Need help on picking out a second board!

[SquishedBean]

Hey guys! I've been riding a 8'6 Torq long-board for about a year now, and have been thinking about moving down in size. I've been going out 5-7 days out of the week, and staying out there for a good 2 to 3 hours. I can paddle everywhere, pop-up no problem, ride waves up to 5 feet (those Gulf of Mexico waves ) and do other stuff such as turns and what not. I've been looking into getting a shorter board because i want to turn more, maybe progress even shorter in the future, and just learn other things as well, but I'm also just tired of lugging an 8'6 board down 3 flights of stairs haha. I love the Torq surfboard line, and have thought about just getting their 7'2 fish in the future, but I'm wondering if I could possibly go a little bit shorter. I'll continue to ride at least 5 to 7 days out of the week, so I don't mind the practice. If it helps at all I'm male, 5'10, and 190lbs, thanks guys!

[jaffa1949]

The answer to your question is try before you buy! See if you can. The Torq fish is not so much a fish but a swallow tail in shape. The full fish shape would not be suitable, as it requires rail to rail turning ability a nd constantly applied in gutless surf.
The 7'2" shape will handle well, but really no board does turns and stuff better unless you can do turns and stuff better.
Do try it first you will be sacrificing some paddle ability and be taking off a little later and steeper . It's doable but you need to be developing your skills more .
Do not go to Lombok surfing the walk to one spot involve 365 stairs some at least double height. + serious leg burn!

[dtc]

I think the mod fish or the mod fun at 7'2 would be a good choice

I think you will find that this length will be best rather than going shorter. However if you wanted to take a risk, you could go shorter but you might find it take a few months to get back to catching as many waves as you do right now - if you are happy with that then go for it. You are surfing a lot so you you have a better chance of a successful transition than more intermittent surfers

However a mid length board is always useful - even if you end up surfing a 6'2, you will have days when you want to surf a 7ft board because of waves or hangover or sore back or something. So they are good boards to have in the quiver

[RinkyDink]

Sounds to me like you're surfing is good enough that you can experiment with any board you're interested in riding. Your only limitation is the surf that's available to you. If you were in Hawaii, I'd say you could probably get a high performance shortboard and start practicing on it, if that's what you wanted to ride. You're on the Gulf Coast though. I don't know how often you get surf that would make having a board like that worthwhile if you have budget constraints. I think you should think about what kind of waves are consistently available to you and then find a board that allows you to do maneuvers you're wanting to try. You might also want to think about getting a board that will work on really great waves that come through every once in a blue moon.