Board size reccomendation & board trends

[Eviltoast]

I'm living in South Korea at the moment, and I'd just like some input of what size board to get. I'm pretty limited regarding choices and nobody is really knowledgable regarding equipment over here.
I'm an intermediate surfer (done some airs, the odd open face reverse and got a few barrels), been surfing for 11 years, on and off. I'm 27yrs old 184cm (6ft) and 68kg (150 lb). My main size has been various 6'2's but for the last 2yrs I've been riding a 6'0 18 1/2 2 1/4 and loving it. It worked great in everything (2-6ft), except when strong winds made the open face very choppy. My current choices are: JS Industries 'Kingpin' 5'11 19 1/4 2 3/8 (single to double with a double flyer round pin) or Weber 'The One' 6'0 19 1/4 2 1/2 (Single conc with rounded square). We're entering wave season here and I'm told conditions range from 1-6ft, rest of the year it's usually in the 1-3ft range.

I don't know anything about the modern trend of boards getting much wider at the nose and shorter in length + I'm a little weary of wide boards since my worst purchase was a 6'2 19 2 1/4 swallow tail (it felt really heavy and stiff) this board was bought before the whole wide at the nose trend started. That 6'2 was just wide in the middle.

I'm looking for a small to medium size wave performance board, and can someone explain this new trend of boards being wider at the nose. I was thinking of getting slightly stiffer and drivier fins as a counterpoint, if I should take the 5'11, or looser fins for the 6'0. In all my years of surfing I've never paid much attention to board dimensions, since I was poor and always got hand downs, so I don't know much about board dynamics.

Thanks everyone

[jaffa1949]

Eviltoast South Korea, hmm my thoughts if the current board is doing OK stick with it especially if it is working well except for lousy choppy conditions not many board perform well under those conditions.
I'd think more about the Webber but I guess in Korea you are really at the frontier I imagine if you don't get on with your choice you would probably be able to on sell it as good foreign boards would be at a premium.
Hopefully one our shorty guys may know more.
BTW if your toast is evil it's not very well bread.

[Eviltoast]

Apologies.

I should have made it clearer that I left my 6'0 back in South Africa and I currently have no board. I'm trying to decide wether to go with the new (Weber) 6'0 or (JS) 5'11 given that each board is a full 3/4 of an inch wider than my 6'0 back home. Basically should the extra width justify a downsize? I'm inclined to agree. Thoughts? BTW do not disrespect the cold hearted evilness of my toast

[drowningbitbybit]

can someone explain this new trend of boards being wider at the nose

Yeah, you can really see that around Sydney - the super skinny shortboards are taking a backseat for all but the exceptionally talented and slightly wider boards are coming back.
I think it's more a case of the skinny boards going out of fashion rather than wider boards coming in - many people (including me) have realised that a tiny skinny board is counter-productive a lot of the time.

So the 'newer' boards put just a bit more volume up front, which helps your paddling speed and keeps you moving in the slower sections of waves. The boards aren't (usually) any wider, just that they're a bit less pointy so they're carrying some volume towards the front of the board. They definitely make paddling and catching waves easier, with only a small loss of performance ...although maybe I'm not the person to judge that - I'd hardly call myself a 'performance' surfer

Look at any board described as a 'pod' for some ideas.

[drowningbitbybit]

...and another thing...

Just thought I should add - the increased area at the front tends to make the board a bit 'slappy' at the front in choppy conditions. They're great in small or weak conditions, but if there's some chop, the front will bounce about all over the place (both paddling and riding). For those conditions, I prefer a longer board with a point and some rocker.

[Eviltoast]

Thanks lads, I thought it was just me. My 6'0 was wider in the front, instead of the middle, and it felt a bit unstable on a choppy face. I think I'm going to go for the 5'11 and get some nice drivey fins with more hold to balance it out. I can definitely agree, regarding paddling speed, on a 6'0 I was catching 'longboard waves', it does help. But, I haven't gone wider than 18 1/2 in a while, with 19 being the 'forbidden zone'. Anyways, I guess they must be popular for a good reason.

[IB_Surfer]

Chimming in just ont he board trend side, I am partial to JS over Webber boards, personally I think JS makes a better shortboard and Webber makes a better hybrid or big guy board. So, if you are looking fro recommendation based on having tried both, I say go with the JS.

[skip]

Well I sugest you to go to this website. There is a table there, that gives the ideal surfboard size, thickness and lenght. It works really nice for begginers and intermediate surfers. Just put your weight and high and the table will make it works. Check this out at:
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