EGO 9" POD Handboard - Compact Bodysurfing Handplane

EGO 225mm POD Wood Handboard - Cedar and Walnut Bodysurfing Handplane

The EGO 225mm is the smallest POD® bodysurfing handboard, shaped from solid cedar and walnut. At 225mm x 200mm, it sits in your palm and reaches just past your fingertips, yet it still gives you a much larger planing surface than your palm and fingers can make on their own. That compact size turns quickly through tight sections, barrels and fast changes of direction.

The grain in every EGO is different, so the board you receive is truly one of a kind.

No Flat Surface Anywhere

Pick up an EGO, and you'll see it straight away. It has no flat surface anywhere. The shape keeps changing from nose to tail and rail to rail, and the thickness changes with it. The deepest point is a single spot, from the top of the palm support to the tip of the keel fin, and from there the board falls away in every direction. This is not a flat board with barely any shape and a strap on top. It is the POD signature shape, proudly ours since the beginning.

Who the EGO Suits

The EGO suits smaller hands, youth, and experienced bodysurfers who favour technical movement and refined control. In a steep, critical section it turns where a longer board would still be setting its rail.

With a board in each hand, the Duo POD Handboards set is the closest a handboard gets to freestyle bodysurfing. Both arms work the same way they do in freestyle bodysurfing, and the EGO is the board it's built on.

Cedar and Walnut - POD Wood Construction

The EGO carries the POD signature shape in timber. A solid walnut centre runs through it like a surfboard stringer, adding strength, while the lighter cedar on either side keeps the weight down. We design each board in CAD, machine it on a CNC, laser-engrave it, and finish it by hand. We shape every edge to a full radius, nose and tail included, so no sharp rail scratches you or anyone nearby.

Palm Support, Strap System, and Bottom Shape

• Ergonomic palm support: The cedar and walnut range introduced the raised palm support in 2019, after Classic riders asked for something to hold the hand in place. It's shaped into the convex deck and fills the hollow of your palm. Before it existed, riders would pull their hand out from under the strap between waves and open and close their fist to ease the cramp. With the palm supported, your hand stays relaxed for far longer.
• Purpose-built strap system: Custom 50 mm retainers hold a 65 mm double-padded neoprene strap, which spreads the load across the back of your hand. Because the neoprene is wider than the 50 mm webbing, it stands out past it on both sides, so the webbing edge never meets your skin. Many handboards use a narrow 25 mm strap, and riders tell us that edge irritates.
• Hand fit: The retainer spacing suits most hand widths, with the thumb outside the strap, and two-sided adjustment takes up the slack on smaller hands. The strap fits the hand. The EGO's compact 225 mm size suits smaller riders and technical bodysurfing.
• Concave and keel fin: Even at this size, the 16 mm concave catches a pocket of air and water, while the keel fin keeps it tracking straight. The board lifts onto the face with little to no splashback, and the strap sits behind the centre so your hand rides over the keel fin, where the lift pushes up.

EGO 225mm Handboard Specifications

• Volume: 485 cm³ / 485 ml / 0.1281 US liquid gallon
• Planing Lift: Builds with wave speed over the planing area and the 16 mm concave, with the keel fin holding the board on its line
• Size: 225 mm x 200 mm x 41 mm (9" x 7.87" x 1.61") full cross-section, palm support to keel fin
• Weight: 250 to 280 g (varies with timber grain density)
• Deck: Convex with ergonomic palm hold and support
• Bottom: Deep 16 mm concave with keel fin
• Strap System: Custom POD 50 mm retainer, 65 mm double-padded neoprene strap, adjustable 50 mm webbing
• Wrist Leash: Adjustable, reversible for left-handed use
• Finish: Laser engravings, satin protective coating

Care and Longevity

• Strap adjustment: Fit the strap snugly on day one, then leave it. Sliding your hand in and out each session saves the Velcro, and a replacement strap set is available when it finally wears.
• Protective storage: Use the foam and hemp bag together, as shown below.
• Avoid excess heat: A hot car or a day in the sun can dry the timber and damage the finish, so keep the EGO in the shade.
• Inspect and maintain: When the coating starts to look dull or worn, give it a light recoat of marine-grade satin.

Turn the Packaging into a Padded Board Bag

The foam that protects your EGO on its way to you is made to become its storage, so keep it out of the bin. It works on the same idea as the shaped foam in a camera or tool case.

• Lift the board out and separate the two foam halves.
• On each half, cut two straight lines with a box knife, one on each side of the board-shaped recess.
• Peel away the foam between the cuts, down to the depth of the recess.
• Put the halves back together and slide them into the hemp drawstring bag. That creates a letterbox opening at the drawstring end.
• The board slides in through the slot opening, and the drawstring closes over it.

The hemp bag alone won't protect the board. With the foam inside, it becomes a padded case, and the packaging stays out of landfill.

A Legacy of Bodysurfing Design

Shane hand-shaped his first cedar handboards in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The EGO is the smallest of the three cedar and walnut boards that followed in 2019. POD Bodysurfing Handboards History tells the story in between.

Learn More

• How to Choose a Bodysurfing Handboard
• How to Bodysurf with a Handboard