First Board, not first surf

[Speeding Mullet]

Hi.

Just found the forum so thought I would register and kick things off with a typical beginner post. Afterall you have to make a good impression:wink:

No stranger to the water, strong swimmer and have been bodyboarding (booooo) for years.

Hired a surf board on a few occasions and ridden a couple of waves (almost certainly by calamitous luck). Can't remember the lengths but a few foamies with slick bottoms and a couple of real longboards.

Basically looking to keep my bodyboard for the "big" days and get a surfboard for learning until I can finally get rid of the bodyboard.

Done some research:

Current weight - 76kgs and dropping
Target weight - 69kgs
Height - 5'10
Budget - £0-£250 (inc bag leash and wax)
Surfing location - South East Wales

This puts me in the 160-180 pound category at the moment, but I am going to drop to 69kgs to be at my target weight. This would put me in the 140-160 pound category meaning I should buy a 6'10"-7'4" board (assuming I go more than once a week).

I'm a little indifferent as to whether I get a first or second hand board as I want to get one asap.

I have heard alot about bics, and not buying them. NSP seem to pop up a fair amount as good starter boards and within the price range.

My friend has a second hand 6'7 possibly 6'8" board he bought to learn on. He has graduated to his next board now.

Should have some more details about which exact board it is tomorrow, but considering I plan on going surfing more than once a week, is this worth considering as a first board?

Or is the opinion that I should maybe buy a well known new 7'2" and hope I don't ding it bad so it keeps its resell value.

Opinions, comments, recommendations, thoughts and hammering insults gratefully appreciated.

SM

[isaluteyou]

Basically looking to keep my bodyboard for the "big" days

I said the same thing once upon a time - never been on a bodyboard since

Anyway as for getting a board i would still reccomend the 7'2+ minimal route. But rather than buy a popout like an nsp/bic wwhy not just go for a secondhander i mean at the end of the day you can just sell it later on meaning minimal investement

Go for something fairly wide 21" or so and fairly thick - deffinetly a funshape will be preferable.

[Sillysausage]

Hi dude, where in south east wales do you live??

As for the board, best bet is to get a minimal, in my opinion, its best to get a hand shaped minimal, they can go fairly cheap on ebay, if you set an auction snipe. This would be easyer to learn on than a shortboard. Although learning on a shortboard is possible, just very hard.

What make is the board your mates selling? condition? but you may want to find out the width and thickness of the board aswell as the length (the wider and thicker the board, the more buoyant it is)

I think, NSP are very similar to BIC, they're similar construction and ride pretty similar, however many people ride BIC and NSP boards and love them.

Maybe it would be best to try before you buy, depending on where in wales you live i could name some shops that do this.

Last bit, consider buying a cheap battered old board, until you can ride the wave, then get a custom made board?

SS

[drowningbitbybit]

Blatant plug for the 7'4 funboard I'm selling

[Sillysausage]

DBB

How much is that board going for?

SS

[Speeding Mullet]

Sillysausage - I live in Cardiff, and go to Rest bay and surrounding areas to board.

Thanks all for the comments. As me and my friend were both looking for boards we basically both went out from work today at lunch and I bought a new voltage 7"3 in red and he bought a voltage 7"6 in blue as he is slightly taller.

Got a wicked "heap o money off" deal as we both got boards, bags, leashes, fins, he bought a wetsuit and some roofpads aswell. We both paid under the going rate for this type of board

Going to rest bay this evening no matter what the conditions, bring it on

SM

[Sillysausage]

wicked, thats my local area as well. might see you out in the water some day soon

[Speeding Mullet]

SS - Went last night was great fun. Was really mellow, and although not very big was a perfect introduction back into surfing. Caught a few nice waves, and even managed to travel in 2 different directions on the same wave.

Going again tonight straight after work. Got back into Cardiff 10:30pm last night, watched the sunset while still on the water. was awesome.

SM

[Speeding Mullet]

Does anyone else think of techno when someone mentions minimal?
SM