Surfing Waves

Hey everyone

Been surfing in Portugal for a month now on a 7'8 soft top (75L) and I'm finally ready to move on to a funboard! I can go down the line and trim when conditions are good. The soft top is getting quite clunky and heavy to turn... For reference I'm 5'4 and probably around 52 kg (115 lb)

The surf shop near me sells Torq funboards and they seem like good 'moving on' boards. Deciding between the Torq mod fun 7'6 (52.4L) and the Torq 7'4 V+ (56L, it's a higher volume board but slightly shorter)

Wanted to throw this out there and see if any more experienced surfers have any advice in general! Not sure what the difference is really between the two... have asked at the surf shop and some say it's not a big diff and some say its a huge diff. So a bit confused here.. Would like the easier paddling/increased stability from the V+ but will the 7'6 just be more versatile?

Here are the links:
https://www.torq-surfboards.com/fun-76.html
https://www.torq-surfboards.com/74-mod-fun-v.html

Thanks so much!

A thought for perhaps one of the board rental shops have those boards as rentals, may be you you can do hire or try before you buy at the same shop. Both are good for what you intend! The try might decide it!

Update: I tried the 7'6 today morning and it was actually surprisingly easy - much easier than I thought it would be (since it's a huge drop in volume). It feels way better than the soft top to paddle, catch waves, turn, trim...

Now I'm considering maybe even going lower like 7'2? I just don't want to outgrow the 7'6 super fast haha, I'd like a board to progress with.. However I also don't want to push my luck here

https://www.torq-surfboards.com/fun-72.html

Any thoughts would be appreciated

If the 7'6'' works well on first go let me tell you, you won't out grow it , there is a huge development of your surfing skills to come, Getting a good knowledge of one board early in your progress and developing a wide range of what you can do will in all Horts of surf will make you a better Surfer. The board by itself will not, your skills are well earned, not by any Magic board!
Just so you can compare try the 7'2" use your judgement about what you want. Don't think it try it!

I had the same dilemma as you recently while looking for a shortboard. Comparing Length and Volume/Liters is tricky. I think you would really need to test them out to know for sure.. like Jaffa was saying.

But to find the ideal liters, I wound recommend using the calculator below, because I think it does a good job of combining weight and ability and converting it into Liters. I used it to find the right volume for my shortboard and it was super accurate from my experience. I like that it has a sliding scale for ability and I used that as a guide to find the min/max Liters that I should be looking for in my boards. Then I chose a board with Liters that were in the middle of my range, so that it worked in a wider range of conditions. Worked out really well. Hope its helpful to you as well

https://surfsimply.com/volume-to-weight-calculator/

So if you bored with your 250cc learner bike, why go to a a 600cc ? You’re going to outgrow it anyways,right. Just might as will go to a 1000cc superbike straight away. Or do you think that wouldn’t be wise ( or safe ) ?

When you have maximized all you can do on you current board ( or that 7’6” ), then it’s time to change. Don’t get too far ahead.

I do wish they had never introduced liters as a main factor.
I can show you you a rectangle of Foam either type of any given literage , it will float surf, but for a surfboard , you need rails tails, profile width , rocker thickness fin placement. then and only then give a little thought to liters both in the rider and the board!

Thanks guys! Yep thanks for the volume weight ratio page. The 7’2 fits perfectly so that’s awesome

Update for anyone in a similar situation: Ended up speaking with staff at a popular surf shop nearby, they all unanimously said that for my size I should be going for the 7’2 and it’s plenty of volume for me as a mid length esp. if I was able to catch watches consistently with the 7’6.

Thanks again to everyone who gave advice! Xx

Also.. just want to note that I don’t think the diff between a 7’6 and a 7’2 is the same as a 600cc vs 1000cc bike lol. That’d more like me going down to a short board which I’m def not planning on doing. Ok enjoy guys

pamelakaylin wrote:Also.. just want to note that I don’t think the diff between a 7’6 and a 7’2 is the same as a 600cc vs 1000cc bike lol. That’d more like me going down to a short board which I’m def not planning on doing.

I ain't talking about a 7'6" hard board to a 7'2" hard board. I am worried about you going from a 7'8" sponge board ( which acts more like a 8'0" and equal volume ) to a 7'2" hard board with thinner tapered rails and less forgiving flex.
But hey, you got this. Go for it !