Surfing Waves

Hi

I've been hitting Gower over the last couple of winters and have been renting the local foam boards. I feel that its time to move on and buy something which I can use in Gower and also abroad on future surf trips.

I'm 5"8 and 85Kilos of pure muscle!

What would be the general concensus for a 1st board? I'd like to buy something that would be good for catching waves and improving the basics. My goal though would be to buy a shortboard in the future when I've improved.

I'd be grateful if anyone could suggest some options in the budget and midrange prices.

7'6 - 7'9 minimal. Lots of volume (21" wide, 2 3/4" thick).

Perfect for learning the next stage, and easy to sell on when you're ready for a shorter board.

or maybe look for a "funboard" shape, also known as "dolphin" or "fat boy flyer" type boards, these are roughly half way between a minimal and a thruster. Enough volume to float you up for paddling and catching waves, enough width to be stable and not too twitchy, but still turny enough to start learning shortboard manouveurs.