Which Surfboard Shapers Offer the Best Warranties?

Which Surfboard Shapers Offer the Best Warranties?

Going for a surf should be an exhilarating, fun and stress-relieving experience. Damaging your board and even worrying about it is just the opposite. We wanted to highlight what manufacturers and shapers are doing to make you feel more comfortable about your not so inexpensive purchase. While most surfboard manufacturers and shapers offer a 30-day ‘limited’ warranty against ‘manufacturing and materials defects’ it is really hard to find that in writing on their websites. Beyond 30 days, we were only able to find two shapers offering beyond the status quo and zero shapers that offer any kind of extended warranty option covering dings and breaks.

It’s unlikely to find a manufacturer defect or blem on your newly purchased board as they are usually caught in the inspection of the board. It’s more likely that any damage to the board will be as a result of wear and tear or accidental in nature as a result of surfing.

As you can see, while surfboard manufacturers and shapers will back their own work, they won’t back the risk involved with you surfing their delicately made boards and rightfully so. Surfboards are susceptible to all kinds of damage as a result of many variables. These are the most common types of damage to your surfboard that will likely occur:

• Buckles & Breaks
• Cracked & smashed rails
• Delamination
• Fin box damage
• Fin gouges
• Glass chipping
• Nose snaps
• Pressure dings
• Tail chips
  
  

If you’re concerned a manufacturers warranty is not enough to protect your board, skip to the bottom to hear what Surfcare customers have been saying when breaking and damaging their boards.

Below is a synopsis of the manufacturer/shapers that clearly post their terms around their manufacturers limited warranty. Read further below on how to protect your board beyond manufacturing defects, adding surfboard protection against accidental dings and breaks.

Skip to:

• Chilli
• Dark Arts
• Degree 33
• Haydenshapes
• Surftech
• GSI
• Bing Surfboards
• Catch Surf
• Almond Surfboards R-Series
• KT Surfboards
• FCD Surfboards
• Lib Tech Surfboards
• Pyzel Surfboards
  

Chilli Surfboard Warranty

• Limited Warranty: Protects against materials and workmanship defects

• Duration: unkown

  Items purchased from www.chillisurfboards.com are warranted to the original owner against manufacturing defects and faulty workmanship only. Please take careful consideration when purchasing surfboards from Chilli Surfboards as we do not refund or exchange due to change of heart. We understand every circumstance is different; that's why we are happy for you to contact our customer service team to discuss your individual situation.

  Only original, unaltered and unmodified materials and workmanship are covered by this warranty.

  Only full priced items are covered by this warranty.

  This warranty DOES NOT cover: damage or loss caused by misuse, inappropriate use or normal wear and tear of the product; damage caused by accident, improper care or negligence; abrasions or the natural breakdown of colors and materials.

  This warranty DOES NOT cover products purchased in other stores. Warranty claims on purchases made at a store or another online vendor must be processed by them.

  This warranty does not cover delay, loss, damage or breakage resulting from transportation. We strongly recommend you to check your item before signing for delivery, and immediately advise the delivery employee if you find any damage. If your order shows any sign of having been damaged during shipment DO NOT sign the delivery papers.

Dark Arts Surfboard Warranty

• Limited Warranty: Protects against manufacturing defects
• Duration: 1 year

Warranty Policy

Dark Arts offers a one year warranty from the time of purchase. The warranty is limited to manufacturer’s defects or issues that are a result from a flaw in the product. If you feel your product meets these requirements, please email orders@darkartssurf.com with an explanation of the issue, photos of your product, and your order information.

Dents and similar physical damages that are caused through wear and tear are not covered by the warranty. We do intend to sell repair kits at a future date. Feel free to contact us at orders@darkartssurf.com for advice on handling repairs if needed.

Degree 33 Surfboard Warranty

• Limited Warranty: any manufacturer defect
• Duration: 30 days

We warranty our boards for any manufacturer defect for 30 days from the original date of purchase. If you feel that your board has a manufacturer issue, please take pictures and forward them to surf@degree33.com. If we determine that the cause of the damage was indeed a manufacturer defect we will resolve the issue in whatever manner is appropriate- repair, replacement, or refund. Please note, even though you may feel that the manufacturer is at fault, it may be determined that the damage was caused by pilot error, and in these cases, the responsibility may be yours.

Each board we build goes through 2 levels of quality control before it is ever delivered to the customer. We do this to insure that every board we build meets our quality guidelines. It is our reputation on the line if your new stick doesn't live up to your expectations. However, because surfing is an extreme sport taking place in an always changing and unpredictable environment, there are certain types of damage that we cannot warranty once the customer has taken possession of their new board. Following is a list of these types.

Haydenshapes Surfboard Warranty

• Limited Warranty: free from any manufacturing defects or faults
• Duration: unknown

  All surfboards sold by Haydenshapes come with a warranty to be free from any manufacturing defects or faults. Surfboards are NOT warranted against breakage. This warranty is not transferable. Goods under warranty cover will be replaced or repaired by the manufacturer. No refund can be provided under any circumstances. Warranty only covers the item(s) sold by Haydenshapes. A large percentage of returned goods are found to be, not faulty. If the returned goods are determined by Haydenshapes to not be faulty, then all returning shipping fees will be worn by the customer. We will seek the permission from the customer to charge this cost to the customer’s credit card where possible. Failing this, the goods will be sent back by Australia Post COD freight collected. Haydenshapes also reserves the right to charge the labour cost for examining these goods where no fault was found. All warranties are voided if returned product is found in any way to be mishandled, mis-installed, modified, tampered, abused, physically damaged. Please attach a copy of the original invoice or provide the original invoice number. A detailed fault description sheet must be sent together with all the returning warranty goods. Customer is responsible for any shipping and insurance cost involved in sending the warranty claim goods back to Haydenshapes. Haydenshapes is not responsible for any parcel missing in transit, on its return back to Haydenshapes.

Surftech Surfboard Warranty

• Limited Warranty: Protects against manufacturing defects
• Duration: 1 year

As stated by Surftech - ALL SURFTECH SURFBOARDS AND SUP BOARDS ARE COVERED UNDER A 1-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY.

In the case that a warranty is needed for any Surftech product, it will be executed through your official Surftech dealer where original purchase was made. If product is considered under warranty, Surftech will cover the shipping costs associated with the replacement.

• This policy covers manufacturer’s defects ONLY.
• You must have valid proof of purchase from an authorized Surftech dealer.
• You must have a valid and visible serial number.

 This limited warranty excludes the following:

• Boards that show impact or abuse, damage due to heat exposure including but not limited to direct sun exposure, extended amount of time in a car, board bag, etc.
• Previous repairs
• Broken boards
• Boards with signs of improper care or handling
• Incidental damag
• Unreasonable use

GSI Surfboard Warranty

• Limited Warranty: Guarantees boards are free of major defects in material or workmanship
• Duration: 3 months

GSI warranties apply to the surfboards and paddle boards below:

• 7S
• ADVENTURE PADDLEBOARDING
• CREATIVE ARMY
• MODERN SURFBOARDS
• SALT GYPSY SURFBOARDS
• SURFICA ACCESSORIES
• TOM CARROLL PADDLE SURF
• TRIDENT SUP PADDLES

  As stated by (GSI) - Global Surf Industries warranties our product to be free of major defects in material or workmanship to the original purchaser for a period of three months from the date of purchase with receipt. 

Bing Surfboards Warranty

• Limited Warranty: Protects against manufacturing defects
• Duration: 6 months

WARRANTY FOR SURFBOARDS

Surfboard warranty requests will be accepted in writing for material defects and workmanship within 6 months of date of purchase and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Request must be accompanied by a proof-of-purchase and documented images of areas in question.

Warranty does not cover, and is not limited to:

• Damage due to excessive use
• Sun exposure
• Improper care
• Collisions
• General negligence
• Natural aging over the course of the product’s lifetime.

Accordingly, if the product is repaired by an unauthorized repair service before a claim is made, the warranty request will be void. This warranty is ultimately limited to repair or replacement at the discretion of Bing Surfboards and does not include consequential damages, incidental damages or damages to person or property.

Catch Surf Surfboard Warranty

• Limited Warranty: Protects against manufacturing and materials defects
• Duration: 30 days

As stated by Catch Surf - All new Catch Surf® boards are warranted to be free of manufacturing and materials defects for thirty (30) days from the date of purchase, subject to the full terms and conditions of the warranty below. 

Any Catch Surf boards used for commercial purposes, such as rentals, surf schools and camps, are not warranted for any period of time. 

The installation of any third party parts and/or accessories, such as fins, grips and/or mounts, on the Catch Surf board voids the limited warranty.  Drilling or cutting into, and/or affixing objects to, the Catch Surf board also voids the warranty.

Almond Surfboards R -Series Warranty

• Limited Warranty: Protects against manufacturing and materials defects
• Duration: 30 days

As stated by Almond Surfboards - All new R-Series by Almond surfboards are warranted to be free of manufacturing and materials defects for thirty (30) days from the date of purchase, subject to the full terms and conditions of the warranty below.

KT Surfboards Warranty

• Limited Warranty: Protects against manufacturing defects
• Duration: 1 year
  • The Supplier warrants to the Customer, subject to the terms and conditions set out in this Limited Warranty, that the Products are free from any defect in the materials selected and manufacturing processes employed in the production of the Products.
  • This Limited Warranty shall be made by the Supplier in respect defects arising in each Product sold to the Customer during the period of one (1) year from the earlier of the:
  • date on which the Product is resold by the Customer or its trade customer to the first retail customer;
  • date on which the Product is first used,
  • This Limited Warranty only applies to warranty claims made by the first retail customer upon presentation of the original sales receipt, which must show the date on which such customer purchased the Product (the “Initial Purchase Date”). Where the first retail customer is unable to provide proof of the Initial Purchase Date, the warranty period shall commence from the manufacturing date of the Product.
  • If the Supplier replaces a Product in accordance with paragraph 4, the replaced Product shall continue to be warranted for the residual term of the Warranty Period.

FCD Surfboards Warranty

• Limited Warranty: See FCD Downloadable Warranty for Details

• Duration: NA

FCD headquarters (not retail locations) has the discretion to either repair or replace a defective FCD surfboard that meets our policy, which we update from time to time. Please download the following form for making a warranty claim.

DOWNLOAD SURFBOARD WARRANTY

WARRANTY DISCLAIMER: WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SURFBOARD YOU PURCHASE WILL MEET YOUR PERSONAL EXPECTATIONS, REQUIREMENTS OR SUSTAINABILITY. WE EXCLUDE AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL EXPRESS AND IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. OUR LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY DAMAGE SHOULD BE LIMITED TO DIRECT DAMAGES AND SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU ORIGINALLY PAID FOR THE SURFBOARD.

Fletcher Chouinard’s surfboards are of superior quality, and are tried and proven shapes. You can be confident that your FCD surfboard will be strong and well constructed. If it isn't, we may repair or replace it, or refund your money, whichever makes sense to us once we see your board and decide what went wrong. But, we can't be responsible for boards that are abused, like being left in a hot car, road damage, stored in the blazing sun or thrashed on the rocks or pier pilings. And we can't be responsible for problems resulting from normal wear and tear - those dings, dents and delams from unrepaired cracks are inevitable. We also cannot tell you that your board won't break; all boards will break given the right conditions. If you have a problem with your board, tell us what is wrong and we'll figure out how it should be handled. It may be a repair, it may be a replacement, it may be a refund, or it may be your responsibility. Care and Responsibility For Your Board: We pride ourselves on our workmanship and stand behind our boards. However, taking care of your board is ultimately your responsibility and we’re not responsible for the problems below - which also make good guidelines for caring for your board.

• Damage when using a dark board bag.
• Damage from the freeway, in an airplane, or in transport.
• Repairs done by unauthorized repair shop – see authorized shop list.
• Fin losses in or out of the water are not covered.
• Broken/buckled boards will be repaired (not replaced).
• Intentional damage, lost or stolen boards are not covered.
• Natural discoloration when exposed to sunlight.
• Damage or loss to a third party.
• Any body injury caused by surfboards.
• Damage from commercial, rental, demo, and instructional programs.
• Un-repaired dings or holes stored in damp conditions.

Lib Tech Surfboards Warranty

• Limited Warranty: only covers defects in materials and workmanship. See below as Lib Tech has a different recommendation than most surfboard shapers when it comes to damaged boards.

• Duration: 1 Year, however their FAQ for Surfboards is slightly conflicting. See below.

Lib Tech (AKA Mervin Manufacturing) produces surfboards under their own brand as well as co-branded with Lost Mayhem utilizing Lost Surfboards signature shapes combined with Lib Tech unique construction technology and process.

Warranty.

All products made by Lib Tech have a one year warranty against manufacturer's defects from the date of purchase from a Lib Tech Authorized Dealer. Further, this warranty only covers defects in materials and workmanship.

Do you offer a warranty on your surfboards?

No. You bought it, you break it... if you can.

What if somehow I get a ding?

In the rare case of a ding, we recommend not repairing unless absolutely necessary. None of the components in Lib Tech Waterboards will absorb water.

We recommend using stickers, wax, hot-melt glue, etc. or anything to avoid polyester, epoxy, sandpaper and sanding. Dust and sanding sucks.

DO NOT USE POLYESTER RESIN.

Epoxy, and UV resins can all be used if absolutely necessary.
We favor epoxy for strength and safety. Never let any unhardened resin come in contact with your skin. Always remember, razor blades instead of sandpaper if possible.

Pyzel Surfboards Warranty

• Limited Warranty: None listed

• Duration: None listed

What options do you have as a surfer beyond a limited manufacturers warranty?

If you are looking for protection that goes beyond manufacturing, materials and workmanship defects Surfcare offers a simple surfboard protection plan. Depending on the level of protection, you can spend between $5 and $10 a month for peace of mind and ensure that if you ding or break your board, you’ll be covered.