Buying your first surfboard can be a bit complicated. One person is telling you one thing and another is saying something completely different, then you walk into your local surf store then you’re even more confused than ever.
Here’s a few tips to help you sort it all out so you can get into the water sooner…
Don’t buy the board you see some dude rippin on or follow your mate’s advice that surfed as a kid because they might of have no idea on how hard it is as an adult to learn to surf, so if your leaning to buy a shortboard you might be going down a rabbit hole and finding yourself in a world of frustration.
What you gotta do is not over think it…. It’s good to be an adult about it and do some research from what shape, tail, rail, single-fin, twin-fin to a thruster, but you know what! You’re just starting out so it’s about getting out there and enjoying it.
So, finding a board that’s right for you. It’s all gotta do with your height and weight at this point of time. No point having a board that is shorter than you and sinks while your tea bagging getting your breath back. If your 190cm and 100kgs you are going to need a lot bigger board than that 120cm 50kg grom that you see rippin.
Now with all that said the board that you should be looking at is a LONGBOARD. I know you see everyone riding all the new short/fun boards on the market, but this is not about them, it’s about you. A longboard is the board that is going to maximize the time on your feet, not falling off and getting super upset with yourself. Looking at something in the 8’0” to 9’0” range will do you good or even follow the shapers recommended dimensions for your height and weight.
With having a much larger board you can start learning the fundamentals of surfing and catch load more wave and keep you coming back for more. As the great Duke Kahanamoku once said “THE BEST SURFER OUT THERE IS THE ONE HAVING ALL THE FUN”
Buying a longboard is not such a bad thing if all you want is to ride a short/fun board, once you become confident on the longboard it always good to buy different type of board so you can build on your surfboard quiver, as we all know “VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE” and there is not just one board for all conditions.
Remember guys all you need is time in the water to understand the fundamentals of surfing…Buy that board and I’ll see you in the water!
Peace……
