Surfing Waves

Hi, I would like to get some help about what board to buy. I'm currently surfing a Takayama in the pink 9"3 but it is sure not fun to travel with.
I've never really surfed anything smaller than a Longboard successfully and since I'm 6"3 and 210 pounds I've had a hard time finding a good board that suits me.

I live in Sweden so I do most of the surfing when I'm travelling. Been surfing for around three years so I guess I'll count myself as a beginner? Iam having no problem with surfing down the line and making carving turns, Iam trying to learn" walking" the board but no real success yet

Would love to have a smaller alternative that catches waves early and paddles OK that I can continue learning on.

I have looked into boards like firewire addvance and some high volume minimaltype of boards. The addvance got the volume I think I need in a smaller board but iam unsure about the style and look of it. I really like the retro shapes and glossy finishes.

Would really appreciate some input from what you guys think that I should look for in my first shorter high volumeish board.

What size are you looking at? You can get some mid length boards mini mal style boards with a lot of volume (around 7-7ft6ft length). They are certainly easier to travel with than a 9ft although are still largish boards. The walden mega magic/mini mega magic comes to mind as a particularly high volume board, but there are plenty of other makers with similar boards. I suspect a mini mal (rounded nose) will be an easier transition than a hybrid (like the Addvance); although if you want to try a different style board then something like the Addvance is a pretty reasonable choice (other suggestions that might be available in your area, each of which has slightly different pluses and minuses/are slightly different types of boards: the 7S range, a big Hypto Krypto, a McCoy Nugget, Santa Cruz Pumpkin seed, one of the Webber boards).

Dropping length can be hard and at 210lb you will need a bigger board anyway (esp if you are on smaller waves). But if you get something around 7ft6 give or take, that is still fairly wide and thick, I think it will be ok. You will certainly notice the difference and will take some time to get up to the same level you are on the longboard; but its just another surfing challenge!

Hi Jode , I have a Pope bisect that is 9ft which breaks into two sections of about 4'6". It is an epoxy EPS board floats me well and is a good basic board.

The board comes in its own travel bag with compartments for fins and accessories. They are much more expensive than normal board but can go on many airlines free as personal sporting equipment! A bit like golf clubs

Trips I've take with the board have been to New Zealand , Taiwan, and Lord Howe Island, have a look, the bisect system has been around for a while now, as your specific travel board your could save your outlay over a number of trips. When I get home I'll post pictures and more reviews.
Cheers Jaffa

Jode wrote:I really like the retro shapes and glossy finishes.

Gloss finish is heavier, more difficult to repair and actually Slower. After some crashes, you got a bunch of non-glossy patches.

dtc wrote:What size are you looking at?.........

I think something around 7"2 - 7"6, I've been in contact with a UK shaper at gulfstreamsurfboards that got some really nice looking boards. https://www.gulfstreamsurfboards.co.uk/ ... -white-74/ (hope linking is OK)
675 Gbp and 100 - 150 For shipping to Sweden around 1100 us dollars.
The big brand boards that are sold from magicseaweed and so on comes with free shipping.( firewire addvance and Walden mega and so on)
Never ordered a custom board before and don't know if it's worth it yet.

I do really like the more classic rounded shapes like a carpet / minimal style board, but unsure if the extra volume makes them hard to turn.

65liters seems to be a good step down from a 9"3, just need to find the right board.

jaffa1949 wrote:

thanks for the input, never seen them before. I really like Longboard but I also think I would enjoy trying something new, smaller. But still something big enough

waikikikichan wrote:Gloss finish is heavier, more difficult to repair and actually Slower. After some crashes, you got a bunch of non-glossy patches.

Had no idea about that, thanks

That gulfsteam board looks pretty nice and cant see anything wrong with it for the purpose you want.

I wouldn't worry too much about the volume and turning thing. With a high volume board it is inherently harder to bury the rail deeply, since you have to get that volume under the water and there is more of it. But for this length and style of board you probably wont be burying the rail deeply anyway - mostly your sharper turns will be 'tail turns' ie like a longboard, rather than 'bury the rail turns' like a short board. Its a thing, but I doubt you will notice it very much coming down from a longboard - its more something you might notice coming up from a shortboard.

Custom boards are generally a step above in quality (shaping, glassing especially) and obviously you can get it to suit the type of waves etc (for example, more or less rocker) or slightly thicker because you are larger or whatever. No idea re gulfstream personally, this is just a general comment. And usually you can get your own spray design, which is the most important part! I'm all for them but...are they necessarily worth the extra money? That obviously depends on how much more it is, whether you can find what you want elsewhere etc etc. I bought a custom because it cost me pretty much the same as an off the rack board of a similar type; but if it had been 40% more maybe I wouldn't have.