We Assembled This Board Rack In 5 Minutes And 38 Seconds

Made in partnership with LISS.

I’m not a handy person, but I’ve made quite a few board racks in my life. 

Every single one follows the same design, which appears to have been developed in a middle school shop class.

I’ll let you in on my secret formula:

Step 1: Procure a long 2×4.
Step 2: Drill said 2×4 every six inches length-wise with a half-inch Forstner bit. 
Step 3: Insert a 12-14” x ½” wooden pole (or PVC pipe) into each hole, using super glue to adhere.
Step 4: Once the glue dries and the poles are steady, drill the entire 2×4 horizontally into a wall roughly four feet from the ground — et voila! Your boards have a new home, and your wife rolls her eyes every time she walks into the garage. 

To be clear, there is nothing wrong with this board rack method — it’s cheap, relatively easy and certainly effective. Assuming you already have a drill, the whole thing takes about an hour and costs less than $100. And since these racks don’t bear any weight, I’ve never had an issue with them holding up over time. 

But at a certain point in life — typically around 30 — you realize that the cheapest way of doing something is not always the best way. For me, it was a trip to Japan that shifted the scales. Not to generalize an entire culture, but walking around Tokyo, it became clear rather quickly that the Japanese favor quality over quantity in just about every category: food, clothing, and so on. 

Sure, you might pay a little more in Japan for a little less, but goddamn if you won’t savor the experience. Not to mention, in most cases (other than food), there’s a good chance you’ll get to enjoy that experience again and again — things that are made well tend to last. 

All of which is to say — with just a hint of annoyance — that I’ve discovered a superior board rack alternative to my $100, half-brained arts and crafts project.

Meet the Spirit Rack, by Living in Sunshine (LISS). 

The only thing I’m worse at than finding an obviously-placed condiment in the fridge is putting things together via instruction manual — I hated Legos as a kid, and I’d classify IKEA as a Swedish terrorist organization. So right off the bat, the idea of having to “construct” the Spirit Rack was less than appealing. 

Naturally, the box sat in my garage for a couple weeks. Then the messages started coming from Stab’s commercial department, who’d done the deal with LISS. 

“You get the box?”

“You put it together yet?”

“The client said it’s super easy.”

“Here’s a video of Jack Freestone doing it in seven minutes.”

“You wanna get paid this month?”

Alright! 

Cut the tape, pop the top. A smaller box falls out of the slightly larger box. I’m already pissed. Open the second box, which to be fair, is well designed. The inner lid has very clear, picture-led assembly instructions. Below, a clean wooden box houses all the requisite parts — I pull out the drawer to make sure everything is there. 

“Wait, where are the screws? You gotta be kidding me, I need my own screws?”

No, you don’t. The Spirit Rack has no screws. In fact there are no tools required for assembly. I’m beginning to feel like that Asian woman with the sticks and the feather. 

Once all the parts are laid out in front of me, I assess the assembly instructions. Step 1 is pretty straightforward, as is Step 2. The parts are snapping together perfectly, just like a puzzle. I hate puzzles too. But this is better because they tell me exactly where all the parts go.

By Step 5, I can see the rack taking shape. By Step 8, it’s basically done. Before I know it, I’ve laid the final piece of protective padding in Step 12. That wasn’t bad at all. 

I check the clock — five minutes and 38 seconds. 

Suck it, Freestone. 

The resulting board rack is as aesthetically pleasing as it was easy to assemble. With just three board slots, it’s not built for your entire quiver, but rather the few boards you actually use on a regular basis — and/or the ones your wife deems suitable for inside the house. 

My favorite feature of this rack is easily the gear drawer beneath the boards — this is where I store wax, sunscreen, and an extra set of fins for a quick grab-n-go. No need to rummage through a bottomless, spider-filled box of surf junk when all the essentials are at your fingertips. 

For me, the Spirit Rack checked all the boxes — easy to assemble, easy on the eyes, and it simply makes my life better. I’m also pretty sure it would make Japan proud. 

You should always want to make Japan proud.

Made in partnership with Living in Sunshine.