s take a look at what their soft top surfboard range offers.

Wave Bandit Surfboards

Wave Bandit have a very large range of boards on offer. Starting from 9 foot logs and going all the way down to fun boards under 5 foot. These boards will suit different surfing conditions, wave types, and surfer ability level. Here we look at the full range of Wave Bandit boards in descending order of length.

Wave Bandit Easy Rider 9’0″

This is the board that Ben Gravy has made most famous. The guy rides the board just about anywhere – over rocks, on the wake of giant cruise ships, in 6 foot cranking barrels. If there is one guy who has shown the versatility of this board, it’s Ben Gravy.

It’s the longest board in the range. With a total volume of 98L it’s super versatile and really easy for beginners or lazy surfers to paddle into waves. It’s constructed from a triple maple wood core and comes with a tri-fin setup. It’s important to note at 9 foot that board will be rather heavy. It’s not ideal for long walks from the parking lot to the waves.

wave bandit easy rider

Easy Rider 8’0″

The same shape as the Easy Rider 9 footer, but with less volume. The 8 foot board is 86L. If you’re a beginner who is looking for a board which is going to be a little little lighter and easy to manoeuvre then this is a good choice.

If you’re an intermediate/advanced surfer looking for a fun board to thrash around on in all different types of surf, then it’s also a good choice.

easy rider 8'0"

Easy Rider 7’0″

The 7 foot Wave Bandit Easy Rider is ideal for those surfers looking for a mid length board. Something which is between a long board and a short board. At 72L this board will allow for a fairly seamless paddle into waves whilst providing a greater degree of manoeuvrability.

easy rider 7'0"

Ben Gravy fans may be interested in the Ben Gravy Pro Model. It’s the same specifications as the Easy Rider 8’0″ (86L) just with the Ben Gravy Pineapple logo on the base and on the top deck of the board with his signature included.

ben gravy wave bandit 7'0"

Wave Bandit Performer 6’6″

A great short board for someone transitioning from a mini mal or a longboard. The Wave Bandit Performer is fish shaped and has a more traditional rocker emulating that of a classic shortboard. It has a total volume of 55L.

wave bandit performer 6'6"

Wave Bandit Tri 6’0″

Moving into more traditional shortboard territory you’ll find the Tri which comes in at 6 feet and 48L. It’s basically the same shape as the performer – fish shaped with more traditional rocker. This is board which Ben Gravy rides a lot.

wave bandit tri 6'0"

Performer 5’6″

The Peformer 5’6″ is the same shape at the Performer 6’6″. It has a total volume of 42L. It’s ideal for someone who is looking to get a bit more radical on the wave and make some cut backs and vertical manoeuvres.

performer 5'6"

Ben Gravy Performer Twin 4’10”

This a great little egg shaped board which is ideal for waist to shoulder high waves. Take the two fins out and you ca ride it as a skim board. It makes for a great wake skate and or tow board.

ben gravy performer 4'10"

Shred Sled 48″

This diminutive twin fin board is a great little groveller board. Due to it’s small size it’s better suited to intermediate and advanced surfer who are used to a later entry into a wave. It also runs as the perfect skim board if you remove the fins.

wave bandit shred sled 48"

Shred Sled Mini

Just when you thought they couldn’t get smaller, there is the Shred Sled Mini. As you’ll notice this is more of a hybrid. The telling sign is that the lesh plug sits at the front of the board.

The Shred Sled Mini is also finless. The board can therefore be ridden as a bodyboard, surfboard or a skimboard. A perfect little shred stick for a grom or an adult looking to rip it up in an assortment of different conditions.

shred sled mini

Conclusion

Wave Bandit have a surfboard for just about every type of surfer. The beautiful thing about these soft top surfboards is that they can be ridden in all sorts of environments – shore break, over shallow reefs, or even close to rocks. As there is no fiberglass shell, they don’t really ding. Even if they do pick up the odd small ding the board can’t get waterlogged like a traditional PU board.

Most important of all is that these boards are so much fun to ride. No the matter the surf conditions, even if the waves are tiny you can get a ride on Wave Bandit. Just look at Ben Gravy – there are days when it looks like he’s surfing ripples on his 9 foot log.

4 thoughts on “Wave Bandit Surfboards: Everything you need to know”

  1. Hi, just wondering if the 6’0″ and 6’6″ boards have solid fins, or are they completely bendable?

    Thanks!

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