Wax or deck pad?

[Noo Noo]

Just picked up a cheapy surfboard to have a blast in some surf. Yes it's time to lose the straps and go forwards in one direction for a change. Just wondering what people prefer with wax or a deck pad?

Would a pad help to protect the top of the board a little?

[Peter_Frank]

Some prefer wax, others pads !

I love wax for the "retro smell and style", but would never ever use it anymore (use pads only now) because:

It will be worn very fast where you have your feet most often, so you slip and slide anyways
It will look like shit after a while, getting all black and filled with "stuff" from the beach and car
Because of that, you have to remove and apply again and again
It will run out and into EVERYTHING in your car, on a hot sunny day
It will destroy your boardbag, and you will get wax on the bottom often too
You will get no cushion so your board will get heel dents, A LOT

Apart from that, lovely

Peter

[Haole_Built]

I like the stickiness and feeling of the wax better but it does get pretty messy (a deal-breaker when you have a nice car or store your boards inside your house). Also, the whole scraping and re-applying might get pretty old too.

On the flip side, traction pads work pretty well too and they do provide an extra protection for the board (likely not an issue with an old beater board).

I think it all comes to a personal preference and the type of board your ride. Some new boards come padded, some come naked leaving you the choice of what to put on.

That said, with an old beater car/truck and wax everywhere not being an issue, I'd go the surf wax route.

[TomW]

And if your water temps change you have to change the wax.
I was on waxed board 3 yrs. I was often slipping off with front foot. Brutal face plants.
Now on full pad and its problem free.

Miss the smell of the wax...

[NYKiter]

Nothing beats wax for a super hard bottom turn.

[Starsky]

I use wax. Yes, its a pain to re-apply, yes it gets dirty..... in fact Peter will probably have me thinking about a pad cause all his reasons are on the money..... nah. There are some things that just feel right. Wax on a surfboard is one of em. Pads feel weird, add weight, save your board from heel abuse, keep your car clean, require no maintenace.... wait a sec...

Still. There are big days, I really like punt wax. Aint no pad that can do that! and besides, all my board bags are already all gunked up.... kinda adds to their charm.

oh, yeah, and it smells good, so little about kiteboarding smells good!

[cleepa]

I tried pretty hard to like wax... but hated it. The only problem that drove me away from it was that within an hour of riding, I would always wear a hole under my front heel and I would start slipping. So, it'll always be deck pads for me.

[knotwindy]

+1 for cleepa
when I surf I am not on the board anywhere near the time I am when I kite and the wax just does not last even 1 session.
surf= wax
kite= pads
for me there no doubt that everything about the wax is more pleasing EXCEPT it doesn't work...

[Bill]

What about non slip paint like they have on windsurf boards?

[longwhitecloud]

Nothing beats a decent deckpad. Especially in colder water wax sucks sooo bad.
Even in 25c water where I live I wear out the wax 1/2 way through a session... and if you are into strapless airs - wait till your foot slips off the back or front landing a big air - intense pain!!!

Wax purists can keep on waxin'....