Not a beginner but a beginner?

[Frijj]

Hi, I haven't surfed in little over a year or so but I know the basics e.g. how to stand up, catch a wave etc.. I do feel I will be out of practice but my friends and I will be going quite a bit over the coming months so would love advice. I had a foamie 8ft board (now sold) but feel like buying another foamie won't do me any good. I want something that won't be too challenging like a shortboard, but also don't want a board that will hold me back while I progress. I have been reading a lot of the forums and it seems like a (mini-mal/magic carpet/long fish) would be better but I'm not sure which to get and what size. I am (174.4cm) and (168.8lbs) I also have about £250 to spend on a board, but will probably look on eBay, Gumtree and Amazon for a deal.

Thanks, Frijj.

[oldmansurfer]

I suggest you get an 8 foot longboard/mini a similar design to your foamie. If you are young anyway. It really depends on where you will be surfing and what you want to do and how much time you will spend in the water and how tolerant you are of steep learning curves and what kind of shape you are in.

[waikikikichan]

What level are your friends and what type of boards do they ride ? That will figure in to what board you should get.

[dtc]

Longer boards do not 'hold back progress' - check this guy out

(wkk - you might like it)

Its just a different way of surfing from a ticcy tacky shortboard style

You are on the right path with your suggestions, a mini mal or fun board. Personally I would suggest a 9ft board, because foam boards are a bit more floaty and an 8ft foam board probably floats as much as a 9ft 'hard' board (useful for wave catching). Get the skills, then go shorter.

However, something 7ft6 or 8ft isn't a terrible choice. Have a look at the Torq range - about £280 - 330 new for the 7'6/8ft (plus you have to get fins I think, and a leash). Slightly above your budget but saves trawling through second hand ads. Or see if you can pick up a second hand one. A few people here have them and have nothing but praise for them.

[Frijj]

Thanks everyone for the replies! I went into the local surf shop today and they suggested something along the lines of 7'2 (minimum) to 7'6 - Torq was one of brands he suggested. A board around this size is more ideal especially with fitting it into my car, also with money and such I thought it might be easier to get a 7'6 as it saves me having to exchange or sell for a shorter board as this should last me; I don't think i'll ever get to shortboard standards but i'll certainly be keeping up the surfing. Me and my friends are 18/17 and they do have more experience than me, and I think they're using Long Fish (none are using shortboards).

[dtc]

7'6 will still present some challenges, but mostly around wave catching rather than wave riding (ie it will offer a fair amount of stability for the pop up and give you some margin for error - not as much as a longer board but it wont be terrible). Apart from price, Torq are good because they are tough, which is useful for a beginner

If you are surfing with some more experienced people, get them to help you with positioning and timing (ie 'start here, start paddling now' etc) and that will help

If you do keep surfing, I guarantee this will not be your last board...