STEWART SURFBOARDS 2025 PREVIEW

Retail Buyers Guide: Surfboards 2025 Retail Buyer’s Guide
Brand: Stewart Surfboards
Interviewee: Marketing Team

If you were to draw a quick assessment of 2024, how would you describe the current state of the surfboard market?
2024 has been challenging for the surfboard market, however we can see a market stabilization after 2 to 3 years of post-covid roller coaster.

We see a resurgence of a trend consisting of (literally) no-name brand, with boards retailing at very aggressive prices (under 300 €). Are you concerned by this recurring phenomenon?
Stewart Surfboards is a high-end surfboard brand, with a strong legacy and we don’t really compete with those no name brands. Those no name brands are definitely threatening some other board brands who have been positing themselves on the entry level price point. But as we have never positioned ourselves as the cheapest boards on the market I don’t think we are targeting the same consumers.

The good news in the surfboard market is that sales are quite evenly spread between very different designs (perf shortboards, summer boards, midlengths, longboards, beginner funboards), unlike other activities which rely on a single design. Did you adapt your range to offer a mixed bag of boards or do you rather specialize in one segment?
Indeed, this is a very good news, with Stewarts we aim to provide boards for all kind of surfers. Stewart Surfboards caters to a diverse range of surfers, from seasoned professionals and novices to those who have been surfing for years and everyone in between. Mid-Length, Last year we’ve launched a really good midlength model, the Wild Bill: the ultimate high-performance mid-length surfboard. For intermediate to advanced surfers, this board is a perfect alternative to your shortboard for those days that you want a bit more paddle power but don’t want to sacrifice performance. The beveled rails allow for more foam where you need it while having a nice thin rail to carve into those turns. Tested from Hawaii to California, France to Portugal, and beyond, it works great in a variety of conditions from mediocre mushy beach breaks to steep barreling point breaks. This board is a perfect addition to our Midlength range composed of several models such as : the Two Fun, the 949 and 949 com, the Funline 11 and fun board. Alternative shortboards, This year the FartKnocker SBD is our weak wave performance board solution. The Fartknocker SBD is the perfect board for those mushy days when you’re questioning if it’s even worth going out. The pancake flat rocker in the midsection with a slight kick in the nose and tail make it absolutely fly down the line, crop dusting the crowd as you go. And it loves to blast aerial tricks in the smallest of waves. The Hydro Hull beveled rails put plenty of foam where you need it, giving the SBD surprising wave-catching ability for a small board. The huge single to double concave bottom make this board easy to ride, forgiving and generally super rippable. We also propose other alternative shortboards and grovelers: the Pigme, the XLT, the retro fish and the S-wingers. Longboards, Longboard wise we have a consistent offer, with performance longboards and more traditional log shapes with a performance edge. Our last released is the Bird : it has the grace of a classic single fin, with the power, speed, and maneuverability of a more high-performance longboard. Created for our team riders to push the envelope of classic longboarding, Bill made sure that the Bird checks all the classic log boxes for those pesky contest rules while adding some key features to make it ride way better than your average single fin.

In the past, beginners had go through the walk of shame, forced to aim for “fugly” looking shapes. In 2025, a novice board can be sexy as well: what do you have in stock for the newbies?`
Stewarts proposes a lot of really cool options for beginners, from longboards to very usuers friendly shortboards and mid-length, our range suit all kind of surfers from beginners, intermediate to confirmed with out forgetting aging surfers. The Clydesdale is a stable and supportive board that performs well in all conditions and is ideal for larger surfers. A fantastic paddler and wave catching machine, the Clydesdale will get you in to the wave earlier and easier than anything else out there. The template is designed to surf much shorter than its actual size and features the famed Hydro Hull bottom. Our Funline 11 model is a really good option for the beginners: it paddles really big, rides really small. It’s designed to easily catch waves in all conditions, for surfers from beginners to advanced. A mini version of our best-selling Redline 11 longboard, the Funline is super wide in the front for paddle power. The Two Fun is also a really good one: The 2FUN really is fun for all — it works great in just about any wave conditions and for a wide range of surfers from beginners to advanced. Based on the original Hydro Hull egg (the Funboard) the 2FUN has all the mind-blowing features of the Hydro Hull shape, just pumped up a notch. Lower entry rocker makes paddling a breeze and the beveled rails offer forgiveness on the drop-in and in your turns. 949 in bigger dimensions really fits beginners and intermediate. It paddles well, stable and remains playful when your surfing improves.

The so-called Grovelers dominate the shortboard category (even if used in overhead surf), yet options are very unalike, from twin-keels to stubby tri-fins. What is your take within the Groveler category?
Groveller and small / weak wave boards is a very important category as most of the time we are surfing in poor conditions. At Stewart most of our shortboards are high volume boards and can be considered as grovellers. The idea is to have more volume, to float more to surf more and have more fun. The trick with those boards is to have a design that doesn’t compromise the performance and versatility of the board. This something Bill Stewart has been working on for decades with his well-known hydro hull and beavered rails. Recently we relaunched an updated version of the Fartknocker, One of our most popular shortboards of all time has been reborn as a new and improved version. The Fartknocker SBD is the perfect board for those mushy days when you’re questioning if it’s even worth going out. he Hydro Hull beveled rails put plenty of foam where you need it, giving the SBD surprising wave-catching ability for a small board. The huge single to double concave bottom make this board easy to ride, forgiving and generally super rippable.

Midlengths are everywhere as well. Which are the latest developments in this design within your range?
Our latest mid-lenght is the Wild Bill, the ultimate high-performance mid-length surfboard. For intermediate to advanced surfers, this board is a perfect alternative to your shortboard for those days that you want a bit more paddle power but don’t want to sacrifice performance.

The longboard reach is unprecedented in surfing history, as even die-hard shortboard brands do propose classic Logs. If you are new to the category, how did you position yourself? If you have been a long-time promoter of 9’+ boards, do you think “the more the merrier”?
Longboard wise we have a consistent offer, with performance longboards and more traditional log shapes with a performance edge. Stewarrt has always been Our last released is the Bird : it has the grace of a classic single fin, with the power, speed, and maneuverability of a more high-performance longboard. Created for our team riders to push the envelope of classic longboarding, Bill made sure that the Bird checks all the classic log boxes for those pesky contest rules while adding some key features to make it ride way better than your average single fin. The Famous Red line 11 is a classic in the Stewart Range : The Ultimate 9’0 Surfboard! Turns like an 8’6,” Paddles like a 9’6.” Noserides like a 10’0.” Bill says this is the “best all-around longboard he’s ever designed”. We also have our High Performance Longboard, the CMP was the board ridden to win four world longboarding titles (and counting!) as well as countless other contests. Designed to go rail to rail with the ease and speed of a shortboard, the CMP’s thin and narrow shape generates a perfect flex pattern that will shoot you out of every turn. The Tipster is our traditional log solution : the Best Stewart Noseriding Longboard ever! Tested by team riders Tony Silvagni and Steven Newton, both of whom have been winning contests on it since Fall 2014. The Tipster has also been stylishly free surfed by our team on the East & West coasts. Bill Stewart calls it “Beyond Clean, Beyond Classic.” The Ripster combines classic styling with modern technical design features, making it the ultimate performance single fin!

The Groveler infused the High-performance Shortboard, yet the extra foam has been streamlined so that High-perf shapes still bear a racey look. Please unveil your secrets!
The Idea is to work on volume distribution, bottom and rails, that even if the board is thick and high volume you can still put it on rail and surf with performance.

While the alternative constructions/materials towards the eco-friendly surfboard have never been so plentiful, we are far from a massive adoption (whether from manufacturers or end-users). Any solutions out there that seem viable to you?
For the moment we haven’t found the perfect ecofriendly material for board constructions. It is often more expansive and not as good looking nor as performant as a standard PU construction. So, we try to be clean as possible on other aspect of the business.

Key Products:

WILD BILL:
Bill has tapped into his wild side and created the Wild Bill, the ultimate high-performance mid-length surfboard. For intermediate to advanced surfers, this board is a perfect alternative to your shortboard for those days that you want a bit more paddle power but don’t want to sacrifice performance. Tested from Hawaii to California, France to Portugal, and beyond, it works great in a variety of conditions from mediocre mushy beach breaks to steep barreling point breaks.

wild-bill-deck-bottom-rocker-composite-blue-color

FARTKNOCKER SBD:
One of our most popular shortboards of all time has been reborn as a new and improved version. With the same wide outline as the original Fartknocker, the SBD takes it up a notch with a thinner, more pulled in nose and tuned up foiled rails. The result is a stealth little high-performance groveler that’ll sneak up on you and surprise you with its potency – whew, this baby will turn some heads! Not only does it permeate in slop and medium size waves, the SBD can handle bigger surf, too.

fartknocker-poly-56-deck-rocker-bottom-compsite-b

CLYDESDALE:
The Clydesdale is a stable and supportive board that performs well in all conditions and is ideal for larger surfers. A fantastic paddler and wave catching machine, the Clydesdale will get you in to the wave earlier and easier than anything else out there. The template is designed to surf much shorter than its actual size and features the famed Hydro Hull bottom.

CLY-E