Surf trip checklist
Written for a week away with a board. The repair kit and the spare leash are not optional items: they are the difference between a ding and a lost week.
36 items
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
The items
- Boards
- Board, and a second if you can carry it
- Board bag with padding at the nose and tail
- Fins and the key, packed separately from the board
- Leash, plus a spare×2
- Wax for the right water temperature
- Wax comb
- Traction pad, if you use one
- Repair kit
- Solar-cure resinA ding on day one costs a week without it and twenty minutes with it.
- Sandpaper
- Duct tape
- Spare fin screws and a fin key
- Spare leash string
- Wetsuit and water
- Wetsuit of the right thickness for that water, that month
- Boots, gloves and hood, in cold water
- Rash vest for warm water
- Changing robe or a poncho towel
- A bucket for rinsing and standing in
- Ear plugs, if you surf cold water often
- Sun and skin
- Zinc or a face stick
- High-factor water-resistant sun cream
- Aftersun
- A hat for out of the water
- Sunglasses with a strap
- Antiseptic for reef and fin cuts
- Travel
- Board fee paid to the airline in advance
- Travel insurance that actually covers surfing
- Roof rack or straps, if you are driving
- A dry bag for the beach
- Waterproof phone pouch
- Check tides and swell for the week before you book anything
- Cash — a lot of surf towns still run on it
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
Questions people ask
- What wetsuit do I need?
- Ask locally about water temperature for the month you are going, not the air temperature. The same beach can want a shorty in August and a 4/3 in March.
- Can I take a surfboard on a plane?
- Usually, as oversized baggage, and almost always for a fee that has to be booked in advance. Check the airline's length limit before you pick which board goes.