Used board opinions. Brown spots a no-no?

[thephorest]

Hi all. I'm living near a great surf spot at the moment so I figured I should learn to surf and take advantage of my location!

I wanna pick up a beginner board for as little as possible. I found this one on eBay/auctions for around $100.

Are the brown spots a definite no-no? Otherwise it looks like a decent board for cheap. I don't have any surfing buddies to go with me to check it out, which is why I'm asking here.






Thanks!

-Matt

[jaffa1949]

It look almost OK but you obviously know that brown means water has been in. I'd be somewhat suspicious of the duct taped rails,if there are cracks under the tape then much more water would be getting in. I'd only buy if I could have a look at it personally.
Shape is a good choice as an all round learner. I put it as a 50/50 bet. It probably has about 3 to 5 more summers in it more if you fix the dings.
Have you got surf shops nearby, if so see what they have in the rack. You might do better there.

[thephorest]

Thanks for the reply! I'm going to find out if the duct tape areas are actually cracks or just dings.

The surf shops around here tell me they don't usually carry used boards, and especially not in this season. Only $500+ brand name ones of course. I'd love one of those but I don't have $500 lying around!

[thephorest]

While we're on the topic...
Would you pick up the board I previously posted with no case or leash for $100...

or this NSP 7'10 with a case and leash for $100? I can't decide.


I've heard lots of negative things about epoxy "pop-out" boards...but it looks like it's in good shape.

[jaffa1949]

MMMMM about epoxy boards, mixed bag, there are a lot of reviews of them here in the forum talking for and against, length of either board is OK the PU board looks to be about 8ft? but has water issues ( brown spots) and possible areas needing repair.
At $100 the NSP looks a better bet and is an adequate learning board.
Areas that might effect you , harder to duck dive, easy to paddle, may be a little corky (not usually an issue for a beginner), along with your skill levels marks you as a beginner, but that will be evident by everything you do so what the heck..
Leaning towards the NSP

[tony g]

The brown spots do not look so bad in the photo. You will want to check for any delamination (fiberglass separating from the foam). The NSP's are very durable boards and work fine for beginners. They are not a high performance board though. As a beginner I would get the bigger board out of the 2 as long as it has no delamination. Bigger boards are easier to learn on and more stable. I think $100. looks like a great deal either way! If you can swing it buy them both.

[sandiegoman]

I have been surfing about 15 years now. To me, I don't think the brown spots are anything bad at all. I would expect some, actually. Remember I would rather have brown on my board as brown on my boardshorts. Come' on guys it's my attempt at humor. No kidding I have bought many used pieces of equipment in my time, some times it works out sometimes not but these boards look good.

[DownTheHill]

If it wasn't for used equipment, I wouldn't be surfing.