Surfing Waves

yes i'm interested in getting aboard in couple months for spring break..i snowboard and skate and i use to live in FL but were going to daytona again and i've seen dudes rippin and i was wondering what size board for me? i'm 6'2 170lbs and it will be used on waves in daytona beach fl.. i don't really want a long board because i'd like to learn to play a little if at all possible so what should i get and what's a good brand? later on

Hi estelferris, welcome to Surfing Waves.

It is a little hard to say what board you will need, it will depend on how often you are going to get into the water. If you are looking at surfing at least one day a week then you will get away with a 6'5"-6'8" in length, at least 19 wide and at least 2 1/2 thick. The thicker the board the more buoyant, the wider the board the more stable.
As far as brands go I could not really say. If you are buying a glassed board off the rack then have a word with the surf shop guys where you are thinking of buying. If you know local surfers then see if they can recommend anything for you.

You may also want to consider a second hand board, or a pop-out as a starting board.

Hope this helps, good luck in Daytona - if you get any pictures then send them in.

ight- I was raised on surf in Daytona although you don't want to get a long board that it what I would say to get expecially this time of year. Get a plank and not a tank, it'll be smaller. Having a short board is almost pointless right now. The time that you will get use out of a short board is during hurricane season and if your a newbe you dont want to be out in that. I only surfed a longboard tank for the first year and a half then I got a longboard plank and becuase I grew I kept getting tanks and planks. The plank is my personal choice exp. for daytona- take it from a local when you get better and are ready for hurricane season then get the short board and totally rip.

In my humble opinion, your board choice needs to be about what is going to give you most fun. A shortboard may look cool, but if you struggle to ride it, it can be very frustrating.

I would go for the Mini-mal. - I just traded my shortboard in for one and it's transformed my surfing. I now have so much more fun!

With larger shortboards you run a risk. You may end up with a big beginners board that you will grow out of quickly, or as someone I knew did, end up with a 'big wave gun' that was so far beyond his ability he sold it again 2 weeks later and lost a tonne of money on it.

A mini mal is designed to perform, it can do most of the cutbacks, snaps, floaters that a shortboard can do but it is forgiving enough for the beginner and being bigger allows you to catch more waves. You can take a mini-mal out in 1ft where you would struggle with a thruster and 12 ft.

They're great!!

Cheers

Sinista