To rent or buy? - Philippeans, Indo & Thailand

[spreadtheshred]

Hi guys, total newb (or kook might be the right term) here.

I've got a trip planned through SE Asia. Looking to spend maybe 3 or 4 months traveling and surfing, hopefully more surfing than traveling. I've got a couple of brushes with surfing, just enough to get me super jazzed about the notion and also enough to know that I know nothing. Especially about surfing abroad!

I'm out here in China slaving away in a smog filled land saving up for this trip. I plan on traveling slow when I travel to save money, to try and find a spot, set up for at least a week or two before moving again. No idea if I'm just gonna get a hostel or try to rent an apartment, that can be another thread or searching around on this forum.

What do you guys think would be the best option, buy a used surfboard in the Philippeans and lug it around or just rent as I go?

I don't really know how pricing for renting/buying are so its hard for me to make a call.

The list of pro's and con's that I have come up with for buying are these (keep in mind I'm just guessing because I just don't know):

Pro's:
-Higher 1 time cost but spread over 3-4 months, probably cheaper than renting
-I don't have to worry about finding rentals
-I get to know my board really good
-I get to look cool (or like a kook) while traveling around, maybe find some other surfers and adventure with them

Con's
-I have to pay to transport it
-If I break it or it gets stolen I'm out on my initial investment
-I have to transport it.
-I get tired of having a big ass surfboard and want to try something shorter/lighter (assuming I get better)
-I'll need to carry my own wax/other upkeep stuff
-I'll need to deal with trying to sell it at the end of my trip (or just give it away if I'm all out of fvcks to give)

I guess the pro's/con's of renting are kind of the opposite:

Pro's
-I don't have to lug around a surfboard
-I can try different sizes and styles
-Small cost involved with each day or rental
-No maintaining the surfboards as I go

Con's
-I break it or it gets stolen and some rental company tries to fleshin' me
-I have to give up my passport for the rental (Is this real?? The idea of giving out my passport for anything freaks me out)
-I have to find a rental place every time I want to surf. (What if I want to surf really early and the rental shops are closed?!?!?)
-If I find a board/style I really like I have to stay at the same rental place or gamble ever finding the same board again


Arg, coming up with these pro's and con's has really made me realize how little I know. Guess that's the downside of going on an adventure with only a goal instead of actual knowledge.

What do you guys think? What are your pro's and con's? Any recommendations or extra things I should be considering?

Any and all advice is appreciated. I'm just trying to soak up as much information as I can before I hit the road

Thanks for your knowledge bombs!!

[Big H]

I think you'll be hard pressed to find rentals in many locations, especially something suitable for your level.

[dtc]

Lugging a board around is a pain, particularly if you are travelling a bit or on local transport. Its not like most places you have mentioned will particularly have surfer friendly public transport - your board will go on top of buses or who knows (your best bet might actually be board racks on motor scooters). Easy to fly in; but once there its hard outside of the well known surfing areas (Bali etc) or unless you are able to pay for more private or specialised transportation (or you are going to plonk yourself somewhere for a month). Even if you go and pick up a second hand board, you still have problems travelling with it (not to mention getting a bag, protecting it etc).

I would do some research on where you are going and what options are available in each place, maybe send a few emails to surf shops etc. Perhaps rent for a while if you can and see what transport and other options are actually around. For example, a quick look for Siargao shows you can rent a board for PHP500 per day (USD11) and you could probably negotiate that down a bit for a long term; and Thailand has similar prices. Admittedly a second hand board will probably cost USD300 or less, so 30 days of rental and you are 'losing out'; but then you have to see if transport costs will be higher (esp airlines or because you have to take a taxi instead of a bus or whatever) and you face the risk of the board being too big or being damaged etc; so overall it may not be hugely different.

If you find somewhere and decide to stay for a month, then (perhaps) buy a second hand board and then re-sell it before you leave - even if you only get 50% back, it might be worth it (however, don't expect you will necessarily be able to buy a second hand board in many places - Bali yes; elsewhere don't be too certain).

Also, obviously the longer the board the bigger the issue, but as a newbie a short board (which is more transportable) is going to be a real problem when you are actually surfing.

So I don't have an answer, other than do a bit of research and see what options are available and their cost before deciding one way or the other. My only tip is don't underestimate the problems in getting around with a big board - you are in china, imagine trying to go from your apartment in Fuzhou to, say, the train station with a board via public transport.

[Big H]

Hahaha.....soooo much better than my reply.

[spreadtheshred]

Okay. Looks like I've got a lot of figuring out ahead of me lol

Thanks for the perspective DTC, I'll be considering what you've said. I guess I'm a little back where I started. Seems like local conditions and my travel plans are going to play a big part.

Thinking on this makes me wonder if buying second hand & selling might be a good idea for Philippeans when I am starting out. I'm hoping to sit in a spot for a while there, and just get my muscles stretched out and my balance down and figure out what the hell is happening. It will be before their season starts so that might make selling back the second hand board easier.

Indonesia, I'll probably do a bit more traveling while I'm here, going from Lombok to Bali to Sumatra (and throw in a visa run to Malaysia). Maybe this will be a better rental situation... However, surfboard transport might be more built up and available and it will be near the tail end of the season so maybe some cheap second hand boards. And I might not be riding the super huge floating island of a board by this point.

Not really sure how Thailand is going to work out. I think I'll be missing the season there pretty good, I'm thinking I'll be there Novemberish. Not really sure what the hell is going to happen or where I will go. I've got plenty of figuring out to do thats for sure.

Damn. I'm thinking myself in circles now. Guess I really need to dig in on the research and find more about rental prices versus buying second hand prices.

You mentioned shooting some surf shops emails to get an idea of rental prices. Where would you look to try and get a feel for second hand board prices? Is craigslist a thing in these countries or is there a better way to get a feel for pricing?



Big H - I assume surf rentals are pretty big in Indonesia, is that true? I seem to recall reading some of your posts that lead me to believe you know Indonesia quite well. Are the Philippeans and Thailand not very big on surfing? I'd feel like super super kook getting out to a cool surf area and not being able to find a board to ride on lol.


Thanks again for the input again, super helpful!

[Big H]

I would buy here if you can handle the transport; you can sell back once you're done for nearly the same price. Heaps of used boards in Poppies 1 & 2 in Kuta and on the Facebook buy and sell every day of the year. Batu bolong has a big board rental, Seminyak, Padma and Kuta beaches also have, but you have to take your chance on what they have.

Have a look at this; should get your juices flowing....
https://www.facebook.com/groups/481994611848814/

The best ding repair and very good selection of quality (this bit is important) used and new boards. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Naruki-S ... 6039500552

[spreadtheshred]

Cool, thanks for the links, I will check them out!

[spreadtheshred]

Heaps of used boards in Poppies 1 & 2 in Kuta and on the Facebook buy and sell every day of the year.

I took a look, damn, there are a lot of boards on there. To bad I'm a newb and I think all the boards I saw on there are waaaay to small for my learning. However, I will have a month and a half or so of steady practice in the Philippeans so maybe I'll be eyeing boards like that by the time I get to Indo. Who knows.

I'm going to scour FB for similar groups in the Philippeans. Who knows. Maybe I can buy/sell a big board while in the Philippeans then get myself something that needs a bit more skill when I get to Indo and take that into Thailand..

I'll try and post some stuff that I find relating to the Philippeans

[spreadtheshred]

This is similar to the FB group you posted but there is a lot more crap in it. Also mainly short boards. I'm starting to get a nagging feeling that the surf board second hand market is mainly short boards and not big ole learning clunkers:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/189621607790968/

Found this classifieds that has some listings too. Again, primarily shorter boards and no damn pictures:

http://www.philippineslisted.com/all-st ... surfboard/

Damn, thats about all I could find ><

[spreadtheshred]

Check this board out. To my untrained eye it seems like a great learning board:

Liquid Shredder 8'2" softtop. Comes with leash and removable fins

http://malabon-city.philippineslisted.c ... 06018.html

Just hypothetically speaking, if this came at a good price, would this be an ideal learning board? I've read soft tops are good for newbs (did I make that up???) and 8'2" seems like a good length for learning and having fun once the complete newb phase has passed. I hate that this website doesn't seem to list prices or have pictures ><

[alvthm]

I'm from Malaysia but I do surf in Bali. I'm humble advise to you is just rent a surfboard. Surfboard rental in Bali is rp100,000 for two hours and rp200,000 for one day. Please don't offer them more than this rate, don't spoil the market. It's a hassle to travel with surfboard around, the lowest air fare airline like Air Asia don't offer free surfboard check in. You'll probably get dings here and there.

Perhaps you should balance your time between surfing and travelling, every place is SE Asia is an eye opener. You should make full use of your time traveling here, meeting new people, trying new food and etc.

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[frillyflapjack]

You have to consider the transportation in the Philippines. Carrying around a board while traveling on board one of those tricycles will be a huge pain in the butt.