Minimal, yay or nay?

[Laguna]

It depends on how much you are willing to spend on a board. I'd say if money doesn't matter , start on a proper fiberglass longboard. If you want a mini mal to start with the bics are fine considering their price...etc

however like you said the custom mini mal board for £350 will be better and you will be able to progress more on it. £350 is roughly a decent price for a custom board, they usually start around that price and go up.

Whats your weight, height, age and how fit would you say you are?
Also what are you looking for in a surfboard? How often are you going to be surfing?

p.s you might be able to fit a 7'3 bic in your car, I can fit a 7'3 board in my 206

[4theLoveofTHeWipeOut]

I have a 7-6 nsp , same as a bic pop out style board, its my first board and Im still strugglin as a beginner but its taken heaps of bad noobie wipe outs with only minor damage, I dont think they have as much soul as a hand shaped board as they are mass produced in asia in factories , but in terms of durabilty and as a stable board for a beginner to learn to pop up and turn they are ideal, also good resale value. you will get some looks in the line up for the purists, and will see heaps of chicks and little kids riding em but who cares its all about learnin how to surf first , thats why i bought mine and I got no regrets I know when I eventually move onto a hand shaped baby I will no how to surf and how to treat my board properly,
just my 2 cents.

[paullingham]

I weigh just about 10 stone, am about 5.10/5.11 tall and am 18.

I do like the idea of the custom minimal for £350, but thats really the limit i want to spend on a board. i take it you can do shortboard tricks on the custom minimal?

[Laguna]

It depends what you mean by tricks. You are going to need a bag for the board, not to mention a wetsuit and if surfing winter all the winter gear..
The 7'3 Bic or an NSP would suit you fine to learn on. It depends what you want to do

[paullingham]

Have got a decent winter wetsuit allready.

I most proberly will get a custom minimal around the 350 mark, im sure one like that will be more responsive than a bic am i right?

[wootzy]

Before you commit yourself to paying full price for a brand new board, consider having a look into getting it second hand. In this weeks cornish guardian for instance there is a epoxy minimal in "superb condition" advertised for £250

[Laguna]

Ye thats fine. Its more money but for what its worth you are getting a better board. The only downside is that it is more fragile than a pop out board, and a lot of learners fall off their boards and knock them around - so be careful

[wootzy]

which is why an epoxy board might be more suitable?

[Laguna]

You can get some bargains on 2nd hand boards and it is sometimes a common choice. However you must be careful when buying a board thats 2nd hand, making sure that there is no serious dings or damage to the board, check the condition on the tail and the nose..etc
A pop out epoxy board is a good choice for a first board. If you are starting out and your unsure weather you will like surfingor will only go every now and then as a hobby then a pop out would be better.
But if you are serious about sufing and will be practicing a lot then I would suggest going for the custom mini mal as you can progress better on it.

It depends how much you want to spend on a board. I still think getting a longboard is the best. Pop outs do hold their value for a good while, so you can always sell it on then at a price close to what you paid for it.

[paullingham]

I take it an epoxy board is a popout?

I will have a think, most proberly i will get one around the 300-350 mark as i will be doing it alot. and seeing as bics are 200 anyway my thinking is i may as well put the extra money in for the quality

How much harder is it to catch waves with lighter customs than bics? and will i be able to duckdive the customs?

And i take it a size around the 7' mark is right?

Paul.

[surferdude_scarborough]

you might want to check out hawaiian soul minimals. they look like great value to me. ive seen them for around £300 rather than £350 for a 7'6 one.

http://www.surfedout.com/surfboards.asp?catid=38

[Laguna]

Pop outs catch waves easy and so should custom mini mals. You would have more chance trying to duck dive a custom board, pop outs are too difficult to duck dive. You will need a board atleast a foot bigger than you, so anything above 7' is fine.

[paullingham]

Going to go down the shop sometime next week.

So anything above 7' is right? 7.3 maybe?

If i do come to get another board do the custom minimals hold their value well?

[libby]

I'd be looking at more like 7'6 if i were you. I've been learning on a 7' and a 7'4 btut i'm only 5'3" and i would have struggled on anything shorter.

[paullingham]

Thanks for the help everyone.

See what i end up with

[GowerCharger]

i dunno much about the popout vs custom thing as ive never ridden an epoxy board, and ive always thought of a "custom" to mean when you actually commission a shaper to make a board to your specification. If you are considering buyin a new glass board "off the rack" then you should also look into getting one custom made locally, a lot of the shops here sell off the rack boards for more than it would cost to have one shaped. It does mean waiting a while for it to be made, but you can have a chat with the shaper and he can advise you on what length/shape would best suit your ability and the conditions you will be surfing taking into account also your height/weight etc. plus you can have whatever graphics you want on it.
I still think 2nd hand is the way to go on a first board, cheaper to buy, and if you want to move down in size as you progress you lose less money on them.

[paullingham]

Well ended up with a hooded villian 6.10.

The reason i got a shorter one is i found out the board i had been learning on was actually 7.10, so i thought i would be able 2 progress better using this one.



Went out strait after in about 2ft messy surf and caught the first wave i tryed with it!
Well chuffed with the board, can get up more times than i go down, going to try and learn more advanced stuff soon.