I bought a cheap second hand ex-rental board at the weekend. It's has a nose job and a ding fix. Unfortunately when I got it home and was cleaning it up I discovered that there was also a bit of a soft spot in front of one of the footpads where the deck can be flexed a bit. The shop concerned is being perfectly decent about it and are happy to give me a refund. Unfortunately they don't have any more of the model in stock, so can't give me a replacement. The shop's explanation is that the foam under the deck will have been compressed when people have landed moves out of the straps, and that this is actually reasonably common. They suggested it's highly unlikely that the problem will get worse unless I also land such moves regularly (and I'm a few years away from vulcans yet ) Also if any problem should develop they've agreed they'll fix it for me. I would like to keep the board, but would appreciate thoughts on whether this is a smart move. Is the softspot likely to be the start of a catastrophic failure of the board and the whole thing is likely to delaminate on me, or is it just really a bit of 'wear and tear' that I can live with?

Soft spots are often a sign that water has got into the inside of your board,either through ,the air vent or where it has been damaged and repaired.Either way I would get shut,the fact that they will repair it ,is no concellation when your half a mile out in the waves and the board brakes into two.

Soft spots need not necessarily point to an ingress of water into the hull but they do point to a structural failure. Modern boards should not suffer from soft spots the way older boards did.



If you are confortable with a spongey feeling and are only really blasting on this board then it's a 50-50 call. If on the other hand you see yourself taking the board out in waves - landing big jumps...etc - get shut and wait for another to arrive (...and sure as eggs is eggs one will).



I'd get a refund and wait for another to turn up!

Thanks for the advice chaps. I followed it and took the board back. The shop agreed straight away that the board had 'had it' and offered me either a full refund or to find a similar one for me, even offering to call a couple of guys he knew who had the same model and thought might be about ready to sell. As I wanted a quick replacement I went for the refund and picked up an identical model, though in much better condition, from another shop the same day. So, now I don't feel like a kid who's had his Chistmas present taken back, I have a board I'm happy with, and am left impressed with the fair dealing of the shop involved. All I need is some decent wind now.



Thanks again for good advice.

Twofish,





How about letting us know which shop - sounds like they deserve a bit of good publicity and we get to know they are worth dealing with.

Fair enough Freebooter. I'd originally not included the shop name because I didn't want anyone to get the wrong end of the stick about being sold damaged kit. The shop concerned was Robin Hood and as I say, they treated me very well. Managing to leave a customer satisfied after they've had a disappointment is quite a talent.



I should say I also feel a bit guilty about 'playing away from home' because Windy John at D-Spot has also been great to deal with. Still, he's got me addicted to Tushingham Storms so I'll be back soon enough.