Beginer boards, look here if you wonder what to get

[deathfrog]

comments appreciated, as well as changes anyone would like to sugest.

first anwser, talk to a local shaper or shop. Second thing, fun boards are what they sound like. And third, this isn't going to be perfect, and the only way to get the best board for your abilities and break is to consult with a local shop or shaper.

Mushy mush that you almost couldn't call a wave- more volume! add it in length and thickness before width. longboards work well

Small well formed waves- again, more volume than what it says below, but you don't need as full of a template. Again, this is what longboards were made for, but if you don't like the idea of riding a log funboards work well.

medium mush- you need less volume than you need for small mush boards, but this is where funboards excell.

medium waves- whatever the chart says.

don't try and learn on anything bigger.


Last thing before I do the list, in general something less than a foot taller than you will be much more manuverable, and the narrower the turnier and better for progressing. Start on a rented learner log first, then get one of these if you want to progress well. I overall recomend funboards.


If your height is between 5' and 5'6", get something like a 6'8" funboard, thats about 20" wide and 2 3/8 thick.

If your between 5'6" and 5'10", aim twards a 7'2 funboard close to 21 inches wide and 2.5 thick.

5'10" to 6'2" a 7'6"-8' that is nearer to three inches than 2.5 is what you want.

Any taller, just add add an inch to 7"10' for every inch taller than 6'2" you are.

Weight, if you weigh more, more volume to compensate. I think the average weight of someone who is in the 5-5'6 range is probally around a hundred pounds, 5'6-5'10 is probally 125-150, to 6'2 is up to 175 and above that is well, above.

So if you weigh more than what i've listed, add 1/8" of thickness and 1/16" of width for every ten pounds, and subtract that much for every ten pounds less. Or you could add or subtract an inch in width.

Last thing is the more time you plan to spend in the water, the shorter you can safely go. Same for time out of the water, if you might get to go only four or five times a year, deffinatley go with more volume because you have much more fun.



Hope this helps people, but again, nothing beats talking to someone in person about your abilities, local break, and time you plan to spend surfing.

[namino tsume]

Yep, all that seems right...
But if you want to go stright into shortboarding you can... it will just be a little bit harder to learn.

I would start out learning on a rather large fish. This allows you more volume to learn on, while still being able to learn all those carves and cutbacks. Now the bigger you are, the bigger the fish.
For someone >5' id say mabye a 5'6-5'10 fish would be great.

For someone 5-5'6 i would say mabye a 6'-6'4
for someone 5'6-6' i would say a 6'2-6'8
and above that, i would add thickness or weight to it.

An Avg fish would be about 6', 19-20" wide, and 2.25-2.5" thick.

No ofcourse, it does matter what waves your riding...
But generally it would follow simular rules as the post above,
smaller and musher the wave, the larger the fish.

Also fishes are designed to be good in small mushy stuff. So if thats what your ognna be surfing in, definitly get a fish.

However, if you have a nice size break thats nice and hollow, you could start out with a regular shortboard. Just add 4-6 inches to the height of what you would get in a fish.... but keep it a little bit wider then a regualr shortboard.

I would also, highly recomending renting a soft-top log from the local store.

[deathfrog]

but if its a traditional fish its usally really skatey and hard to learn to do things right, and if its a modern fish its usally just a pumped up shortboard...

[PapaW]

Nice one DF, I'll sticky this.

[deathfrog]

cool, thanks.

[namino tsume]

That may be true, but i learned on a retro fish... its was like 6'... just wanted to say that.

[gulfsurfer]

longboards are still the best to learn on, when your beginning you dont need something to rip on, you just need a board that floats good, stable, and tough. Longboard fits all of that. As you progress you can get a shorter board, like posted above, a fish is a good board for mushy waves because they can drive through the soft spots.

[deathfrog]

it was supposed to be a guide for a one board buget, that you could learn on and still progress, but I agree that longboards are the best.

[surfboardbaz]

Mini-mals are great. They catch plenty of waves yet are still small enough to duck dive with.

If you're strapped for cash (aren't we all?!) then look on eBay for a nice secondhand one. You'll get one for half the price they are in the shops and you normally get a bag and leash thrown in!

[WaveJunkie]

Ahhhhhhh, but local conventions --

Talk to your local board shops. Look at what people are using on the beaches.

Locally, North Oregon Coast (USA) -- the standard board is a 9' 6" or thereabouts -- down to maybe 9' 0", reasonably wide, 23" and fat 3".

Waves run from well-formed to mushy.

I see guys on 5" boards, narrow. But as they themselves admit. "You don't have to be good to buy one."

HALF the surfers locally are 55 yrs or older. I think we're all (I'm 57.) coming from the mid-60's when we graduated from high school, the So. Cal. surf scene was a media fantasy. Now we're living out that dream. *G*

First board -- for the surf locally HERE.

Longboard, 9' 6" or thereabouts. Fat, wide. Full-volume. This is the standard "wave catching machine" on the local beaches.

Then, when you know what you need, you can get one. But for a first board, you want long, high volume, wide, moderate rocker.

[smokednstoked]

hey im new at shortboarding and was wondering how big my shortboard should be, im 5 4 and 115 pounds

[Redshift Spec]

Brilliant, just gotta find the funds for a board now.. Cheers dude

[Secrets]

Thanks for this. Need all the advice I can get and will go talk to those who are in the know about local info as suggested ~ no substitute for local knowledge of particular conditions although I have noticed that the surf schools here do favour the beginners type boards described on the main site. Great advice ~ thanks again!

[abcrt123]

I just bought a 7'6" mini-mal coz i wana start surfin.
Is it easy to learn on a mini-mal?
I hope so.

[iomarti]

hey welcome..

a minimal is an ideal board for you to learn on! Have fun on it, let us know how you get on!

[Clairey]

I recently moved up from body boards and got my first real board

I spoke to a guy called Rob in Tunnel Vision in Newquay who was absolutely brilliant and I got an 8ft by 22.inches by 3inches Bilbo

I absolutely love it and was catching waves on Watergate from day one!

I am 6ft tall and medium build and I tried a couple of foamies before and caught nothing!

[boston_haole]

Aloha!
I live on Maui and just started surfing.....Someone gave me a 8'2" board with "thick rails". I am 5'9" 220lbs - Am I going to be able to learn on this?????

MAHALO for your comments!

[gdude335]

^^^ yes you will be able to
I recommend taking lessons from someone you know who surfs or a proffesional organisation.
I think renting a begginer board is good and then moving down if you want to shortboard or just buying a longboard after a bit.
Local shops can be a GREAT help. I cannot emphasize (sp?) this enough.
For example, i took lessons and learned for 2 weeks on bics.
I wanted to buy a board but did not know what to buy, all i knew was that i wanted a shortboard.
I whent to about 4 shops, All the people were VERY helpfull and nice, mostly one who taught me so much about different boards, the rocker, the difference in the tails etc...

this is a great thread though!
perfect for begginers!

[DanKo]

Myself and my girlfriend just relocated to Puerto Rico from Colorado a few weeks ago. It's nice to be living beachfront with small waves accessible in our backyard...the actual beach break is just down the road, but last weekend's swell was a bit too much for me as a first timer.

We took a lesson our first time out and our instructor had us on either a 9' or 8'6" foam board. We both had some degree of success standing up on those boards.

The following weekend, we rented a 8'4" bic that was a little more difficult to get the hang of. Not to mention the waves were bigger and I really got my ass kicked by my introduction to the washing machine.

I've been to 3 local shops and I am thinking of buying a used 8'2" fiberglass board for $225 and a used 8' foamy for $275. Renting is expensive and I am anticipating that once we each have a board, we will be able to go a lot.

I figure that it's best for the two of us as complete beginners to start off on longboards. Worst-case scenario is that I progress really fast and decide to sell the beginner boards, but that's not a bad scenario at all!

[tomg]

Hi does any one know of some good aussie mini mal brands. I need a first board!

Thanks