Recommendations - A bit lost regarding first board purchase

[NeedAdvice]

Hi

I'm sure these kind of topics are posted all the time and get a bit old, but I was hoping for some advice!

I've surfed before several times, however this was a few years ago and I would definitely still be a 'beginner'. I'm finally buying my own board and plan to go surfing quite regularly (2 - 3 times a month, hopefully even a few times a week at times when I'm off work). I live quite near the beach in Ireland.

I'm aware that I should be getting a large board as I'm a beginner, but am hoping to get something that I won't get bored of if I advance, when there are decent waves. I'm 6' 2" and I'd estimate about 11-12 stone.

The different size guides I've seen online seem to give conflicting advice, so I thought I'd ask here: what type of board would people recommend, and what size should I be looking at? If anyone has any specific recommendations of boards on Amazon etc I'd be very interested to hear them. I'm also hoping to get a board of decent quality so that I can have it for a long time.

A few I've just seen today (Feel free to tell me these are completely innapopriate):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Torq-Surfboards ... Surfboards

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bic-Dura-Mini-P ... QZS4KBAGM0

[oldmansurfer]

What size was the board you used previously? Pretty much at 2 times a month it will be slow going on the learning. Maybe if you swim to build your arm muscles in between it would help. If you haven't surfed in a few years it will seem like you have never surfed before except that you will retain the knowledge of how to do it (maybe but if you never learned well enough just consider yourself a total newbie). My opinion is that a better board for you would be around 9'6" to 10 foot although those boards that you picked might be ok if you worked at swimming in between your surf sessions.

[NeedAdvice]

I'm not too sure if I'm honest. The first few times I was out was on a very large soft board. Then after that it would have been on friends boards (which I've been told would be a bit under 7ft). To be honest I did struggle on the friends boards, but it had been specifically made for them (local shaper) and the owners would be shorter than me.

10 foot seems very large. However I don't want to go too small and completely stop myself from learning/advancing. I think your idea of going swimming during the week is a great idea though.

Another I noticed is http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bic-Surfboards- ... =surfboard

There's so many different types, never mind sizes. It's all so confusing

[Jester]

Heya, I live in Ireland, where do you plan on surfing? Is started all my learning on 8ft foamies. I'm about same dimensions as your good self. The under 7ft is just plain crazy, don't even bother, especially with our waves.

Was in lahinch the last few wkends, everyone bar one or two people are on long boards, that's the good guys now. The waves are often slow and fat, if I was you I'd go for an 8ft Torq mini mal. I've got a bic 8'4 and it's served me grand. Gets into every wave and gets you up and learnkng. You really need this in the early days esp as OMS says if you're not going much.

For instance I can go out on the reef and do a few turns and am starting to hold my own in the lineup but today I tried a 7'4..(I wanna go down a size or two eventually) man it was really REALLY hard to stand up on!! Seriously.

Go 8ft or more, no probs with bic, I've learnt a lot on mine, Torq are looking good too and that's more than likely what I'll be buying next. See you out there.

Happy hunting!

[Jester]

Just to add.. There's a ton of guys on bics out there, good and bad. No worries about being looked down on for riding a pen for a stick your surfing does the talking

[oldmansurfer]

the deal with size is (to a certain extent) the bigger the board the easier it will be to catch a wave and to stand up. If instead of surfing you spend all your time struggling to just catch a wave because you are only surfing 2 times a month and you have a board that is shorter and therefor more unstable and harder to paddle. You will spend all your time learning how to paddle into the waves and no time actually riding waves. A bigger board will get you riding waves sooner. If you are not easily discouraged and can deal with not really surfing for a few months or more at 2 times a month then shorter boards become a realistic option. Shorter boards require more arm strength and wave reading skill to learn on. With a longer board you have a larger area where you can catch a wave and really small boards require you be in the exact right spot. 7 feet isn't that short but it also isn't very long. I understand you might want a board that will be good for a few years at 2 times a month surfing and in which case those funboard type of surfboards are the ones to get only maybe get longer versions. 2 times a month is 24 times a year. When I learned to surf, I surfed more than 24 times in my first month of learning. Second time around learning ( I quit surfing for 11 years) I surfed 52 times a year but only 30 minutes per outing. I doubled the amount of time so now I am learning twice as fast but it is still slow going compared to when I initially learned.

[jaffa1949]

I'm going to cut everyone else off at the post, get something in the 8 to 9ft range, IMHo 10ft is too big for your weight when 8 to 9ft will do. you will not get bored aboard a board. In that range you can ride anything that the Atlantic can throw. Only good skills are needed, any of the Torq range that fits that size criteria would do.
You could look at BICs, tough as they are! Go round the local Irish surf shops and see if there are good second hand boards.
If you live quite near the beach why so few surfs? If you want to accelerate your learning water time is the key and those extra days you get during the week and not just on weekend will make the difference.
Oh and! Who says big boards are boring?

[NeedAdvice]

Thanks everyone.

You definitely have me leaning more towards around 8ft now (no smaller than 7'6" I'm thinking).

Jester - I'll be surfing round Donegal mostly (Culdaff, Bundoran, Rossknowlagh etc)!

2-3 times a month was probably a conservative estimate really. I could end up getting out both days every weekend a lot of the time. I work long hours during the week so won't get many weekday evenings.

Ideally I'd go to a local shop and buy a 2nd hand board but I'm in the unusual position of having limited funds, yet a voucher which can be used in a lot of online shops (hence looking on Amazon, the last place I expected to buy a surfboard from).

The most common brands on there seem to be Bic (predictably), Torq, and Cortez. Any of these anyone would recommend (or equally recommend avoiding)? I remember thinking Bics were supposed to be considered pretty poor years ago (I might be remembering that wrong) but I don't know why.

Thanks again everyone - I probably would have went with a 7'er if it wasn't for the advice!

[jaffa1949]

Torq you out of a Bic, go a Torq, I don't know Cortez but they look OK

[Jester]

Rossnowlagh is lovely and prob the best place to learn in Ireland!! Go 8ft torq then by all accounts though after the ragging my bic survived this weekend on the reef in lahinch I can't say enough about how tough they are!!

Have heard the cortez' had problems with their fins/finboxes and for some reason I've always steered clear of them. If you can go secondhand do! I got mine on done deal for a steal! And the abuse I've given it unintentionally, I'm really really glad it wasn't brand new!

[NeedAdvice]

Ahh for God sake

Went to order a board off a shop on Amazon today - got chatting to the guy that runs the shop (been selling boards 15 years) - he thinks for my height and weight an 8ft board is overkill.

He's recommending a 7'2" - and in fairness to him, he says he'll swap it if I find it to be no use for me.

Going to order in the morning. At this point in time I think I'm going 7'6" but he could end up talking me into the 7'2". You guys have made me wary of going too small. I don't want to spend my whole time struggling to stand up and get frustrated, as someone mentioned.

[drowningbitbybit]

Unless you're going long, surfboard shop owners often try and talk your board length down. They know what they can surf, but they seem to have forgotten what it's like to be a beginner.
I'm 85kg and 6' tall... someone in a shop tried to tell me that the "right" board for me was 5'6 the other day

Go with the 7'6 (at least). It's much better to be catching waves and thinking "I wish my board was a bit shorter" than not catching anything and thinking "I wish my board was longer".

[benjl]

Buy it, sorted.. The 8ft version is also very nice. http://www.torq-surfboards.com/fun-76.html

These boards are touuuggghhhhh! I underestimated my turning radius while carrying my 7'2 and spun it in to the wooden door frame when trying to leave the house. It left a dent in the corner of the wood and nothing on the board