Surfing Waves

Hi,

I'm new to surfing and i have taken a surfing lesson and i stood up after a couple of minutes and then caught waves pretty often. Now, i am keen to continue, by buying my own board. I have done quite a bit of research about surfboards and i still am not sure whether to purchase a longboard or mini mal. I like the longboard because of its buoyancy and being easy to learn on but i'm also interested in the mini mal because it can be used as a longboard aswell as a shortboard - for after i have mastered longboarding. I am 14yrs and 5'6. Advice would be greatly appreciated.

I was wondering the same thing earlier! A mini-mal is like having a longboard and shortboard. but they dont perform the same.. if you know wat i mean?!? a mini-mal gives you the best of both..but not perfect!

Longboards are just great fun for waves between..3-8ft!!! Just untouched retro fun!

hiphopdec wrote:...a mini-mal gives you the best of both...

I have rode boards from 6'1" up and never been a huge fan of boards over 7' and under 9'. My view is that the Mini-mal being a hybrid misses the best bits of both the long and the shortboard... great all round boards though and consequently one of the best choices to learn on; good luck and hope that once you have a board you continue to enjoy it!
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"Seek first to understand, then to be understood"

Yea..its really hard to convey that, but thats wat i meant!

Learn on a mini-mal... then decide whether you're a longboarder, shortboarder or a mini-maller

You cant ride a mini-mal like a shortboard, or like a longboard - you ride it like a mini-mal. Great for learning on though

drowningbitbybit wrote:...You cant ride a mini-mal like a shortboard, or like a longboard - you ride it like a mini-mal. Great for learning on though

True and hence the alternate category "fun board"... The main idea behind surfing is to have fun and enjoy yourself. I do believe that after learning the basics you should aim to experiment with as many boards as possible, both shape and size.

I now prefer boards greater then 9' as do many, but I surfed boards between 6'1" to 6'8" for many years before making this decision. I constantly had trouble shifting from the norm of ridding a longboard to useing a short board in larger surf. I have found that a board around 9' with a three fin setup, 60/40 rails and pin tail works for me just as well in larger waves or thoughs with steep faces (although I find it harder to pull into tubes); ride a 9'6" traditional style single fin for an all-round board.

A lot of shortboarders only use one boards as a result of $$$; but a person who does like to have a choice generally has a larger quiver to cover varying sizes and conditions then that of longboarders. If you are thinking of heading this way I feel (everyone generally has a different idea) there is probably 3 main boards that should be in any short board quiver:

• Modern fish
• Square tailed thruster
• and a Pintail (not talking a gun, dependent on where you surf but generally falls into a larger quiver).

But probably the best thing to do is talk to your local shapers and trust what they have to say... they have been designing and shaping boards for your area and generally (if you are honest) have a better idea on what you need.

Edit 1: I just read that you live in Sydney; I lived in Wollongong for about 10 years before moving to Portugal... if you do decide to go towards the short board (once you've learnt the basics), I would definatly look out for a modern fish; you will find in very useful for the Sydney area.
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"Seek first to understand, then to be understood"

Longboards are always the best to start on and after you move down to shortboards you will still want to take out your longboard for days with small waves when you just want to have good fun! Id get a longboard.

Hey thanks guys for your help! And thanks grub, i will look out for a modern fish! Though, at the moment I think I will learn on a longboard and then go from there. If it takes a year to find the board that's best for me then so be it. I just want to go out there and have fun with surfing!