The Best Surf Accessories for Better Sessions
Nine pieces of surf gear that make your sessions longer, your carpark changes less tragic and your post-surf existence considerably more civilized.
Kooks and shredders, rejoice. You have found the definitive list of surf accessories you do not technically need until the exact moment you desperately need them.
We are not talking about the obvious stuff—boards, leashes, fins, wax and the wetsuit currently drying badly over your fence.
These are the supporting characters: the gear that keeps phones dry, heads intact, sandwiches cold and wet cotton towels from fermenting in the back of the vehicle.
Whether you are surfing the local beach break, driving down the coast or sweating through a tropical strike mission, these accessories earn their space.
Microfiber Surf Towel
Bigfoot’s farts have got nothing on the stench of a wet cotton towel left inside a vehicle to marinate after a session.
Avoid transforming your car into a rolling locker room with a microfiber surf towel . It packs smaller, dries faster and releases sand more easily than the enormous cotton bathroom blanket you stole from home.
Come back from your second session of the day to a fresh towel while your friends dry themselves with their damp, sandy rags.
Advantage: you.
Dry Bag
The dry bag may be the most underrated surf accessory of all time. There. We said it.
It protects phones, keys, cameras, clothes and whatever other expensive object you brought dangerously close to saltwater.
It also doubles as a wet-wetsuit bag, improvised gear bucket or emergency cooler when the beach day takes an unexpected turn toward snacks and cold beverages.
Surf Helmet
Brain injuries are not funny, so we are temporarily setting the jokes down.
A proper surf helmet can provide additional protection around reefs, crowds, heavy surf, shallow water and boards traveling at speeds boards were not spiritually designed to travel.
Modern helmets are lighter and more comfortable than many surfers expect. Choose one designed specifically for water use, make sure it fits correctly and understand that no helmet removes all risk.
Protecting your nut is not kooky. Losing an argument with your own surfboard is.
Fin Remover
They can design fins using aerospace technology but apparently cannot make every fin easy to remove with wet, slippery hands.
A proper fin-removal tool can save your fingers, your patience and the fiberglass around the fin box.
There is also something deeply satisfying about popping a fin out in one clean motion while your friend continues wrestling theirs like it owes them money.
Ahhh, smugness. The renewable energy of the surf parking lot.
Surf Hat
Some accessories are gimmicky. Some are money fires. A decent surf hat is neither.
It keeps the sun out of your eyes, protects the scalp and reduces the chance of arriving at the post-surf gathering with your forehead cooked like a gas-station hot dog.
Is it the coolest-looking object in surfing? Depends on the hat and the shape of your head.
Is it cooler than third-degree forehead sunburn? Pass us the hat, amigo.
Sand-Resistant Picnic Towel
Picnics are the bee’s knees until a wind gust relocates half the beach into your sandwich.
A large, smooth microfiber towel gives you a place to sit, sort gear, eat snacks and conduct the kind of highly strategic post-surf debriefing that mostly involves saying, “You should’ve been here earlier.”
Dry sand shakes off more easily than it does from thick cotton loops. Give the towel a firm flick and the picnic area becomes clean enough to eat off.
Well, almost.
Lower-Impact Surf Wax
The ocean already has enough problems without your questionable wax choice joining the list.
Some surf-wax makers offer formulas using alternatives to conventional petroleum-heavy ingredients. Performance, ingredients and environmental claims vary, so read the label rather than believing every green leaf printed on the package.
Choose a wax suited to the water temperature, use what you buy and dispose of old wax responsibly. Mother Nature has endured enough branding exercises.
Cooler Box
Sandwiches. Cheese. Grapes. Kombucha. Cold water. All the essential fuel required for a day of surfing and pretending the next tide will definitely improve things.
A cooler keeps everything in one place and reduces the odds of discovering a warm yogurt beneath your wetsuit three days later.
Choose one you can actually carry. A cooler that needs its own trailer has moved beyond accessory status and become a lifestyle commitment.
Ding Repair Kit
Boards get dinged. This is one of the few dependable facts in surfing.
A basic repair kit can help seal small, straightforward damage before water reaches the foam. Use a product compatible with your board’s construction and follow its instructions carefully.
Larger damage, structural cracks and repairs you do not understand still belong with a professional.
You are not being asked to shape a board from scratch. You are being asked to stop a penny-sized hole from becoming a financial event.
Start With a Better Surf Towel
Quick-drying microfiber towels for drying off, changing, sitting, packing and avoiding the smell of wet cotton slowly becoming self-aware in your vehicle.
- Lightweight and compact for surf bags.
- Quick-drying microfiber construction.
- Smooth surface that releases dry sand more easily.
- Large enough for changing and beach use.
- Original artwork by independent artists.
Buy Less Dumb Stuff
Our position at Happy Faced remains that rampant commercialism sucks.
But a few useful accessories can make a surf day safer, cleaner and substantially less annoying. Protect your head, keep your electronics dry, repair small dings before they grow and bring a towel that does not require its own luggage.
Spoil yourself, drop hints before your birthday or continue sending this article to the person who still brings one damp bath towel for the entire group.