Review: Int Black Ball Beater

Summary: The Int Black Ball Beater is a decent little foam board, but is hard to recommend. Continue reading for the full review…

In depth review: High quality foam shortboards are great. They are (relatively) cheap, durable, and perform fairly well. The Int Black Ball Beater fits this formula, but is lacking in a few areas.

For beginners, the Black Ball Beater has a couple of things going for it: it’s cheap and indestructible. Unfortunately it is a little short for a beginner board in my opinion. At 4’10”, it’s one of the shorter foam boards on the market. For beginners I recommend a shortboard in the 5′ to 5’6″ range (depending on the wave). The Black Ball Beater will be harder to learn on compared to a longer board.

For expert river surfers, 4’10” is a nice size. Being slightly shorter than most other foam boards sets it apart. However, the fins on the Black Ball Beater are not interchangeable. For an expert river surfer, you will want to be able to change the fins and dial the board to match your style of surfing and the wave you are surfing.

The Black Ball Beater comes with three large fins in a thruster setup. I ended up removing the center and found the board much more fun to surf. Unfortunately the leash plug is part of the center fin. I had to jerry-rig a solution to keep the plug but remove the fin. Ideally the board would come with FCS compatible finboxes and a leash plug that works with any fin setup.

Despite the lackluster fins, the Black Ball Beater is fun to surf. It’s small, fast, and can throw buckets or slide around if you put your weight into it.

If you are considering getting this board, I’d recommend a 5′ board if you are a beginner river surfer. Or if you are an expert, I’d recommend a board with FCS finboxes.