Let’s face it: most surf bags are kind of boring. They’re either plain gray or silver, and they basically all look the same. But that’s not true anymore. Rareform is a new company based out of California that is making bags of all kinds out of upcycled billboards. Billboards are made of a very tough and waterproof vinyl, so it’s the perfect material for a surfboard bag.
Considering most surf equipment (boards, resin, wetsuits, etc) is made of fairly toxic materials that are not so great for the environment, having at least some of your gear made of recycled materials is a great way to take steps towards being a bit more green. I know there are a lot of companies out there making green surf materials but sometimes they’re hard to get.
Rareform sent me a bag to check out, and I wasn’t sure what to expect the bag to look like as it was made from a billboard – would there be a face or strange picture on it, or a random phone number? Nope. I actually found the bag to be very cool looking, and I really like the fact that it’s completely unique. Apparently each billboard they make the bags out of is unique, and they are all completely different. Some billboards are made into different bags or more than one, so your bag could have a sibling out there somewhere.
The cool thing is that you can select what design you want if you order online – Rareform’s website shows all the bags and you can decide which one you like best. Some of them are fairly plain, and some are obviously old billboards. It depends on what you feel like sporting.
My new JS Blak Box that I bought a few weeks ago now has a safe and cozy home in its new Rareform bag. The bag has a nice amount of padding, a removable shoulder strap, and it’s very well made. It’s also made right here in California, USA, which I’m very happy about. The only caveat was that there was no padding on the strap – but honestly you don’t really need that.
A note about surf bag sizing: If you want to keep the board in the bag with the fins on, then buy the bag a few inches longer than the board actually is.
Check out Rareform’s surf bags here.
They also make a ton of other types of bags, from snowboard bags to backpacks to duffel bags to wallets. Check out all the options they have.
Thanks buddy, you gave us a new way to buy a surfboard bag because I always get frustrated when I have to buy a surfboard bag. You wrote in your blog very true that surfboard bags are either plain gray or silver, and they basically all look the same.
Very informative Hailey. Great site.