My aim is to review boards for the average knockabout surfer (or ‘kook’ like me), without all the technical terms and manoeuvres.
The Happy Hour by Ocean & Earth.
I was lucky enough to have the chance to take out The Happy Hour by Ocean and Earth over the weekend. The waves varied over these three days from knee high to chest high, so I got to really test it out in various conditions.
To start with, this board was super easy to paddle! Straight away I noticed that because there is a lot of foam, I sat high in the water and just glided out to the line up with ease.
With that ease of paddling, catching a wave was a dream! I could enter into the wave very early decide what the wave was doing, decide left or right and take off. Once I was on the wave, I did find it a little slow, but I was happy to just cruise and enjoy the ride. The board was really easy to turn and held its place on the wave extremely well.
The Happy Hour is definitely a beginners dream board. If you wanted to get into surfing and buying a big log didn’t interest you, then this board would be the best transition board into buying a short board. Ocean & Earth even make the exact same board in a hard epoxy version so when you do transition to a hard fibreglass board it isn’t to foreign. The 7”6 in the hard epoxy retails at $750. Definitely worth a look!
If you are a beginner and thinking about buying a foamie, I would highly recommend The Happy Hour because the core is EPS with a Plywood Stringer so when you first grab the board you can definitely notice a difference compared to other softboards on the market; its firmer and doesn't feel like it will break straight away. You don’t have to know a lot about surfing or surf board construction to notice this difference.
This board also has a textured deck, which I was skeptical about at first but surprisingly it felt very grippy on the chest for paddling and has more than enough grip under foot, that I didn’t need wax. This is also an added bonus if you leave it in the car. No more melted wax in your car.
The price of the Happy Hour at 7’6 is $560 with fins which is a single and two side bites.
I rode it all weekend as a two plus one, as I know the importance the small side bites make going from rail to rail and keeping the board stable.
Overall, I rate this board 7/10. It is The perfect board for the whole family or for that beginner that wants to progress to a short board.
To learn more about the amazing company Ocean & Earth, Click here to listen to the podcast episode I recorded with the CEO Phil 'Macca' McDonald.
If you have any questions reach out or to keep up to date with what I am doing follow my socials, https://www.instagram.com/southcoast.kook/
To buy this board or boards similar to this, click the link here and have a look at the amazing range from Global Surf Industries.
Hi, your review is very honest and accurate. I purchased the board last October and am very happy with it. I do however want to experiment with the fin setup. At present, I have tow small lfins and one central large fin in place. I can ride waves pretty easily though turning quickly isn't my strong point. Could a different fin setup help me with speed and turning?