Haven't been on yelp in years-- I retrieved my account solely to post this review. Long story short, these guys are awesome, helpful, super positive and polite, and have a huge stock to boot. They deserve your money and it's a great place to buy if you're new to surfing and need a bit of guidance and lack of snark that most surf shops give new riders by the barrel full.
As a girl who grew up interested in a lot of hobbies with insular enthusiasts (skateboarding, drumming, etc), I'm used to walking in for a purchase and being treated with condescending and patronizing attitudes. I made it a solid rule a long time ago to never give a big chunk of money to a shop that didn't make me feel stoked on my purchase. At the end of the day, whatever I wanted to buy would be available somewhere else, and I didn't need to put up with someone's bad vibes or rude attitude in order to give away my money. When I started looking for surfboards, I encountered the same I-know-better-than-you-do attitudes. I spent a couple days searching about 10 or 15 surf shops for the gear I was looking for. A couple places had what I was looking for, but absolutely no interest in being helpful, or in some cases even decently polite (Hansen's, Jack's in HB), so I walked out. A couple places were helpful but didn't have the equipment I was looking for (Encinitas Surfboards, Progression Surf, Surfy Surfy).
When I got to Surf Ride, I found the board I was looking for. The guy on hand in the board room (whose name I wish I could remember, but it escapes me) walked over to help, and when I told him I was thinking of buying this board, he immediately followed up with all the helpful information he could, including what he thought of the board, how it might perform for me, how they had an upgraded version available but he didn't think it was worth my money in performance difference, and how much fun he thought I would have. He got as excited about my purchase as I originally was before a full day's worth of annoying shopping, and it was awesome. He immediately started setting me up and making sure I had everything else I needed, at the minimum price I needed to spend to get what I wanted. I had also been looking for a fullsuit, but saw they didn't have my size. Unlike every single other shop I'd been to, he chimed in with experience on sizing that suggested a different size in a different brand was usually cut more like what I was looking for. He wasn't pushing the purchase in the least bit (in fact, he started to put the suits away after showing me!), but when I tried on the suit he suggested, it fit better than what I was originally hoping to find. Sold. He directed me to the nearest breaks appropriate for my new purchase, and couldn't have possibly been more helpful or positive. I want to make it clear-- I probably sounded like a total bumbling idiot. It's the worst when you walk in to something like a surf shop with no buddy to help and not much of a clue either. I had done my research and new exactly what I was looking for and why, but seriously, I had "amateur" written all over my face. Not only did he not make me feel like a total fool (as most other shops had), he got me excited on my new gear. The only thing I regret about the encounter is not high-fiving this guy.
I had been looking to surf immediately, but realized after I drove to the beach that I had nowhere to put my key. I drove around hardware stores and such looking for a solution or someone to cut me a valet key, but they told me it was too new and difficult. I stopped by the shop again hoping they could give me some advice, and sure enough someone else downstairs pointed me to a stellar locksmith a few miles away who was happy to cut me a key I could put in my wetsuit.
I watched the sun set from the water in Carlsbad. Excellent day, almost entirely thanks to Surf Ride. Couldn't recommend the place or staff more highly. read more