Back to its SUP surfing roots: Mark Travers drops details on the Torquay, Honu’s first carbon composite board

“We’re not building a board for pros – we’re building a board for serious paddlers who are tired of riding something that holds them back.” That bold statement sets the tone for Honu, the Australian brand born on the shores of Bondi Beach, built on clarity of vision, sustainability, quality and consistency.

In 2019, Honu made a deliberate decision to step away from composite boards and focus on creating high-performance, high-rigidity inflatable boards. The Bondi inflatable model proved that path right. But it seems the pull of carbon and a board that truly comes alive under your feet never fully disappeared.

We caught up with the brand’s owner Mark Travers to drop some details on the Torquay – a brand new carbon SUP surf board that marks Honu’s return to its composite roots – and to dig deeper into the design and shaping process, described as “not a step back, but a leap forward.”

Welcome back to TotalSUP, Mark! Looking back since our last interview in 2024, how would you describe how Honu has evolved over the past two years?

It’s been a busy couple of years, mostly under the surface…no pun intended. The focus has really been on pushing what’s possible from an inflatable. There’s a perception that inflatables have a performance ceiling, and we’ve been quietly working to prove that wrong, one construction detail at a time.

A good example is the Bondi. We’ve refined it to the point where it’s a genuinely capable surfing SUP, not “good for an inflatable,” just good. That distinction matters to us. And with the Sorrento, we were able to reduce the board thickness, which might sound like a small tweak, but it meaningfully changes how the board connects to the water. You feel more, you read the water better, and your paddle strokes translate more directly into movement. These aren’t headline announcements. They’re the result of obsessing over details and not accepting “good enough.”

You’ve always been focused on innovation. What’s most exciting for Honu in 2026?

This one’s a bit of a full-circle moment for us. Six years ago, we made a deliberate call to walk away from composite boards and put everything into building the best inflatable we possibly could. That was the right decision with the Bondi and Sorrento validated it. But the pull of carbon and glass, and what a board can feel like when it truly comes alive under your feet, never really went away.

So in 2026, we’re returning to composites. We’re just now in the process of releasing our first carbon composite surfing SUP, the Torquay.

To do it properly, we spent six months working with John “Bosch” Atkins of Blue Seas Watersports, a shaper, designer, and surfer with over 40 years of hands-on experience building and riding SUPs. We went through multiple blanks, countless sessions, and kept asking the same question: can a high-performance surfing SUP be genuinely fun for any capable paddler, not just the elite?

The Torquay is that answer. It’s built on a hand-finished, precision CNC-machined blank and laminated in 45° biaxial carbon. That diagonal orientation maximises torsional stiffness and flex response at the same time, it snaps through turns without feeling brittle, and holds its rail through powerful bottom turns without lag.

The deck is armoured with 2mm high-density PVC so it absorbs hard sessions without pressure dings. And a deliberately low-profile deck height lowers your centre of gravity and sharpens your connection to the rail.

We’re calling it Fun-Performance. The drive, rail sensitivity, and responsiveness of a truly high-performance shape, without demanding a competition mindset to unlock it. That’s the sweet spot we went after.

Sustainability has always been central to Honu’s philosophy. What have you been working on there?

Probably the most concrete thing we implemented in 2025 was offsetting our last-mile delivery emissions. We know we still have a long way to go as we haven’t yet offset our entire supply chain, but the last mile is where a lot of damage is done, so it felt like the right place to start taking direct action. Every order we ship now has its emissions calculated, and a portion of our revenue goes to carbon removal companies vetted by scientists from Carbon Direct such as Heirloom, Remora, and Charm among them.

Beyond that, our packaging redesign has been ongoing, eliminating unnecessary plastic and replacing it with biodegradable corn-starch alternatives wherever possible. And our 4-year Total-Care Warranty, which includes repair, is something we’re genuinely proud of. If we can keep one board in service for a decade instead of it ending up in landfill after two seasons, that’s a meaningful impact. PVC takes over 500 years to decompose. The most sustainable board is the one that never needs replacing.

When we last spoke, Honu was expanding internationally. How has that journey unfolded?

Honestly, our first push into the EU and UK was challenging. Logistics, pricing, freight, it’s a different world when you’re shipping across hemispheres and navigating import costs. We had to learn a lot quickly.

But the good news is that for 2026 we’ve found a new inbound freight and logistics solution that has allowed us to significantly lower our prices in those markets. That’s a big deal. We were offering a product we believed in deeply, but the pricing wasn’t where it needed to be for European paddlers to feel it was accessible. We think the 2026 pricing will change that conversation, and we’re genuinely excited to see how the market responds.

What trends are you most excited about in the paddling world right now?

SUP surfing, without a doubt. I love watching where that segment is heading where the equipment has evolved, the skill level of riders has elevated dramatically, and it’s becoming a legitimate discipline in its own right. It’s a key area for us going forward, which is part of why the Torquay is our next thing.

I also love watching the racing scene in Europe, it looks like an incredible community, full of energy and fun. Racing just hasn’t taken hold the same way in Australia, but I watch what’s happening over there and it’s hard not to be inspired by it.

More broadly, I think SUP in general will keep growing. More people on the water is always a good thing as it creates more ocean advocates, more people who care about protecting what they paddle on. As a brand, we’re committed to supporting clubs and events however we can. I think that’s crucial. The health of the sport and the health of the community are the same thing.

Finally – what should paddlers be excited about for the future of Honu?

The Torquay is the very next thing. The first board is in production right now and expected to be available late June. It’s coming in sizes from 7’1″ to 9’5″, so there’s a shape for a wide range of surfers. We’re not building a board for pros, we’re building a board for serious paddlers who are tired of riding something that holds them back.

Beyond that, I’ll just say that returning to composites after six years of purely inflatable development means we’re bringing a very different engineering lens to the category. The Torquay is the beginning of that, not the end. Watch this space.

To find out more about HONU, visit honuboards.com

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Revisit our fun SUP day hanging out and paddling with Mark Travers against the stunning backdrop of Hossegor in southwest France. This video marked the exciting launch of HONU’s full operations across the UK and Europe.