Buying a longboard

[Bella]

Hi, i was just wondering if you could give me some advice on buying a longboard. I have been surfing a fair amount and want to get my own board for surfing in UK and Europe and was wondering if youcould let me know what a good length and weight etc is good to go for? -i am 5'4" and want something taht is really easy to ride , light and, easy to paddle out on and duck dive with. I dont want a softop (i learned on those) and want something that will last me a while.
What good makes do you recommend and how much should i pay for a second-hand board?
sorry so many questions!
thank you for your help!

[deadite]

Well, you won't be duck diving with any longboard. Anything over 8'0" I don't think you'll be able to duck dive on. But if you're 5'4" you might want to just get like a 7'2" or something. Or, if you got a mini-mal you'd definitely have no problem with that.

[Bella]

ok well, i want something light then that isnt to exhausting to paddle out on , is a mini mal good for that? basically i want something easy and chilled, light, balanced and easy to catch waves on.

[jonny]

Hi Bella,

Lots of shapers are making "girlie" longbards now actually so you should look for one of those. They are narrower so you can get your arm round them easier to carry, a bit lighter so easy to lug around and the fin cluster closer together to accomodate smaller feet.

Oh...and a lot of them seem to be pink too but that bit is optional!! ha ha!

With the combination of these longboard design changes as well as the fact girls tend to be naturally more graceful and elegant surfers it makes girl's longboarding one of the fastest growing areas of the surf industry.

For your size I'd go 9'0" to 9'2" long then 22 1/2" wide and then about 2 1/2" thick. My advice would be to steer away from any surf-tech boards and go for a nice second hand custom. If you look after it, you'll be able to re-sell for pretty much what you paid when you get round to ordering your first McTavish Girl's Fireball from me!!! ha ha

Good luck and shout if you need some more tips.

[Bella]

thanks jonny,
would you suggest i opt for a longboard rather than a mini mal then? im not that strong a surfer (yet) so dont want anything toheavy
thanks

[jonny]

without a shadow of a doubt.

[Bella]

ok no i am a little confused! - the other guy that replied to my Q said i should go for a minimal! what are the pros and cons of each one?
sorry to be so clueless!

[Phil]

depends what you want out of surfing mini mals are just a cut down version of a longboard that are alot easyer to turn you can throw them around a bit more than a longboard

if you want to eventully ride a shortboard then get a mini mal, if you want to be able to glide along the waves or hang those 10 little piggys over the nose then go for a longboard

great thing about longboarding is you can catch pretty much anything from 1ft weak mush to 6ft+ glass

[Bella]

thank you! i am now un-confused!

[deadite]

Yeah, I just suggested the mini mal because it's not as big as a longboard, but big enough to make catching waves easy.