Another ‘new board’ topic.

[picardward]

Hi all,

So after another topic of mine went on a tangent about getting a new board it made sense to post the age old question of what board to get ‘next’, I say ‘next’ knowing full well an answer could be my current board and it’s just my ability.

So to give some information, currently my most used board is a 7’6 softech brainchild. 70L, can catch just about anything from 1-2ft+ waves. going up to what I’d say 4-5ft waves. (I’ll get onto this!). I’ve just purchased a 6’10 mal for waves on the larger side, it seemed like a sensible step down, but I’m really scared of doing it wrong before I properly get techniques down, that and it does require a lot more from me paddling which any board adjustment requires a body adjustment.

I’m not fussed about not using it because it’s beautiful and can be a nice bit of motivation to lose weight. For context, I’m 6’3 and 95KG, so definitely on the bigger side and I’m 26. This is my 3rd year of surfing, 1st full year of taking it seriously.

Conditions, we tend to go minimum 2ft upto about 5ft and it just varies between really clean sets to messy/choppy conditions. We surf in the Uk so it’s all just beach breaks with very little consistency. I’m happy to fire through where we went yesterday (27/09).

We go 1-3 times per month at 4-5 hours a time because we live 2 hours from the coast which obviously affects our fitness, (looking to move much closer) but we’ve had several week long breaks down in Cornwall.

With the softech, catches smaller waves in any condition for me, can do micro turns on etc. I can catch upto 4-5ft unbroken waves on it, these are always straight down the face with absolutely no ability to turn back onto. Every so often I’ll catch a wave that will just take me for a ride without the need to turn or require any effort on my part. I’m super confident in that on the larger side of the waves I can use the mal on these, but just really weary still about damaging it. But I feel like I need something in between, something that responds more but I’m not worried about damaging because it’s still aimed at beginnersish. (Again could be just the pull to buy another board) I can actually maybe find a video of what I’m aiming to look like next if it helps.

What I’m really looking to learn to do is just practice really basic turns up, down and back on the wave. The softech does do small turns, but... like an absolute unit.

What prompted the idea of needing a new board was the above, that and it’s just impossible to paddle out in larger conditions because it’s too bouyant to duck dive.

Do I just keep going at it with this board or try something between my wombat and softech? Or other alternatives?

Is there any downsides to a lower volume foamie? I.e 50-60L. Or even the same volume just can anyone make any recommendations as to what’s a good board to practice larger turns on based on the info above? Been using the surfskate every other day to Refine too, actually don’t look awful at this.

Apologies if I’ve missed anything and sorry such a long read. Tried to be thorough. I’m very aware the answer can very well be just keep on keeping on!

Thanks In advance, if you’re nearby I’ll buy you a pint!

[oldmansurfer]

I am 6’2” and weigh 220 but I’m 68 years old and out of shape (relative to when I was young) Currently I have 3 boards 7’, 7’6”, and 8 foot. None of them are duck divable. I have lots of skills to get them out through the surf. Apparently you think the softtech board is unturnable? I have no clue but imagine I could turn it . You’re worried about making your choice for your next board wrong but did you worry about the choice for the softech? I don’t know what board you should be using but don’t worry there are others who have some ideas. My uneducated guess would be you need a longer board but wait for the others to chime in

[picardward]

I am 6’2” and weigh 220 but I’m 68 years old and out of shape (relative to when I was young) Currently I have 3 boards 7’, 7’6”, and 8 foot. None of them are duck divable. I have lots of skills to get them out through the surf. Apparently you think the softtech board is unturnable? I have no clue but imagine I could turn it . You’re worried about making your choice for your next board wrong but did you worry about the choice for the softech? I don’t know what board you should be using but don’t worry there are others who have some ideas. My uneducated guess would be you need a longer board but wait for the others to chime in

Thanks for the reply mate, perhaps my turning ability isn't quite where I feel like it should be yet. The reason I didn't worry too much about the Softech was because I knew it was just a good shout, plenty of volume all around and it being a hybrid foam/hard I just loved the idea of it being a solid beast.

Being daft and sinking £350 into a board too small (the 6'8 mal) has got me more cautious now, which isn't a bad thing at all, mistakes are great lessons.

Is there a reason why you have 3 boards around similar lengths? What do they all offer over each other? In my head I think dropping volume is an exchange for more manoeuvrability but I imagine there's other factors that can contribute, just I'm not really aware of. i.e. fin set-up, board composition etc.

Also, still surfing at 68!! Amazing

[oldmansurfer]

All of my boards are custom made for me by a local shaper. The first board he made me was the 8 foot board which was an old mans board made for a guy who was out of shape and older and good for 2 to 10 feet and I liked it so much I wanted to give him more business so I had him make me the 7'6" board which is a low rocker wide thick board supposedly for junk days but it's a blast on steep up to 6 foot Hawaiian days as well. It's very fast. I thought I would give him more business so I had him make me the 7 foot board which is an egg shape wider in front and narrow in the tail with a continuous rocker and it is a real good board for steep waves. I still surf the 8 foot board because it is so versatile and easier to catch waves with and I have a shoulder problem that developed after I had the three boards.. Mostly I wanted to see what the shaper could do and give him more money in appreciation for the board he made for me that I so love.

[oldmansurfer]

I started surfing originally when I was 18 but had been an avid body surfer and bodyboarder prior to that. I learned to surf on a 6'8" board and I was 6'2 and weighed 165. I could duck dive that board but in the waves I surfed in it wasn't often too useful. Apparently I learned rapidly but I surfed every day for at least 2 hours. Went to college at the age of 24 so 6 years of steady surfing. In undergraduate at University of Hawaii I surfed at least every other week and often twice a week. Then college in Colorado for 4 years but I surfed between semesters and years. Then I started back surfing but worked more so had only the weekends mostly to surf. I did that for a couple years and then quit due to work obligations for 12 years. I got overweight and out of shape and decided I needed to surf again somehow so I bought a 9'6" gun which is a board made for surfing big waves. It was very thin and narrow and I could actually duck dive it. After getting to a point where I was sure I could continue I decided to buy a board and my shaper who had done all my boards except my first one for all those years had retired due to health issues. I happened to run into his wife and she said she knew the perfect board for me. It was a used 9'6" 2+1 or 1 + 2 ? longboard that had hard rails by the tail and a good tail rocker which made it easy to turn. Turns out it was the perfect board for me at that point. It didn't seem any easier to paddle but it had glide so once you got up speed it would continue on without much effort whereas the 9'6" thruster gun had noticeably less glide and slowed down noticeably once I stopped paddling. I surfed that board for a couple years and got to where I was starting to feel the nose weight of the board. When I turned and I was doing a full range of turns cutbacks, off the lips, snapping turns etcetera I started to feel like even though I was pushing it really hard and doing everything exactly right there was too much weight in the nose to do it any faster. I had a neighbor who was overweight and out of shape like me and he had a 7 foot fish board that he rode and he said it was good and caught waves as well as a longboard and offered to let me use it. It was a pretty good board I really liked it except that whitewater would knock me off the board quite a lot more than when I was surfing the 9'6" longboard. I met the shaper and he made me an 8 foot oldman board which was his thing. I call it my oldmanoverweightoutofshape board. Initially I felt like I made too big of a drop in size. I couldn't even sit on the board and even had trouble laying on it to paddle but after a few outings it was awesome. It came as a quad and I have become used to a quad. Relearning to surf was very much like learning in the first place except I was out of shape and I knew exactly what to do. When I originally started surfing my parents bought me a surfboard for my birthday which was 6'8" I started going out in bigger and bigger surf so my boards started creeping up in size up to a 7'2" board which would be called a gun these days but it was my go to board for every day waist high or 40 foot faces that was my board. Anyway just giving you a better idea how I picked my boards. I let the shaper do the details of the board and I just said the general shape and size and what I wanted to do. I am just killing time hoping someone else will post here and give you some good advice on what board might be good for you. It's not a one size fits all situation with surfboards

[oldmansurfer]

Oh yeah and they are back up boards for me if I have to repair the 8 footer. Hopefully someone else will chime in with a suggestion

[picardward]

It's fine if no one does!

What's this draw toward wanting a smaller board myself and so many people seem to be drawn towards it. I think what knowledge people are lacking isn't so much what board to select but when to step down, when do you know your progress is being limited by your hardware. I'm happy to even go up in volume, just want to hear other peoples successes like you've mentioned here.

I've managed to book in a session with an instructor so I'm hoping for some insight with him.

In terms of your boards @oldmansurfer, quite a story you've got around there. So generally do you just have a go-to and the other two are there if you need them? I would seriously love to find that one board that fits all criteria. Is the 8ft your fave board of all time? I'm not actually all for being a 'shortboarder', I've seen guys go out in mini conditions on shortboards and get nothing which is my idea of a waste of time. I'd just love to find that 1 board that fits all with my height and weight in mind.

Thanks for your replies, really appreciate it

[oldmansurfer]

It's a matter of what you can do on a wave then what board is good for that on the waves you surf? If my shoulder wasn't injured and if I had more time most likely I would be using the other boards. Those other 2 boards are lots of fun but it takes me a while till I am up to speed with them. However the way I would use them is to use only 1 board for however long I am surfing then when I want to try another I would use only that board. In my experience I develop instinctive reactions based on the board I use the most recently. In really critical situations this makes a huge difference and maybe result in either having a fantastic ride or a horrible wipeout with injuries depending on if the instincts I have are for the board I am riding. I love putting myself into critical situations. I love late drops or waves where I can just barely make them and seem to successfully negotiate those situations well but it requires that my instincts work for the board I have. The 7 foot board can make really late drops and radical off the lips but it's more difficult to catch waves especially with my shoulder being injured. The 7'6" board is really fast and holds speed through turns really well but it is not the best to ride steeper bigger waves because I planes out and becomes skitterish at the bottom of steep waves and I have to let it settle down before I turn it. So even though mostly I am not surfing waves that present any critical situations I still want to have the board that I will use if I am in those situations so that when they happen I am prepared for it. I know the pros switch boards all the time but back when I was much younger we would have great concern for someone who got a new board and then took it out immediately to 8 foot Hanalei or some other daunting wave. There was a real good chance they were going to suffer an injury and they often did. I would say get 1 board for whatever waves you surf mostly then 1 other board for bigger or smaller waves or maybe like mine that are similar but different. My all time favorite board? Probably one of those 7'2' single glassed in fin diamond tail board that I had long ago but it would not be good for me now most likely. For one thing I had to eliminate my single fin instincts which took me several years of surfing multiple fin boards to do. I don't want to get them back and want to ride quads now as that is what I seem to be able to make work the best for me now and I now weigh 220 without the increase in strength needed and I don't get into the ocean but 30 minutes a week at this point. I was so used to single fins I used to do this thing on steep waves where I turned at the top and sideslipped down the face. I have no idea how I learned to do that but it took me the longest time to stop trying to do that. One fortunate thing that happened was I ended up doing an air drop on takeoff on a wave because I turned at the top instinctively and then realized my mistake (multiple fin boards don't sideslip easily) and straightened out but the wave was concave below me at that point so I dropped off the lip and landed on the bottom somehow staying on the board and able to make a bottom turn and continue riding the wave. That was really fun but I would never try to do that on purpose so fortunate for me to still have those instincts however usually it did not go as well. Well now I have completely eliminated that instinct and I don't want to get it back. I am not your usual surfer though so maybe it's just me. Which board is the best for what you can do? That is how you want to think about picking a board and then maybe what board is good for where you want to be in the near future? Board design is part science and part dark arts or witchcraft or that little bit that is difficult to explain. That is why I use shapers to make the decisions for me.

[Naeco78]

There's actually a company that makes hybrid soft tops with a hard resin bottom. I think the one I've used was made by INT in the Channel Islands Waterhog design. That board is actually a really good shape for what youre looking for. The one I used was about 7' and theyre pretty good for performance at that size but the volume might be a little low compared to what you're used to. I could duck dive it decently on a 3-4' day and I'm about 6' 190lbs

I think they have the same board in this write-up. Hope this helps
https://www.hawaiiansouthshore.com/blog ... mance-what

[Naeco78]

oh yeah - One downside to the iNT soft tops is that they're really bad at giving board rash.. its supposed to be a waxless board but the texture on those things needs a rashguard at all times. But then it still chews up your knees and feet. I dont usually wear a rashguard with wax boards and have no problem so it kinda surprised me about how much of a cheese grater those things can be. Anyway.. just something to be aware of.. i might hesitate to but one for that reason alone. Yeah it was that bad. Maybe there's diff textures options they can use for the amount of grip on those things.. hopefully

[oldmansurfer]

Boards that have marked tail rocker tend to be easier to turn so if you get a board with decent tail rocker in the range of your current board it might help you learn. I looked up the softech brainchild and it doesn't have much tail rocker so without going longer that might help.

[picardward]

@oldmansurfer

I know what you mean by asking that, this is what's frustrating me currently i.e. it feels like I'm being held back by the hardware. After trying my friends smaller board that felt much more responsive and with -10L to mine I still was able to catch the same amount of waves as the softech.

Have you found in your experience there's big adjustments inbetween boards? I quite happily just switch boards nearly every session and I don't know if i'm doing that to my detriment? I was debating to sell on the softech to make room for additional boards. So like you say in your message, this seems like an rounder with plenty of volume and ease of turning and it combats my fear of damaging anything. Another tangent, have you ever broken a board?

So in my head I see a lot of long boarders at the beaches I'm at and there's probably a reason for that, but in varying conditions there's a lot out with much smaller boards. So having one of each would be ideal? My definition of a smaller board for me is my 6'10 wombat.

Have a gander at the softech bomber, let me know what you think! Not cheap for a foamie but I imagine the build quality is good.
https://www.softechsoftboards.com/produ ... 7700031585

I live in the UK where the 6'10 is still in stock.

@Naeco78 thanks for the suggestion, the 7ft hybrid sounds ideal! I surf in England which is cold and dull so 5mm wetsuits all year around and you're never too warm. I love the aesthetic of them! Enquired about delivery, feel like shipping a board america to Uk will be mouth watering.

[oldmansurfer]

why don't you buy the same model and size as your friends board since it works for you? You know it's an odd thing to me but I have never broken a board in two. Never really thought about it but all my boards are custom made with an extra layer of glass on the back 2/3 of the deck. I have broke a few inches off the nose and a few inches off half the tail (swallow tail) a couple times. The pro boards are made to be disposable so I understand them breaking them and I guess the board manufacturing industry wants to provide pro level board so they make them disposable as well. But I am not aware if good solid boards are available or only solid entry level boards?

Things that help you catch a wave are length more than width. Length increases lift from the board without increasing profile drag which is approximately the cross section of the board at it's widest point. So to get the same amount of lift and volume with a shorter board you have to make it wider and thicker both of which increase the main source of friction for paddling which is profile drag. so when you go shorter you tend to have more trouble catching waves. This can be overcome by better paddling and better lining up the waves and then use a board with a smaller profile (thinner narrower) which is your typical shortboard.

[picardward]

why don't you buy the same model and size as your friends board since it works for you? You know it's an odd thing to me but I have never broken a board in two. Never really thought about it but all my boards are custom made with an extra layer of glass on the back 2/3 of the deck. I have broke a few inches off the nose and a few inches off half the tail (swallow tail) a couple times. The pro boards are made to be disposable so I understand them breaking them and I guess the board manufacturing industry wants to provide pro level board so they make them disposable as well. But I am not aware if good solid boards are available or only solid entry level boards?

Things that help you catch a wave are length more than width. Length increases lift from the board without increasing profile drag which is approximately the cross section of the board at it's widest point. So to get the same amount of lift and volume with a shorter board you have to make it wider and thicker both of which increase the main source of friction for paddling which is profile drag. so when you go shorter you tend to have more trouble catching waves. This can be overcome by better paddling and better lining up the waves and then use a board with a smaller profile (thinner narrower) which is your typical shortboard.

We do share a quiver to be fair, I mean that should be the logical way forward right? So I'm not saying I'll never break one, but it's unlikely? I just have this vision that i'll deck the nose into the sand on my first ride on a new board.

And that makes sense with the pros being disposable boards, I hope they recycle!

It's funny how I didn't know that about length increasing paddling speed till you pointed it out but now I've heard it 2 times since, selective hearing at its finest.

So I've identified to possible boards both the same brand, they offer high durability along which they suggest there's no trade off on performance. I did a little digging and found out they're built from epoxy with a carbon strip which 'allows for additional flex' which I figured is salesman bloat but made sense.

https://www.torq-surfboards.com/longboard-tet-cs.html

Here is the link to the tet cs boards, the 2 shapes i'm looking at are a 7'8 Minimal (64L) and an 8'0 longboard (60L). I guess the question I have is, would these have massively different characteristics? It feels like an 8'0 longboard isn't technically a longboard for a larger person?

Cheers in advance!
Genuinely appreciate the time you've taken to help me out.

[oldmansurfer]

I am not a board person. While I definitely love my boards it's because I learned to use them. Hopefully someone else will chime in and say something meaningful about those boards. About breaking boards it appears to happen more often than what I would expect. Not sure why that is but then surfers get injured way more often than I would expect too.

[BaNZ]

I'm a huge fan of Torq and have quite a few of them 8'0, 7'6 and multiple 9'0. Definitely not tried the CS range and I'm eyeing on those as well.

However I would say that I rather surf the 7'6 than the 8'0. 7'6 just feels very different whereas 8'0 feels like a longboard and a funboard. To me 8'0 it's jack of all trades but master of none. I can't catch waves further out like my 9'0 board and it isn't fast enough to sit close to the shortboard. You're like in between the long and shortboards.

[picardward]

I'm a huge fan of Torq and have quite a few of them 8'0, 7'6 and multiple 9'0. Definitely not tried the CS range and I'm eyeing on those as well.

However I would say that I rather surf the 7'6 than the 8'0. 7'6 just feels very different whereas 8'0 feels like a longboard and a funboard. To me 8'0 it's jack of all trades but master of none. I can't catch waves further out like my 9'0 board and it isn't fast enough to sit close to the shortboard. You're like in between the long and shortboards.

I've done a lot of reading into the CS torqs and they seem like a great shout so I went with the 7'8 @ 64L being a larger guy. I will let you know for sure what I find out about the board once it gets here... I am pumped!

@oldmansurfer, thanks for all your replies, really appreciate it!

[picardward]

Just thought I'd post an update, the board I went with was an absolute great shout, thanks for the nod @Naeco78, probably what tipped me into making the purchase.

Plenty of volume so it catches loads of waves, turns much easier and the stronger build makes me so much less conscious and afraid to take it out.

Thank you @oldmansurfer for your replies!

[Naeco78]

Awesome! Glad to hear the new board worked out well. Hope the surfs been good for it too