Typical Beginner Board Progression?

[Big H]

I broke two foamies before switching to a hard one

LOL......like from the other thread.....if you ain't rubbing you ain't racing!

[Beginner77]

I stayed in a 8' foam board for 15-20 sessions until I can catch unbroken waves and not frail all over the place, then moved onto a 9' longboard pretty much the same dimensions as Namu have mentioned. I'm lighter and shorter than you but probably less fit back then.

Thank SaltyDog. I think we're homing in on an answer here Basically as you've written above. I hadn't thought about fitness; I'm fairly fit as I spend about 2 hours a day exercising, but I'm 40 so that might just balance things out

Thanks for your answers - all very helpful I realise these seem like obvious numpty FAQ type questions, but all the stuff I've read online talks about the different types of hardboard and the simple fact you should learn on a foam board, without really addressing the bridge between the two.

[waikikikichan]

but all the stuff I've read online talks about the different types of hardboard and the simple fact you should learn on a foam board, without really addressing the bridge between the two.

You might not realize but Soft Sponge boards are a "recent" occurrence in the not so long era of modern surfing. 25 years ago when I started surfing, there were no softtop lesson boards. I did however learn on a sponge board way back then and everyone joked about it. Now it's the accepted norm for newbies/beginners.
Your question is hard to answer because there's not much people who care to write about it on the internet / web forums, ( which 25 years ago was "new" thing ). I think it comes more down to financial limitations and availability. You want to get a Callaway or Titleist golf club set after a few lessons, go right ahead. You want to buy a hard board and got the cash, buy it. There's nothing wrong. Again a lot of the old timers learned on "hard" fiberglass boards ( Jaffa maybe learned on balsa/redwood ) and 30-40 years ago most learned on shortboards ( like OMS ) because there wasn't any longboards to be had. Surfing whether standing, prone, soft, hard or no board at all is about riding the wave. Try not to stress too much about the what the "rules" say you should be on.

[Beginner77]

Cheers; all helpful. I'd never really thought about the dawn of the foamie to be honest. What you describe is much like windsurfing - years ago you had to get hold of the most stable 'standard' board you could and the smallest sail, fall off a lot and suck it up. The persistent people were the only ones who made it through to being intermediates! Nowadays, you can get special beginner boards that are about a metre wide if you want to that are virtually impossible to fall off (most beginners don't even get wet), and lightweight small sails, so many more people are taking the sport beyond half hour taster sessions and it's a great thing.

As you hint at, the essential issue here is financial. With windsurfing, nobody with any sense buys beginner kit because the boards are expensive to buy and they'll outgrow it in 6 months, and most wouldn't even be useful as a light wind board. With surfing, it's a bit different because foamies are very cheap to buy. Nevertheless, they're only £10 to hire for me and I'd lose perhaps £100 selling a new one on. That's 10 sessions to break even. Take off a bit for the hassle of loading up, storage and the mpg hit of it being on the roof (I have a long drive to the beach!) and I'd really need to be using the board for at least 15-20 sessions (a year for me) beyond a beginner's course (where the board's included) before I'd consider buying one. This is obviously why I asked the question - if after a max of 15-20 sessions as an average learner I'd outgrow the foamie, I'll rent until that point.

[dtc]

To be honest, at 15-20 surfs per year you wont progress that fast. Each session will require you to spend 50% of your time getting back to the stage you were at the end of the previous session. Now there is nothing at all wrong with buying a 'proper' longboard and just surfing that for years - as others have said, many people learnt that way and until a few years ago that was the only way.

Wkk mentioned that foamies have only been around for a relatively short time, but (in Australia anyway), 10 years ago foamies were big and heavy and pretty much cost as much as a regular board anyway. Its only been the last 10 years or less that you can get a fairly cheap foam board that is worth using. So foamies were used by surf schools for absolute beginners, then everyone just bought and learnt on a hardboard.

If you buy a reasonable foam board (with stringer etc - the wavestorm for example), you can use it forever and its always there for smaller days or lazy days or whatever.

Anyway, a bit of a ramble - basically you should get a long board. Whether its a foam board or a hard board doesnt make a huge difference, buy what is available and you can afford. At 15-20 sessions per year, I honestly think it will be 2-3 years or more before you should seriously think about moving to a smaller or different board. Either a foam or a hard board will be fine for that 2-3 years.

Both hard and soft boards have pluses and minuses. All surfboards - of any size, kind, shape etc - have pluses and minuses, there is no perfect board; its always a matter of balance to come up with the one that best meets the majority of your requirements. For you, given your level and frequency of surfing, I think a foam board is entirely suitable for the next 2-3+ years.

[Beginner77]

That's great advice, thank you.