One of the coolest things with river surfing, is the fact that the wave stays the same. Ocean waves are always different; no two ocean waves are exactly the same (which is also a neat thing about ocean surfing). In any given session, a river wave will most likely stay the same height, width, and shape and all its features will remain unchanged.

Since the wave doesn’t change, it’s easy to compare gear and dial in your setup. Whether you want to try a different board, change your paddle, or swap out fins, you can make one change and test it against the exact same wave. You don’t have to worry about catching a good wave or varying conditions since the wave is always the same!

An unchanging wave is also great for learning new things. With a wave behaving the same on every ride, you can push yourself further and further. As you succeed (or fail) you know that the only variable is your skill and ability. There were two things I learned to do last season: cross stepping and frontside 360s. Each of these I learned over the course of just 2-3 sessions, but only because I was learning them on river waves.

Here’s a video showing the progression I made during my attempts to learn to 360. You can see the wave is always the same and the only difference is how I approach the trick. After each failed attempt, I only needed to inspect what I was doing wrong and how I could change my technique to do better. The wave was unchanging, it was up to me to make the trick happen.

Perhaps the best thing about river waves is not only is it unchanging, but that it is always breaking. There is no waiting in the lineup for a set to come in. The wave is always there, ready to be ridden.

This removes the need to compete for waves. Everyone gets in a line and takes turns. The best surfers get just as many shots at the wave as the worst surfers. Since there is no competition, everyone is friendly. There’s no getting pissed at anyone else for stealing all the waves, or dropping in on someone else. The wave is always there, always the same, and shared equally. This friendliness and equality is what makes the river surfing, and the community surrounding it, so great.

Written by | Benjamin

Benjamin Smith is a land locked surfer living in Colorado. He gets his surfing fix on the local rivers, where he SUP surfs standing waves.