Want to step up, help needed

[Spoon777]

I've been surfing couple of times a year for the past couple of years, been using a 7"6 minimal and want to make the step up to longboard!

I've had my eye on an Takayama in the pink, but struggling to find any about! I've found a 10ft Noah kai oi. Comp, it's definitely on the performance side of noseriding....

Anyone had experience of this model? Is 10ft,going too long? I'm about 6ft and 70kgs.

Thanks in advance for the help! All advice welcome.
Cheers

[waikikikichan]

Serious questions:
1) What do you want to do with the longboard you get ? Noseriding ? Progressive or Classical riding ?
2) What attracts you to the In-The-Pink model ?
3) Where is the break you'll be surfing at ? Beach break, Reef break, Point break ?

[Spoon777]

1)like the idea of noseriding so that!

2) from reviews I gathered that the ITP it's predominantly a nose rider but has some performance longboard traits which makes it quite versatile (also like the idea of harder wearing 'tuflite' construction)

3) UK waves mainly in Cornwall so mostly beach breaks I believe!

[waikikikichan]

So you're looking at a Surftech molded-epoxy Takayama In-the Pink. Currently they don't make a 10 foot version, biggest is a 9'3". Have you found a used older model 10 foot In-the Pink at the local shop or on an auction site ?

Are other longboarders noseriding the beach break waves at Cornwall ? What are the popular makes and models used locally ?

[Spoon777]

Sorry I'm not local to Cornwall so I'm not too sure!
The model I have found someone selling is the noah kai oi comp! Which is also made by takayama.


The noah I have found is 10ft, it is 2nd hand but perfect condition. My issue is I'm struggling to find reviews of the noah. To figure out if its suitable for someone new to longboards.

[waikikikichan]

1) In your searching, which boards have you found that are “good” for beginners to long boarding and which have you found that are “not good” for beginners to long boarding ?

2) compared to a 7’6” even a 9’0” will feel very long. A 10 footer will feel even more and I think quite a handful in beach break.

3) Effectively you need to walk ( cross step ) about 8 feet on a 9’0”. On a 10’0” you’ll almost have to walk 9 feet to get to the nose, that’s a very longtime and distance for beach break.

4) what other options have you found for sale other than the Noah comp ?

[saltydog]

If this is your first longboard something not too long or too flat would be better, i.e.. all around board in 9'-9'6 range. To me as a beginner, nose riders with their specific rockers make it less forgiving.

[voyager]

I bought the 9' 3" Takayama In The Pink last year and I live in Cornwall, so how does that board fair here?
I would say it's a brilliant board for point breaks of which there are not many really consistent beaches/conditions like that in Cornwall. If you have to chase the peak all over the place [like you do here quite a bit] it means a helluva lot of paddling which the INT does not do well.

If there is also a reasonable off shore wind it is also very difficult to get into the wave because the concave at the front will lift the board out of the wave if it gets the wind under it...hence why it's a great noserider...the front end always wants to lift.

I'm thinking of flogging mine if you're interested....I haven't really sold it here I know , but it's an amazing board on a dead clean day, 3' plus,
very little off shore wind, and preferably on a point break.

[RinkyDink]

If there is also a reasonable off shore wind it is also very difficult to get into the wave because the concave at the front will lift the board out of the wave if it gets the wind under it...hence why it's a great noserider...the front end always wants to lift.

I'm thinking of flogging mine if you're interested....I haven't really sold it here I know , but it's an amazing board on a dead clean day, 3' plus,
very little off shore wind, and preferably on a point break.

Great info, Voyager. My perspective is from a fairly inexperienced longboarder (I've spent more time on mals), but I've always avoided noseriders because I suspect--and this suspicion could be way off--that you really need clean, glassy, calm wave conditions to get opportunities for fun noserides. I also think that a true noserider probably benefits from a heavy glass job that adds a lot of weight to the board. I have a really light longboard and if I start moving up to the nose, I can feel the back end of the board start lifting out of the water and the front end start pearling. That problem is very likely because I have no idea what I'm doing when I attempt a noseride, but I'm pretty sure that my longboard is a bit on the light side for noseriding. (I probably need to figure out how to weight the back end of my board correctly as I attempt a noseride as well.) At any rate, I kind of view noseriders as specialty surfboards that need specific wave conditions to thrive. <--That could be wrong, however, because I don't have enough experience. There are days I go out and there's chop and a lot of texture to the waves and in those conditions I feel a performance longboard is better suited to the waves. Just some food for thought.

[jaffa1949]

Curious I’d call a Mal a longboard, they were that first and foremost! :