Board buying advice

[Jay1010]

Good day
My 6 month back packing trip has turned in what should be a 6 month surf trip. So far I have been renting boards and now in Philippines and the boards in the place I am that are for rent are wrecks. Looking around today for other rental options a guy suggested I should buy one. So I did the math and it makes money sense.
I am 1.80m 80kg been in the water twice a day almost everyday for the past 6 weeks. Can pop up without thinking about it, riding unbroken waves but haven't got the turning nailed yet. In Indonesia I was using a longboard after a foamie and then borrowed a mates rented mini mal 7"2 x 21 3/4 x2 7/8 for the afternoon and did much more on it than I had the previous few days on the long board. So I rented that board after and really enjoyed it.
I have checked the airline policies for my onward flights and I am limited to 2.3m in length.
So my questions: what would be the shortest mini mal that I could realistically use without hampering my learning curve?
And what would be a ball park figure for a good used mini mal in Europe or US so I have some idea when it comes to buying one.
A friend I made here a few days ago sourced a used mini mal but it is 6"8 x 20x 2 1/2 and I think it is too small?
It was a long post so thank you for reading and any suggestions and comments greatly appreciated.

[Jay1010]

rental board

[Jay1010]

Rental board

[Jay1010]

This is the mini mal my friend helped find. Price is around US$190 maybe can still negotiate, but I think it is too small

[Big H]

How small is it?

[Jay1010]

Hi Big H
That board is 6"8 x 20x 2 1/2

[jaffa1949]

Try all the boards you can rent where you are, get the "feel of what suits you" buy something similar when you get home ( where is that?) possibly more choice then without the impost of airline fees.

[Jay1010]

Hi Jaffa194
Well the choices here are foamie, shortboards and a collection of wrecked long mini mals and long boards. I still have over 4 months so since board rental here is between $6 and $10 a day and there is no additional flight baggage charges if the board is less than 2.3m long, I thought it just makes sense to buy something here. I have tried a few and feel most comfortable on a mini mal. Reason for my post is that I may not be able to find a 7"2 mini mal like I used in Indonesia, so need input on what's the shortest mini mal I can go, of course if I find a thick 7"2 or 7"4 then everything is ok, the question just came about once my friend found a 6"8 for sale.

[waikikikichan]

Stop wasting time, just buy it and go surf. ( make sure it's water tight and not a snapped repair ). If something else pops up for sale that's 7'2" x 21 x 2 7/8 later , then get it and sell the 6'8" for $150. You would only be losing out $40 bucks, but if you surfed it more than a week, it'll be worth it more than renting.

[Jay1010]

Thanks waikikikichan, will go see it tomorrow.

[jaffa1949]

Yep good way to go,

[Jay1010]

Thank you to everyone who have commented and given suggestions, my friend found me another three boards but they are in Manila 6 hours away so I can't look myself. I have pics of the best of the three, the other two, one is cracked repair and the other looks like it's had a really hard life.
Will post the pics of the best board below and ask that you take a look and tell me what you think. Of course it doesn't have to be the greatest board, just something that I can improve on. It's size is 7'0" x 20 1/2" x 2 5/8" and the dents on the underside have been repaired.

[Jay1010]

Pics of the best looking board

[Jay1010]

Ok, this is the second board which is 7'4" but looks like it has a lot of compression marks on it, the third board won't post pics cause it is a cracked repair so not interested. This board is about $20 cheaper than the Satire but doesn't have fins. Reason I decided to post it just in case it is a better made board than the satire, I have no knowledge, maybe they are similar. Opinions appreciated.

[waikikikichan]

How much is the Satire board ? By the way, if the Yellow side fins say "Occy" on them and the Red fin in the center says "TC" on them, let me know.

[Jay1010]

It was $240 but my friend negotiated it to $200 including getting it to me overnight by bus if I decide to buy it

[Jay1010]

Ok, so to end my thread. My luck another board came up for sale almost exact size I was after. It was a 10 hour bus journey to get it and now a 10 hour bus journey back. Picked it up with bag, fins and leash from a guy at least 2" taller and 5kg heavier than I.
Thank you again for the comments suggestions and advice.

[dtc]

Now just surf, and if things go bad then its you and not the board. If things go well - its you and not the board

[jaffa1949]

Wow I thought it had some strange damage near the stringer but you pixelated the name out Go surf it and tell us how it went