if you are a beginner, use a volume calculator

[surf patrol]

It would appear that a fair proportion of posts on this thread consist of beginners asking what sort of board they should get. Often only the length is discussed, but volume is crucial. If there isn't enough foam, then you simply won't catch any waves, and therefore won't progress.

An excellent resource is either the Rusty volume calculator: http://www.rustysurfboards.com/volume-chart/

or the Firewire volume calculator: http://www.firewiresurfboards.com/surfboards_volume_calc.php

Whatever you do, don't use the Channel Islands volume calculator. The volume calculations it produces are far too low and way off the mark. Ditto for the Lost volume calculator.

Pick your weight, ability level (Honestly is the best policy here. If you can't bottom turn or top turn, or can only do so frontside, then you are still essentially a beginner) and age. It will give you an appropriate volume.

Both these companies make more high performance craft, so the models they show you aren't really suitable, they are just projections of a what a high volume big guy short board would look like. So stay away from those brands for now. Or anything with a pointy nose for that matter. Take the corresponding volume and pick a funboard. I think the rest of the world calls them mini mals.

It's always better to have too much volume than too little. Check out Rob Machado styling on a very buoyant board (little video to the right): <removed>

And he is pretty light.

Hope this doesn't sound too didactic, but when I started out volume calculators didn't exist, and volume wasn't really discussed much. They can be pretty handy tools.

As a disclaimer, I'm no expert, I just hope this saves somebody a bit of trouble and a couple of hundred bucks.

Hope I posted the links correctly.

[dtc]

I think if you are on a longboard (over 8ft) then the volume will be fine, unless you are really heavy. Volume is a factor when you start dropping in size or want to start on something shorter, but it's only one of 8 or 10 factors to look at and shouldn't be given higher priority than those others.

But the calculators have their place for sure, and definitely agree that more volume works best for almost everyone.

[asilomarsurfer]

Good point. There is always a lot going on. I find http://www.swaylocks.com a fun site to go on if you really want to nerd out (so to speak) on surfboard design. Lots of fun stuff on there.

It is remarkable though that in surf mags, when there is a board section, volumes of boards are almost always listed now. Compared to say, 5 years ago, when (at least with stock boards) it wasn't discussed.