How to decide?

[Buttertoes]

Hi afficionados! Long time no see

A few weeks ago I went to a womens' surf clinic where my mentor let me try her 9'6" noserider. It was amazing. She tried my board and told me it was holding me back. We are similar build and she said I would do well with the same board she has.

Since then three people have told me noseriders are 1 trick ponies. That if I want flexibility to ride pitchy waves and do anything more than cross-step I would want a performance board. The owner of a local shop told me I would really enjoy a 9'6" watercooled 2+1. He was so confident he offered a money back guarantee.

I have been riding my 9'1" Southpoint epoxy for 7 years. I took my first lesson at 39yrs old and surf year round. In Atlantic Canada we don't have consistent breaks. It varies from sweet hurricane swells to crappy summer wind waves. My skills have me fairly comfortable with 5-6'. I can take a cross step or 2 on my 9'1" and can do some clumsy cut backs.

I wish I was outgoing enough to ask to try other people's boards but I'm not. I've taken on some extra shifts at work and have been saving up, but I'm not sure for what. Anyone have any suggestions on how to pick my next board? My friend has been researching hybrids like Takayama in the pink. Feeling lost, yet pretty stoked

[jaffa1949]

Butter toes , wow hi! When you try a board and you notice you get an immediate improvement - time to change.
Rather than buy and go the 9'6" 2+1 ask the shop owner if you can try.
7 years on the same board , a new board will be exciting , if it suits you it will,lift your game!
The other way is to get the same type as your mentor, either way is good to find out what ticks...... BTW it is possible to nose ride a performance longboard as long as it is not made to mimic a short board in its rocker.
A question to,ask is what direction do YOU want to,take your surfing? Think about that and ask more we can help.

Great to see you on again

[waikikikichan]

She tried my board and told me it was holding me back.
I have been riding my 9'1" Southpoint epoxy for 7 years. My skills have me fairly comfortable with 5-6'. I can take a cross step or 2 on my 9'1" and can do some clumsy cut backs.

I have the same Southpoint Bonga Perkins model 9'1" for over 10 years, not a single ding. That also the same board I used to win the Hawaiian Noseriding Championships on. I would recommend to take off the sidebites and put in a single 8.5" ish flexy tip fin like a Greenough 4-A.

My friend has been researching hybrids like Takayama in the pink.

What type/size board does your friend ride ?
Why do you consider the Donald Takayama Hawaiian Pro Designs' In the Pink as a Hybrid ?

[Buttertoes]

Hi Jaffa! I haven’t posted in a while but check back from time to time.

I asked the shop owner if they had one I could rent to try out. He said no. Thought for a while then tentatively offered the money back guarantee... I don’t think I’ll find better than that in these parts. There’s only like 2 shops. They don’t have to cater very hard to the patrons.

I don’t really know where I want to go. That’s the trouble I guess. If I knew it was all about noseriding I’d just get one. But the waves are so different day to day. If I spend half my time pearling it on steep waves that’s going to be frustrating. Flip side the southpoint is a performance board- is there really much point in buying another of the same style?

The noserider was wider, flatter, longer, smoother and more stable. The conditions the day of the clinic were crap. After struggling in the miserable chop on my board for an hour I tried hers and glided away like I was flying lol... it wasn’t hard to convince me I needed a new board.

But Waikikikichan- maybe it’s a bad carpenter who blames his tools... I was out recently on a really sweet day. Took off the side bites and had an amazing time on windless 3’ reef waves.

My friend and I started at the same time and we got a discounted 2-fer. We both got the 9’1” southpoints. So I haven’t been able to trade boards with my friend to see what a different board is like

Maybe I misunderstood but this is what we were getting some info from:

http://www.realwatersports.com/news/how ... longboard/

[Buttertoes]

Ps congrats on winning the noseriding championship, I’m encouraged to hear that we didn’t necessarily buy crap boards. We didn’t know anything at the time and trusted the shop to set us up. Surf culture is still pretty new around here but growing fast. But it means it’s hard to know how much people really know when they give you advice. My board is still solid but certainly not ding free!

[Buttertoes]

Maybe my question is too vague or too personal to answer. If people like Waikikikichan are winning contests on southpoints then maybe I don’t need to change anything? If there’s nothing innately wrong with a southpoint I can always keep at it, it’s just having someone tell me it’s holding me back that got me thinking about moving on.

A guy who had surfed 45 years kind of made a joking guess that I probably had a southpoint... I know pop outs don’t carry the cred glass boards do.

If my southpoint is a performance board and someone is thinking of expanding their horizons maybe it makes more sense to get a noserider than another performance board?

Would one be a tiny change from what I have and the other be a big one?

[jaffa1949]

Morning from Australia, Buttertoes,,
if your South point is older and dinged up a bit maybe it is waterlogged a bit then it will be heavier.
Compare weights with your friend. Heavier means water inside compare with a new south point.
As for board snobbery well hmmmm. Ask the guy if you could try his longboard?
Why not ask among people you surf with if you can try some of the longboards.

[waikikikichan]

it’s just having someone tell me it’s holding me back that got me thinking about moving on.

You should ask them, "so what part of the Southpoint exactly is "holding me back" ?"
1) the catching waves ? ( where to be, when to paddle, how to paddle )
2) the turning ? ( bottom turns, cut backs )
3) the noseriding ? ( cross-stepping, stalling, locking the tail down )
All those things are mainly up to the rider, NOT the board. It's not what you wear, but how you wear it, right ? "You can't wear that, it's too short, it's to long, you can't wear white after labor day" . You going to listen to those critics ? Or follow your own fashion, your own style.

A guy who had surfed 45 years kind of made a joking guess that I probably had a southpoint... I know pop outs don’t carry the cred glass boards do.

it's just Freshman Hazing. 45 years ago that same guy was being laughed at for having a Foam/Fiberglass board, while the old timers had "real" surfboards made from Balsa/Redwood. That "new" stuff wouldn't work, too light, won't work in windy conditions, no soul. Now he's saying the same thing to you decades later.
Ask that guy how his rotary dial phone is ? If his Wilson racket is made from wood ( and if his golf #1 Wood - Driver is actually made from wood ) ? Maybe he still using AOL ? ( " you got mail ! " )

How to decide ? You got to try. You tried the 9'6" and loved it. So go get one. Others beginners have wanted to get a 7'0" and regretted it AFTER they bought it. The more boards you try the better YOU can make an informed choice. You ask 20 people, you get 15 different answers. Choice is up to you, just like YOUR clothing YOU like.
And if you don't like it , sell it and get something else, it's not the end of the world ( that was suppose to be yesterday ).

[Buttertoes]

You guys have given me a lot to think about. Really helpful advice.

Hey Waikikikichan, you don’t know the weight of your board off hand do you? It’s not listed on the old website. I noticed how different (almost top-heavy) my board felt from my friends south point last time we were out and it’s got me wondering if she’s taken on water. I can’t find the boards new weight listed anywhere (my friends has also had a rough life. Needed the nose rebuilt after being thrown up on an erosion wall near a road...) someone told me to leave it in the hot car and see if water bubbles out...

If I manage to come to a decision I’ll let you know
Now it’s time to nurse my sprained toe. Yesterday was a heavier day for my abilities... ow.

[jaffa1949]

Sprained butter ouch

[oldmansurfer]

On a nice warm sunny day put the board outside in the sun for 15 minutes on a flat non porous surface. Make sure it is dry first but then after 15 minutes look for water droplets on the board or under the board.

[Buttertoes]

Well this is what overthinking gets you. I called the shop today to put a hold on the board I wanted and it was sold, and they won’t be getting more. So drove out and got the runner up. It’s less noseridey, more performancey but not a huge difference between them I guess.

Keen to get it in the water now! Hope it fits