need so advice on buying...intermediate

[gekeoni]

alright, so i bought around a 6'4-6'5 board about 2 years ago and stood up and was riding waves in about one week. I was really committed to it at first, but then i slowly dwindled away a lil bit, maybe going aboiut 2-3 times a week for about 2 hours at a time. It is now about two years later and i can turn left (im natural footing) but am having trouble turning right. I'm kind of at a weird situation because I moved back to hawaii this month and left my old board at my old house. feels good to be home in hawaii again and seeing everyone surfing makes me is motivating me to get back outt there everyday like i used to. I am short on cash (im a student) and I was wondering what suggestions people have for the kind of board i should get. I am 5'8 about 135 pounds and was getting up on a 6'4-6'5 board pretty well before I stopped going. money is so tight so I dont want to buy a huge long board then buy a short board too later on. should I buy the same height board as I used to have and try to progress as fast as i can? or should i just buy the longboard? its winter here in hawaii now so waves are getting big. I would never surf north shore...onyl south shore were waves are between 2-6 feet.

mahalo =)

[dtc]

If you were going ok on a 6'5 board before, and havent grown very much, then something about that size should be fine this time round. Keep in mind that one 6ft5 board may be quite different to another - I suspect you may want to get one that is slightly thicker and wider (higher volume) just in case you need the extra paddle fitness etc and to help out. Or you could get something a few inches longer, about 6ft8 or 9 or so.

So I would stay away from the thin 'high performance' short boards and get something a bit wider and fatter; the length is whatever you feel comfortable with. From what you have said about your skill level before, anything 6ft5 - 6ft9 should be good. It will take a few sessions (maybe more than a few) to blow off the rust, so allow for that; but then you will be fine. And a board like this should last you a long time - you wont 'outskill' it anytime soon.

But dont go too fat - you want to be able to duck dive. Just something a little bit more volume than a 'standard' short board. Maybe an egg style or possible even a fish (but personally I would stay with a thuster rather than a twin or quad, which a lot of fish are)

[IB_Surfer]

Honestly, at 135lbs you can surf almost anything. If the 6'5 worked good then go with that, especially if you are already used to it. However, if you surf regularly you will be using a board around 6ft, but leave that size to later.