Every turn starts at the back foot, and this is the surface that foot lands on. Part of the CIMI surf traction tail pads family, it is a peel-and-stick traction pad for surfboard tail sections, fitted where the old pad has gone smooth, curled at the edges or lifted clean away. The raised texture gives the back foot something to push against, so the rider's weight transfers into the tail instead of sliding across bare glass. Three groups of buyers keep this design moving. Shops fit it for a customer who brings in a tired board, rental and school operators replace pads on decks that go out several times a day, and surf board manufacturers and board builders fit it to new boards before the deck is packed for shipping. The job is the same in each case: a flat, clean tail, a pad sitting where the rider expects it, and a bond that survives salt water and sun. This is one pattern inside a much larger range, so treat it as a design rather than a specification. For a replacement, quote item No. 00561. - Tail-shaped, not a full sheet. As a surfboard tail pad it stops where the tail section ends, so the deck forward of it keeps its flex and the rider still feels the board under the front foot. - Moulded grip under the back foot. The surface is raised into a texture rather than printed flat, so water clears from under the foot and the rider finds the same spot on every turn. - Cushion where the load lands. A surf traction pad takes the sting out of a hard back-foot landing on a late drop, which matters most on boards ridden by people still learning to land them. - Adhesive already on the pad. Fitting needs a clean, dry deck and a steady hand rather than clamps or a glue pot, which keeps a refit inside a normal workshop session. - Built to be swapped. Wear shows at the tail first, and the outline is shaped so a shop can strip a tired pad and seat a fresh one without re-working the rest of the deck. - One design in a wide family. The pattern is a single look within the range, so a buyer can build a shelf of pads that do not all read the same at a glance.
A rental fleet is judged on how its boards feel under a learner's feet, and a slick tail is the quickest way to make a good board feel substandard. School and rental decks go out several times a day, so a pad can be replaced more than once in a board's working life. Keeping a small stock on the shelf means a board goes back into rotation the same day instead of sitting out of service; on the wider boards in a school quiver, a longboard traction pad is usually the part the workshop runs out of first.
A check before a board goes back out should cover more than the deck. Run a hand along the tail, look at the rail edges, check the surf leash for a stiff or frayed section and make sure the plug is sound. A pad replacement is the moment to catch the other wear on the same board rather than sending it out and having it come back a week later.
The front end of the board deserves the same pass. School boards lose surf fins, strip fin-box screws and come back with a fin that has been forced into place. Checking the fins while the board is flat on the bench saves a second workshop visit, and a simple board sheet recording pad, leash and fin state per board turns the next replacement into a decision rather than a diagnosis.
| Product | Surf traction tail pads |
| Item number | 00561 |
| Design | One pattern within a multi-design tail pad family |
| Board type | Shortboards, longboards and soft-tops with a defined tail |
| Position | Tail section of the deck, under the back foot |
| Range | Tail pads, centre pads, skimboard pads and waxless pads |
| Branding | CIMI label as standard, or your own artwork through private-label supply |
| Buyers | Shops, rental fleets, school programmes and surf board manufacturers |
Traction is the widest category we make, and the tail pad is the entry point to it. Centre pads cover the deck between the feet, waxless pads replace wax on soft-tops and learner boards, and skimboard pads follow the same logic on a smaller deck. A shop building the category usually shelves a longboard traction pad next to a centre pad, because a rider fitting grip to a long deck tends to do the whole deck in one visit rather than just the tail.
Leashes are the accessory that leaves the counter with every pad. The range runs from regular and non-slip strap leashes for everyday boards through Hypalon builds for heavier conditions to bodyboard and SUP lengths. A shop that buys pads and a surf leash from the same supplier can fit a board end to end rather than sending the customer down the street for the second half of the job.
Fins and storage close the loop. Honeycomb, timber, G10 glass and nylon surf fins cover everything from learner boards to performance setups, with single-tab and double-tab options and fin accessories for the fittings. Around them sit the covers — basic bags, regular bags, stretch covers and bodyboard bags — and the racks, from travel rax and tie-downs through storage racks and shop-floor display racks to bike racks for the customers who ride to the beach with a board under one arm.
CIMI is a factory-based supplier with 16 years in surf and watersports hardgoods, manufacturing at our own facility rather than sourcing through traders. Chain stores, supermarkets and surf-brand stores buy from us because one supplier covers a full accessory assortment, so a season's order and its reorders can be planned together. We take on OEM and private-label work, adapting designs, colourways and branding to your programme, and we schedule production against your agreed range plan. Send us your buy list and target dates, and we will confirm what we can make and when.
