Is The Von Sol Shadow 7'0 A Good Advance Beginner Board?

[cooliomattio]

Happy Easter Everyone!

A little bit about my surfing history. Long story short. I bought a board years ago from a neighbor and tried surfing with it a few times. I got discouraged about surfing because every time I would get up on the board, it would swivel under me and I would go flying off. I always had a feeling that surfing couldn't be this hard. Recently I showed a few surf shop employees my board and the exact words out of their mouth was. "That's a 70s gun board.. I wouldn't even ride that thing!" After hearing this I got super excited because I knew it wasn't me it was the board its self.

With this said, I have now begun researching and shopping around for a board. I know an egg shaped and fun board are great options but are hard to come by. I was wondering if ya'll could help me out with a few questions I have on a particular board. I found a really good deal on a Von Sol 7'0 22 3/16 width and 2 7/8 thickness Epoxy. I am relatively a beginner but very athletic, have great conditioning and a quick learner. I snowboard and wake board really well and I am 24 yrs old, 6 foot 170 pounds. Anyways:

My question is would you say this board would be a good board to get in order to advance to a short board later on?

I don't want to buy a fun board and then get used to it too quickly wishing I went with something more advanced. I plan on surfing a lot in order to pick it up quickly. I am located in Southern California, particularly north orange county.

Also, I have done some research on this particular board and according to their website there is a model "Shadow" and a model "Mid Length Shadow." Regarding to the "Shadow" it states the particular sizes are between 5'4 - 6'8 and the "Mid Length Shadow" states its sizes are 6'10 - 8'0. Below are the links to the two boards:

Shadow - http://www.vonsol.com/surfboards/highpe ... hadow.html

Mid Length Shadow - http://www.vonsol.com/surfboards/midlen ... adow2.html

Comparing the two I do not see any difference. The board I am interested in is a Von Sol 7'0 22 3/16 width and 2 7/8 thickness Epoxy. Would you think its the Mid Length Shadow because of the dimensions? Exact dimensions are: 7'0" x 15 1/8" x 22 3/16" x 15 15/16" x 2 7/8"

Please let me know what you think and any other advice would be much appreciated. Looking forward to hearing back soon! Thanks a lot!


Regards,

Matt

[drowningbitbybit]

surfing couldn't be this hard.
I knew it wasn't me it was the board its self.
I am relatively a beginner but very athletic, have great conditioning and a quick learner. I snowboard and wake board really well and I am 24 yrs old, 6 foot 170 pounds.

Don't mean to be harsh, but you could edit that down to

I am a beginner

The board isn't that bad for a beginner, but a longer more beginner-friendly board will have you surfing quicker and having more fun. It will be a long time before you 'outgrow' your board... surfing isn't a matter of weeks and a few goes in the water... it is that hard.

[jaffa1949]

Go the 8ft mid length Shadow, any shorter and you will find out exactly how hard surfing is! There is lots of reasoning as to why a longer board in the beginning is better . You will not be master of any board in as short a time as you believe! Read up through the forum see what crossover learners from every other board sport say.
You will be nowhere as good as you would believe you'll be!
Time and lots of surfs might get you there!

[cooliomattio]

Thanks for the input gentlemen. I want to update you guys about two other boards I have found. First is a used 7'4 Meyerhoffer for about $375.. I don't know exactly if the price is negotiable or not. The other is a used 7'4 blue modern for $280.. again not sure if this price is final or not.

The von sol was listed at $375 and I asked the guy if its negotiable and he brought the price down to $325... he says he needs to add fins for about $5 bucks each and otd including tax is around $350.

What do you guys think about the two used boards mentioned above? & Which is more bang for the buck?

Thanks a lot!

[jaffa1949]

Since you want to go 7'4" go the Modern, I don't have a lot of faith about the Meyerhoffer of any shape or size. ( that is my personal prejudice though)
The modern is an all round shape that will see you through to much advanced stages of surfing.
The extra volume will make up for some of the lessened length.
Let us know how you go!