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Bodyboard grip styles guide: hand positions and control
Hand position is what decides how a bodyboard steers, holds a line and stays under you. The rail hand drives each turn, and the claw grip changes how much control your fingers get. Nose bulbs, deck contours, wax and fingertip pads then decide how securely that hold stays on your board.
Where do your hands go on a bodyboard?
Every grip style starts from the same base: one hand at the nose, the other on a rail. From there, small changes at take-off and during the ride control how the board planes, how fast it runs and whether the nose buries. Get the basic layout right first. Everything else builds on it.
Set your hands for prone riding
Your leading hand goes over the front nose corner. The other hand sits on the outside rail, roughly level with your hip. That is, in practice, how to hold a bodyboard in the prone position: on a left-hand ride the left hand leads and the right hand takes the right rail, and on a right-hand ride you swap them. For a firmer hold, wrap the little finger of your leading hand around the front corner.
Adjust your nose hold during take-off
The nose hand changes its job while you catch the wave. It starts by working the front of the board, then settles into the corner once you are up and riding. Each movement has its own purpose:
- Push down: pressing the nose down during the catch helps the board plane.
- Pull up: lifting the nose raises the front and helps prevent a nosedive on a steep entry.
- Move to the corner: once the board is planing, the leading hand slides to its nose-corner riding position.
- Set the arm: the leading arm bends to about 90°, with its elbow resting on the deck.
Trim your position after take-off
Once your hands are set, your body position takes over the speed. Sliding forward on the board can add speed. Sliding back can slow it down.
Mundo-Surf offers the Boardcore Raven beginner bodyboard for learning to catch your first waves, supplied with a wrist leash. A bodyboard leash is separate safety equipment. It keeps the board attached to you but does not replace a secure hand hold.
How does the rail hand steer a turn?
With the nose hand anchoring the front, your rear hand on the outside rail does most of the steering. How hard it pulls and in which direction decides how the board carves. This is where your grip moves from holding the board to controlling its manoeuvrability.
Engage the inside rail
A flat board puts more of its surface on the water and responds less readily to turning. To break that, your rear hand pulls upwards on the outside rail, which tips the board and engages the inside rail.
The direction of the pull matters too. Pulling the outside rail upwards and inwards sends the board onto a curved path instead of a straight trim line.
Initiate and hold the turn
Once a rail is engaged, it adds resistance on one side of the board, and that resistance is what changes its direction. Your rail-hand input starts the turn by changing how the rail meets the water.
Keep the input on and the board holds its line through the turn. On the water, that matters: easing off too early flattens the board and loses the carve before it is finished.
Coordinate your body and release the rail
Coming out of the turn uses the same hand in reverse. Easing the rail-hand input releases the board back towards a flatter position, ready to trim again.
Keeping a hand pressed against the board is only part of the steering action. Your elbow, forearm and body weight load the rail alongside the hand, and together they give the board its responsiveness.
What is the claw grip?
The claw grip is a more specialised version of the nose hold. The leading hand stays at the front corner but wraps it differently, so that the fingers reach the rail edge and the nose edge from below. It changes how the board flexes and how much control your fingers get.
Place your forearm and fingers
Lay your leading forearm sideways across the deck, with the elbow resting on it. Then turn your wrist so that two fingers grip the rail edge and two grip the nose edge.
The thumb completes the grip: it points towards the centre of the nose, which locks the hand across the corner.
Understand underside contact and control
With fingers wrapped round two edges, the claw grip gives greater rail control. It can also encourage board flex and recoil, which are associated with stability and speed.
This underside fingertip contact while riding should not be confused with putting your hands beneath the board during a duck dive. Duck-diving instruction warns against that.
Match fingertip traction to your hold
Those fingertips touching the slick, the board's bottom skin, are where adhesive fingertip grips come in. The pieces stick to the slick at the nose corners, where your fingers naturally wrap underneath. They are optional traction aids, not a riding technique of their own.
Before sticking anything down, take your natural riding position: one hand on the nose, the other on the outside rail. Then check exactly where your fingertips land on the slick, and place the pieces there.
Material affects the feel. One fingertip-grip version sold in the UK uses 5 mm brushed foam with a 3 mm fingertip indentation, designed to improve control and board feel when you wear wetsuit gloves. It weighs 12 g.
Which grip features suit your riding?
Hand positions only work if the board gives your fingers, elbows and body something to hold. Built-in features, deck material, wax and pads all change that contact. Which ones you need depends on how and where you ride, and on your skill level, from beginner to advanced riders.
Compare nose bulbs and deck contours
The difference comes down to where each feature acts. Nose bulbs work under the front corners, at your fingers. Deck contours work on top, at your hands, elbows and body.
Each feature brings something distinct to your hold:
- Nose bulbs: give the fingers a more defined, secure hold beneath the corners; some riders wax them for extra grip.
- Deck contours: guide where hands and elbows sit, adding grip and comfort.
- Pronounced hollow: holds your body in position and reduces fatigue during longer sessions.
Some boards combine both. The Stealth Deluxe PE bodyboard, sold by Mundo-Surf for intermediate and advanced riders, has ergonomic deck contours and nose bulbs that enhance grip.
Account for deck feel and wax
Deck material shapes how much extra traction you need. A soft, flexible polyethylene deck gives padding but can develop lasting elbow dents after extensive use. A stiff, closed-structure cross-linked deck resists water but may need more wax.
Put wax where it helps: the front, the rails and the body-contact areas you rely on. Too much hinders weight shifts. Some riders leave the chest and stomach unwaxed, and others use none when the deck already grips enough.
Assess pads and other contact points
Adhesive finger pads add another option. Some pieces suit both HDPE and Surlyn bottom skins, and CAD-cut curves, angles and cut-outs vary where your fingers meet the board.
Brushed-foam traction without raised diamond or pyramid patterns keeps wet grip while giving a more even feel. Even so, no traction pad can guarantee that you keep hold.
Drop knee riding adds a contact point the prone rider never uses. Wax can go where your foot meets the deck, separate from the nose-and-rail hand hold.
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Frequently Asked Questions
No. The basic nose-corner and rail position works without wax, since the foam deck already gives traction, although wax is commonly used to improve grip and control. Adhesive fingertip pads on the nose corners are optional aids, not a separate technique.
Yes. Besides helping you place hands and elbows consistently, some deck contours add grip and comfort. They are also described as helping during duck dives and heavy landings.
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