Choosing Beginners Surfing Equipment

[Duncs]

[color=blue]Post moved from https://surfing-waves.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13

This time of year, what do you reckon i would need to surf. A fullsuit,...hat,..gloves and boots?!
Do you know of any hire shops on the south coast. I think West Wittering would be the best palce to go.

Talking of equipment. I am looking into buying my own board. Now everything i have read says to be honest about yourself,..so here goes.

I am 6'1" , and about 11.5 stones. I have had a week surfing on a foamboard, with the last day on a min-mal. I was pretty confident standing by the end and caught some green waves.
I wanna surf lots, and i reckon if i had my own gear it'd be easier to brave the south coast.

Thing is i want to get a board i can progress on, so something that caters for a beginner/intermediate would be good.

Onother topic that deserves treatment is balancing "the right board for you at your current standard" with "lack of money to keep buying boards".

I read somewhere that you progress quicker if your always on a board that suits your style, and maybe gives you small things to get to grips with, plus it means you catch more waves and generally have more fun. However to progress a long way you will always be buying more boards. The difficulty is knowing how much of a challenge a board wiill be, so that its enough you can use it for a long time, but not so much it defeats you.

It's a good things surfers have brains,..if i'd said that to a townie it would have been "eurgh balancing money with use,...um,...yeah 100 watt speakers are good but they weigh my super fast car down.....", or "man innit bo, your muvva,...you iz talkin crap my son,..yeah its real burberry innit"

Cough,..cough,...

So yeah, a mini-mal maybe or a NSP funboard?!

Hit me back

[Duncs]

Hey dood,...admin guy

You moved my post,?!! Thats WELL trippy,.....

man it's like friday nights hanging on those street corners ALL OVER AGAIN

y'know when this site is really rockin' its gonna be a full time job moving all the posts to their right headings. It''ll be inundated with talk of booze and cheap women soon enough...

Mark my words

lol

I respect what you've done though. This seems like it'll be a good place for "beginners learning to surf (ah hah can't move that one now can ya,..this post is in the right "zone") to chat...."

Duncs

[surf patrol]

You are really on the ball! - I've only just moved it. It's good to see that you are paying attention, but back to the matter at hand!

This time of year, what do you reckon i would need to surf. A fullsuit,...hat,..gloves and boots?

You need a fullsuit,...hat,..gloves and boots. (Informative eh!) At the moment it is cold enough that you will need a 5/3 suit to be comfortable - and it's only going to get colder. You will need a balaclava for the depths of winter - the icecream headaches are a killer!

Talking of equipment. I am looking into buying my own board. Now everything i have read says to be honest about yourself

This advice is spot on. There is no point in going straight onto a 5'8'' and spending the next 2 years struggling, or being 16 stone and buying a board that you will sink when you paddle out. Make it easy for yourself and get the right board - as big as possible. Surfing on a mini-mal / mal will bring your surfing on leaps and bounds. While a foam board is the ideal absoute beginners board it is probably better to go for a glassed board - especially if you are going to get into the surf regularly and are aiming to improve as quickly as possible. If you are thinking of getting a second hand board make sure you check it out properly. Just because a board has been bashed around a little doesn't mean that it is not suitable. Make sure that the board does not have any cracks and that it has not taken on any water. If the second hand board you are interested in buying is covered in wax, ask the owner if it is ok to give it a clean before you buy it - wax can cover a multitude of sins so watch out.

On a final note - do not go for a board just because the price is right, you'll only regret it and spend the next few months trying to fob it off on someone else.