Why San Diego Makes Degree 33 Surfboards So Versatile and User-Friendly

Our name Degree 33 Surfboards is not just branding, but it is geographical: the latitude that stretches from Del Mar to Oceanside, the heart of San Diego’s northern coastline. This is our proving ground. It’s where every board we design gets tested, tuned, and ridden across a range of surf breaks that challenge everything from flow to speed, control to creativity. This stretch of coastline offers just about every wave type you can imagine. That means if a board works here, it can work anywhere.

A Region Built for Board Design

San Diego's coastline is a diverse wave lab. Within just a 30-minute drive, you can paddle out into soft-rolling reefs, punchy beachbreaks, high-performance reef setups, and everything in between. This variety lets us refine our surfboards to be more versatile, user-friendly, and high-performance—all while keeping surfing fun and accessible for a wide range of skill levels.

From the clean, mellow shoulders at Cardiff Reef to the zippy beachbreak peaks at Oceanside, every board in the Degree 33 lineup is purpose-tested across San Diego's many moods. But here’s the real value: because they’re developed in such a wide variety of conditions, our boards work incredibly well in surf spots across the globe—whether you're paddling out on the East Coast, chasing points in the Pacific Northwest, or sliding into tropical peelers halfway around the world.

Let’s break down how specific Degree 33 models pair with some of San Diego's best surf spots—and how this same versatility translates wherever you ride.

Glide, Style, and Flow: Longboarding at Cardiff Reef, Swami’s—and Mellow Days in Oceanside & Del Mar

Just south of Encinitas lies Cardiff Reef, one of Southern California’s most iconic longboarding waves. It's a cobblestone reef that delivers smooth, rolling rights and lefts, ideal for stylish, down-the-line surfing. Just up the road is Swami’s, a point/reef hybrid that serves up long, clean rights—especially during winter swells. Both breaks are community staples for longboarders who enjoy wave quality that’s mellow but still offers room to perform.

And on smaller days, Oceanside and Del Mar become surprisingly good longboard venues, offering soft, peeling waves perfect for high-volume boards and stylish cruising. These more variable beachbreaks mellow out with the tide and swell, opening a window for clean trimming and smooth turns.

For these kinds of waves, we shaped the Ultimate Longboard and Classic Longboard:

• The Ultimate Longboard is built for surfers who want glide and performance. With a more refined tail and responsive rails, it allows for carving turns and subtle footwork on waves like Cardiff’s long walls or Oceanside's softer shoulders when the swell drops.

• The Classic Longboard is a nod to traditional log riding. With its fuller outline, wide nose, and low rocker, it’s perfect for noserides and smooth trimming at Swami’s or mellow summer days at Del Mar, where a clean line and graceful movement pay off over flashy maneuvers.

These boards thrive in well-shaped, friendly waves—reef, beach, or point—and are equally at home wherever the water welcomes a longer board and more drawn-out style.

Midlength Versatility at Carlsbad and San Elijo Campgrounds

Head a bit north or south from the longboard zones and you’ll find Carlsbad's beachbreaks and San Elijo State Beach, a reefy stretch of coast with wedging, medium-sized peaks. These waves love a bit more paddle power but also reward rail work and trim. It’s the perfect canvas for midlengths: boards that bridge the gap between longboard flow and shortboard control.

This is where boards like the Easy Rider, Poacher, Speed Egg, and Over Easy come to life:

• The Easy Rider is a confidence-boosting midlength ideal for surfers looking for stability, wave-catching ease, and flowy turning. It suits the variable, slopey peaks at Carlsbad beaches and makes the most out of soft shoulders.

• The Poacher leans a bit more progressive. With a sleeker outline and refined tail, it gives you the freedom to draw arcing turns on San Elijo's playful reefs while still paddling like a much bigger board.

• The Speed Egg lives up to its name. Its trim speed and maneuverability make it perfect for linking sections when the tide drops and the waves pick up, handling anything from clean shoulders to racier inside walls.

• The Over Easy  is a perfect all around Midlength for both small and big surf. Whether you are surfing big open face reef breaks like pipes or big barreling beach breaks like blacks, the Over Easy excels. 
  

Boards like these thrive in medium surf but also punch above their weight when conditions shift. Whether you’re dodging seaweed at Carlsbad or threading a reefy left at San Elijo, these midlengths provide the blend of control and performance that makes San Diego surfing so fun.

Performance Meets Fun: Seaside Reef, Oceanside, and Del Mar

For surfers chasing more speed, tighter turns, and progressive lines, spots like Seaside Reef, Oceanside Pier, and Del Mar beachbreaks deliver the goods. Seaside is known for its high-performance right-hand reef, Oceanside often delivers punchy peaks with skate-park energy, and Del Mar fires up clean, workable walls when the tide and swell align.

For these kinds of sessions, we recommend our shorter, high-performance templates:

• The ATV (All-Terrain Vehicle) is our go-anywhere shortboard hybrid. Fast, responsive, and forgiving, it's perfect for Seaside’s bowly inside sections or peak-hopping at Del Mar. With plenty of drive and just the right looseness, it gives you control when conditions get steep.

• The Rocket Fish blends retro charm with serious performance. Its wide tail and twin-fin feel keep things skatey and fun at Oceanside, especially on peaky, shoulder-high days.

• The Retro Fish is built for speed and creativity. Ideal for beachbreaks where you want down-the-line drive and stylish flair, it's equally suited to a punchy Oceanside shoulder or a crumbly reef section at Seaside.

These boards represent the high-performance end of our spectrum, but they don’t sacrifice approachability. Like all Degree 33 shapes, they’re made to elevate your surfing without punishing mistakes.

Versatility That Travels

The secret behind our boards’ performance isn’t just the design—it’s the diversity of the San Diego waves that shape them. Designing surfboards in a region with such varied surf conditions means we can dial in boards that adapt, rather than specialize too narrowly. The result? Versatile surfboards that travel well.

Whether you're catching knee-high peelers in New Jersey, navigating cool-water slabs in the Pacific Northwest, or trimming through tropical reef breaks abroad, these boards were built to respond to the ocean’s variability.

That means your Poacher works just as well at a Carolina sandbar as it does at San Elijo. Your ATV handles punchy surf in Rhode Island or Costa Rica. Your Ultimate Longboard glides just as well in Florida as it does at Cardiff.

No matter where you surf, the ocean rewards gear that’s tuned to perform and easy to love. And when your boards are designed in the diverse testing grounds of San Diego, they’re ready for anything.

Built in San Diego. Ridden Everywhere.

At Degree 33, we design and shape boards that grow with you. Whether you’re stepping down from a longboard, looking to boost your speed and maneuverability, or just want to catch more waves and have more fun, there’s a board in our lineup built for the task.

Thanks to the testing ground between Del Mar and Oceanside, our surfboards are made to thrive not just in San Diego—but anywhere your next surf adventure takes you.