if you are a newbie in the world of bodyboard then the first question that should knock in your mind is what is a body board. Generally, almost all people have heard about surfboard as it is an entertaining game. Then why body board is invented and actually what is it?
simply body board is the shorter version of surfboard where you can go prone, drop knee, and standup riding (done in the hybrid board). So that’s it. if you measure the body board length you will find it around 39 to 43 inches. Which is much shorter than a surfboard and the foam is different as well.
It has a core which is the center of a board and encapsulated by other material. The deck is soft and made of 8lb( h-cell), CXL, dow 300. Dow 300 gives the most flexibility. The bottom is often harder and made of HDPE(high-density polyethylene), HDPP(high-density polypropylene), surlyn, etc. different material gives a different type of flexibility. There are also two types of the core that are used for two types of climate. It’s simple if you live in a hot climate select pp core or polypropylene core. If you live in a cold climate select polyethylene core.
Why bodyboard invented when there is a surfboard already presents?
Well, the surfboard is the predecessor of the body board. In the year of 1971, Tom Morey invented body board. To be honest he wasn’t planning to make a body board at first. His surfboard broke so he wanted to make something from it that would be ridden. So, he cut his broken surfboard and made a shorter board which later became the popular body board. The interesting fact is the first board was wrapped in paper. could you imagine that? The reason behind its popularity is you can do almost everything you can do with a surfboard and even more. It is small, lightweight, and cheap as well.
This is the short history of body board invention.
If you like it then check our bodyboard buying guide.
