Torq TET Mod Fun.

The Gavler Review.

Torq TET Mod Fun Review: The Best-Value Progression Surfboard

The Torq TET Mod Fun sits at number eight on our Best Surfboards list with an 8.6 — the highest score of any progression-focused board on the list — and it earns that rank on value and durability rather than a high performance ceiling. Buy it if you want one affordable, nearly indestructible board that covers everything from waist-high mush to overhead surf while you improve. Skip it if you're already an advanced surfer shopping for a high-performance shortboard.

What it actually is

The Mod Fun is Torq's wide, forgiving funboard, built in a range roughly 6'8" to 7'6" and aimed squarely at surfers who need one board to handle every condition where they actually surf — not a quiver of specialized shapes. It's the kind of board a surf shop points an improving customer toward when they ask for something that "just works."

What sets it apart from a typical entry-level board is the construction. Torq's TET (Tec Epoxy Technology) vacuum-laminates an EPS foam core with roughly double the fiber content of a comparable board, producing a shell that's both lighter and dramatically more resistant to dings than a standard polyurethane blank. At a price around $499, that durability is doing real financial work — it's the difference between a board that survives a season of beginner mistakes and one that needs a ding repair every other session.

In use

The Mod Fun's outline is built entirely around one goal: catching waves. A medium-full nose and stable width under the chest make it an exceptional paddler, while low-to-medium nose rocker keeps it from pearling (nose-diving) on takeoff — the single most common failure point for improving surfers. Torq's own positioning is direct about the range this covers: the board is "designed to work for all levels of surfers in virtually every condition, from waist-high mush to overhead and hollow."

Where the Mod Fun separates itself from a simple beginner foamie is what happens once you're up and riding. A pulled-in tail with vee running through the fins makes the board feel noticeably shorter than its actual length once you shift your weight back — the mechanism that lets it keep turning as your surfing improves, rather than plateauing the way a pure funboard shape does. Rider Shack frames this as part of a broader pattern in Torq's lineup, describing the TET construction as delivering "Torq's highest-strength technology and best-value surfboards — perfect for first boards and quiver builders."

Where it shines

• Best-in-class durability for the price. The double-fiber TET epoxy lay-up shrugs off the dings that would sideline a polyurethane board, which matters enormously while a surfer is still learning to handle wipeouts and board control.
• Exceptional wave-catching. The full nose and stable width mean less paddling effort and more waves caught per session — the single biggest factor in how fast a beginner-to-intermediate surfer actually improves.
• Room to grow into it. The pulled-in tail and vee bottom give it real turning capability, so it doesn't become dead weight the moment you start wanting to carve rather than just stand up.

The trade-offs — who should skip it

This is a progression funboard built for value and durability, not outright performance, and the honest reasons to look elsewhere are specific:

• You're already an advanced surfer. The wide, stable outline that makes the Mod Fun such a good learning platform is the same trait that caps its performance ceiling in fast, powerful, or hollow surf — an advanced surfer will outgrow it quickly.
• You want the lightest, most responsive ride. Epoxy funboards trade some of the flex and feel of a high-performance polyurethane shortboard for stability and durability; surfers chasing maximum responsiveness should look at a dedicated performance shape.
• You need something for heavy, hollow waves. Like most funboards, the Mod Fun is happiest from waist-high to overhead beach-break conditions — not the board to grab for a serious swell.

How it compares

On its own list, the Mod Fun sits between two very different neighbors. The Album Surf Disasym at rank seven is a genuinely divisive, twin-fin performance shape — one reviewer called it "stiff, slow, lacking ability," while also admitting to "a lot of brilliant, really fun moments," a trade-off aimed at experienced surfers chasing a specific feel rather than an all-rounder. One rank below, the Catch Surf Odysea Log is a soft-top foamie built for total beginners and no-stress small-day sessions — more forgiving than the Mod Fun, but with a much lower performance ceiling once you're ready to actually turn.

The Mod Fun's case is that it sits in the sweet spot between those two: sturdier and more capable than a soft-top, more forgiving and durable than a performance shape, at a price that undercuts a custom board by a wide margin.

The Gavler verdict

An 8.6, reflecting outstanding value and durability rather than a high performance ceiling (expert consensus 87, community rating 84) — reviewers consistently rate it the best bang-for-buck progression funboard on the market. The Torq TET Mod Fun isn't chasing the performance shortboards at the top of this list, and it doesn't need to: for a surfer who wants one board that catches everything, survives real-world mistakes, and keeps up as their turning improves, it's hard to beat at the price.

Common Questions

Is the Torq TET Mod Fun worth it in 2026?

For a progressing surfer who wants one durable, affordable board that covers every condition, yes. It ranks eighth on Gavler's Best Surfboards list with an 8.6 — the highest score of any progression-focused board on the list — thanks to Torq's TET epoxy construction and a wide, forgiving funboard outline that Rider Shack calls one of Torq's 'best-value surfboards... perfect for first boards and quiver builders.' The honest caveat: it isn't and isn't trying to be a high-performance shortboard.

Will I outgrow the Torq TET Mod Fun as I improve?

Not quickly. Unlike a pure beginner foamie, the Mod Fun's pulled-in tail and vee through the fins make it turn noticeably better than its wide, stable outline suggests, so it keeps up as your surfing improves. Torq itself designs it to work 'for all levels of surfers in virtually every condition, from waist-high mush to overhead and hollow.'

How durable is Torq's TET epoxy construction?

Very, relative to a standard polyurethane board. TET (Tec Epoxy Technology) vacuum-laminates an EPS foam core with roughly double the fiber of a comparable board, producing a lighter, far more ding-resistant shell — exactly the trait that matters most while a board is taking the inevitable beginner-to-intermediate dings.

Torq TET Mod Fun or Wavestorm 8' Classic?

It depends on your budget and your timeline. The Wavestorm is cheaper and even more forgiving for a total first-timer, but its soft foam and soft rails are far less responsive as you progress. The Mod Fun costs more but is built to grow with you — its pulled-in tail and vee bottom give it real turning ability that a pure soft-top can't match, making it the better one-board investment for someone who plans to keep surfing.