If You Could Only Travel With One Surfboard, This Would Be The Model

The “one board quiver” is an oxymoron. And it’s also a unicorn, because it doesn’t exist.

No surfboard is indestructible. Nor does any single model work in every type of waves. It’s why our garages overflow with surfboards of all different shapes and sizes. It’s also why we pay exorbitant airline fees to lug 5 boards halfway around the world for a 10-day trip.

That said, if you were theoretically forced to travel with only one surfboard somewhere you were guaranteed to score waves in the head-to double-overhead range, what board would you choose? With that question in mind (and a solid forecast for a quick strike to Sumatra), I grabbed a stock 5’10" Happy Traveler by Channel Islands Surfboards off the rack at the Onboard Store in Bali and headed for the airport.

Why the Happy Traveler?

After watching former pro surfer (and Hollow Trees Resort manager) Liam Turner rule flexing HT’s during multiple swells this season while riding his 6’2" Happy Traveler, it seemed like a solid choice. “If you were just gonna buy one board [for Indo] it’d have to be the Happy Traveler,” Turner says in this clip . “They paddle really well, they hold really well, and they’re never gonna do anything wrong.”

So, was Turner right? Read on.

Happy Traveler Specs

Dimensions: 5'10" x 18 3/4“ x 2 3/8”

Liters: 27.6L

Cost: Click here for more info

Testing the Happy Traveler Day 1: Left Slab

I'm 5'9" and 150 pounds, and I ride shortboards around 25.5 liters. The 5’10" Happy Traveler I chose is three inches longer with an extra 2 liters of foam. Size wise, it’s a classic step-up: A board with a bit of extra length and thickness, but not so much to sacrifice performance.

The first morning we pulled up to a fickle left slab. I watched a backless set unload in slow motion. Without overthinking it, I grabbed the HT and paddled straight out.

While Channel Islands says the HT “maximizes your paddling power and ability to catch waves with more thickness carried in the forward deck and rail, and a fuller outline in the front third of the board,” I quickly realized I should have grabbed the stock 6’2" for a session like this. There was a lot of water moving. Way more than it looked from the beach. So while I had stepped it up, I hadn’t stepped it up enough for a wave that more closely resembled Teahupo’o than anything I expected to surf.

Related: The Dumpster Diver 2 Was Built for Better Surf. Should You Buy It?

Still, I had to ride a bomb. After 45 minutes waiting my turn, a proper 6-footer appeared and I paddled as hard as I could. Attempting to knife the drop straight into the tube on my backhand, instead I got launched out of the lip — without my board. The only thing I remember is the ting of my leash snapping underwater before getting absolutely annihilated.

While the board wasn’t broken (fortunately), my spirit was. I took the rest of the session off, deciding to test the HT again the next day in the type of waves where it’s actually meant to be ridden.

Testing the Happy Traveler Day 2: Right Slab

Pulling my tail out from between my legs, I paddled out on the second morning into a much more manageable slab than what I’d surfed (err, tried to surf) the day before. A 4- to 6-foot right, with a tube section off the takeoff a nice tapered wall. On my forehand, it was a much more approachable wave.

With less energy in the water, it was so much easier to paddle the HT. The extra foam under my chest was extremely helpful as I scratched into meaty waves, but once I stood up, the board felt like a normal performance shortboard, except without any chatter or slide. Channel Islands claims the board's "decreased concave between the fins, straighter pulled in outline in the back third, and leading fins placement closer to the rail optimize hold and control in quality surf.”

I can attest to that. As hard as I pushed, the board pushed back. Not once did it slip out (even while knifing late under the lip), nor did I ever lose a rail through a carve. The way Turner described the Happy Traveler as a board that’s “never gonna do anything wrong” felt spot on. Unlike yesterday, I made a few tubes, and never got launched out of the lip.

Testing the Happy Traveler Day 3: Left Point

After two days of nerves and anxiety, the swell dropped. While I did pack a shortboard for the trip, in the interest of sticking with the “one board quiver” concept, I still paddled out on my Happy Traveler at a 3- to- 4 foot, peeling left point.

I was skeptical. Even though the HT is only three inches bigger than my performance shortboard, I thought it would feel too long on a smaller wave with a tight pocket. While the HT carved super well on the open face in bigger waves yesterday, could I also jam it in the pocket?

While it took a few waves to find my feet, once I did, the board performed beautifully. The day before, I was mostly driving though tubes and turning out on the face, so my back foot was always up between the fins. For smaller surf, I had to keep my back foot directly over the back fin, which then allowed for pivot in the pocket, and freedom and release through the lip. After an hour, I was so in tune with the HT I totally forgot I was even riding a longer surfboard.

The Verdict: Is The Happy Traveler the elusive “one board quiver?”

As we already mentioned, there is no single surfboard for all waves. But, for 90 percent of surf trips, the Channel Islands' Happy Traveler is about as close as you’ll get to a board for every wave the ocean throws your way. That said, it’s not unbreakable, so at the very least, you want to pack two of them. And if the forecast shows a swell over 6 feet? Definitely step up your step up. You don’t want to be like me, flying through the air on the wave of the trip, cursing yourself for not packing a board with a just little more length and foam.

Related: This Drifter X Mayhem Surfboard Collab Is A Weapon In Draining Tubes