Board Comparison: 2023 Scout Wave
The following is a rundown of least favorite to most awesome (in my option) boards that I surfed at Salida’s Scout Wave in the 2023 season. Please note that I have heard rumblings that the wave in 2024 is different (flatter) than 2023. I think time will tell whether or not it steepens up at higher water. If it stays flatter, I will do another board comparison at the end of this season.
8. Lib Tech Hydra 5’3″
This board was just too slow for Scout, and all the volume doesn’t do it any favors. I don’t recommend this board.
7. Badfish Bomb Drop
Even though this is at #7, this is my recommendation for beginners learning at Scout Wave. It surfs well, it’s almost indestructible, and you can easily rent/demo one before you buy.
6. TL Crusty Booger
This strange shaped board surprised me with how much fun it was. It is very fast. My main issue was finding a balance between carving well and the ability to spin. Because it’s so wide, it’s hard for me to get the rails engaged like I can on a smaller board. The result is I need to size up on the fins, which in turn makes it difficult to spin.
5. Lib Tech Hydro Snapper 4’5″
This is my low water board recommendation for everyone except beginners. It’s small, speedy, and spins super well. In the 2023 season it worked great from super low flows all the way up to about 900 CFS. Above that flow, it wasn’t able to hold a rail against the steeper face while pumping. The durable Lib Tech construction also makes it perfect for shallow water.
4. Lib Tech Whirlpool 5’4″
Easy to surf, user friendly board. This is a good board if you’re wanting to graduate from a foamy or inflatable, but are worried about dinging your board. It is also the easiest board to spin and great for learning those 360s.
3. Corridor Craw 4’4″
This is the fastest board I surfed. If you’re looking for something to just rip carves on, this is my recommendation. Surprisingly, it spins super easily as well. The durability wasn’t great on this board however and I ended up with a couple dings. I would also recommend a slightly longer length, at least 4’6″.
2. Badfish Wave Farmer 4’10”
Great board. I’d recommend it (or one of its larger sizes) to anyone who is past the beginner stage of river surfing. I found learning new tricks easiest on this board. It sticks to the face super well if you like pumping hard across the wave.
1. Peterson Tomahawk 4’10”
Super fast, super responsive and most snappy board. I could spin this board faster than any other board, to the point that it was hard to control. I feel like this board pushed me to be a better river surfer more than any other board.
I’ve been hanging around the Salida wave for a few years now. I’ve particularly enjoyed demoing the wave charmer, whiskey throttle, wave farmer, and Whirlpool. I haven’t ridden the pool jet or the tomahawk. I’m ready to get a single board that I’ll be happy with for as long as possible. All of the sudden I found your content about the tomahawk and it left me wondering, If you could only have one board for the Salida scout Wave, do you think the Tomahawk is a good choice?
It’s hard to choose a single board for all conditions at Salida. If I had to choose 1, I would go with the Corridor Craw 4’6″. It’s fast enough for when the wave is flat, and can still surf when it’s maxing out. A two board quiver is much easier: I’d go with the Lib Tech Hydro Snapper for low water and flat versions of the wave, and either the Wave Farmer or the Tomahawk for when it’s good.