beginner/intermediate board that will fit in my car

[Djc]

Hey hey!

I’m looking for a beginner/intermediate board that’s 7 foot or less so that it will fit in my car (I really don’t want to put racks on the glass roof).

I’m currently on a 9 foot epoxy degree 33 ultimate longboard. I surf about once or twice a week mostly in pleasure point, Santa Cruz. I’m 5’9, 170lb and average fitness.

I’ve been surfing about a year and can catch green waves and go down the line and trim, starting to do turns.

It’s probably asking a lot from a 7 foot board, but I want float, paddle power, stability and glide to maximise wave count to improve as quickly as I can

Any suggestions for a board?

Current decision is between the FireWire greedy beaver in 6’8 or 6’10 or the 7s superfish in 7’.

Thanks!

[Big H]

A true dilemma....you will improve faster in the board you have most likely, but it doesn’t fit in your car. The two choices you outlined, 7s is the better if the two, greedy beaver is rather foiled out....neither is a beginners board however and in a crowd like I imagine pleasure point to be on good days, your struggles with a shorter board will mark you as one OK to take waves from....at least it would here.


Soft racks and the longer board.... best compromise.

[waikikikichan]

but I want float, paddle power, stability and glide to maximise wave count to improve as quickly as I can.
Current decision is between the FireWire greedy beaver in 6’8 or 6’10 or the 7s superfish in 7’.

I understand your circumstances, but if you want to improve quickly, you're making a big mistake.
1) Paddle power comes from you not the board, and by going 2 feet less in length, you'll probably have to move in 20 feet or more where the wave is steeper and faster.
2) Stability ? Smaller boards are less stable. AND swallow tail are there to loosen ( not stiffen ) up the tail.
3) Glide ? Long(er) boards have glide with their length and volume. Shorter boards you need to pump and carve to keep speed.
4) Wave Count ? Because you need to move in further, you'll be sitting inside the long(er) boards and need to pick up their scraps and left overs they don't want.

But if your question is for all those attributes between those 2 boards, I would go with the 7S superfish ( but warning, find a good repair guy, because you're going to crack those swallow tail tips )

Today I went to the beach in a Prius ( in Japan, not the same as the U.S. model ) and we had a 9'2" and a 9'0" in it. In Hawaii, we had 2 longboards and a shortboard in our Scion Xb. What type of car do you drive ?

[tomthetreeman]

Here’s my buddy Nacho, he’s got the whole quiver lol.

[Djc]

Thanks for the advice so far!

It’s a Tesla model 3. I’m pretty new to this and it sounds like the two boards I narrowed it down to aren’t optimal

Any other board suggestions that will fit in the car?

I’m also going to measure again today to see if I can go up to 8’.

If not I guess I’ll have to try out the soft racks and hope to avoid scratches.

[jaffa1949]

Keep your roof clean less chance of scratching

[Djc]

To kick the FireWire thing one more time as I like the eco construction. what do you think of the addvance 7’2” for this purpose? It’s 64 litres so only 8 litres less than my longboard (72 litres)

https://shop.firewiresurfboards.com/col ... r-addvance

[BaNZ]

Here’s my buddy Nacho, he’s got the whole quiver lol.

That actually looks like there are more boards than it appears on the photo. You can see that they are stack side by side so there is probably another stack of boards behind the ones we see. I definitely won't be driving fast with that many boards. The boards might cost more than the car!

[tomthetreeman]

It is two stacks!

[waikikikichan]

Screenshot 2018-08-07 at 5.27.56 AM.png (300.86 KiB) Viewed 2291 times

I found one Tesla 3 forum that said only 7'3" board will fit. But then I found this searching elsewhere:
"So, I was able to fit an 8’ surfboard in the car today (just tested it at home), and had some additional space (length) left. Could probably go another 4-6”.

Steps:
1) lower rear seats
2) move passenger seat forward
3) recline passenger seat as far as possible
4) slide board diagonally in from trunk.

Keep in mind, this makes it a one person and one board affair, but seems do-able and still have space for wetsuit, towel, etc. "

[waikikikichan]

what do you think of the addvance 7’2” for this purpose?

Are you an aDDvance surfer or a bEEginner surfer ? The addvance does have the volume and length your looking for, but is not meant for a beginner.

[dtc]

maybe the firewire Seaxe is worth a look, there is a 7'2 version. Or a Torq modfun. Boards with that kind of outline (straighter rails, bigger nose), rather than the Addvance (as said, dont get confused by the volume - look at the outline). 7S as already mentioned. There are heaps of shapers that make mini mal/funboard shapes

[Djc]

Thanks all for the suggestions.

Turns out billabong in Santa Cruz have seaxe and addvance demo boards so no need to guess! I’ll also see if I can demo those torq funboards and 7s superfish, I think freeline have them

Also I measured it out last night and a 7’6” board will fit in the car (actually even a 9’ could go between the seats but bumps could have disastrous consequences for the screen in the middle).

Will report back once I’ve ridden the boards and made a decision! More board suggestions always welcome!

[Tudeo]

Turns out billabong in Santa Cruz have seaxe and addvance demo boards so no need to guess!

Checkout the Firewire Vacay too, that's more beginner oriented then Seaxe and Addvance.

[Millsy82]

I went from a 9'2 longboard down to a 6'9-23-2 3/4 after about a year of surfing.

When I first started I was out 3 or 4 times a year but I got on great I didn't have the required skill but I was fit enough and had enough confidence to get by on it.

The problem came when I wasn't getting out enough once or twice a week in poor waves my fitness level dropped then I took some beatings my confidence soon followed. In the end I went back onto a longboard.

I think if you get out enough you can still progress I'm now on a 6'10-22-2 3/4 and flying again I've really worked on my fitness by going out in whatever is there 4 or 5 times a week. I've really had to work on my positioning and wave selection as I felt it was holding me back and you have to learn to do everything that little bit quicker.

My wave count has dropped but the quality of the waves I've started catching are starting to get better even with the poor conditions.

So in short if you want to go short it can be done but you have to put the time and effort into it, the learning curve will become big steps but it can be achieved.

[Djc]

Hey!

Sorry for the slow reply. In the end I got the Firewire Addvance 7'6".

I tried out the Seaxe and Addvance (couldn't find a Vacay or Greedy Beaver to demo) but in the end this board works for me.

the board

Here's some info for others who may be in a similar position.

Paddling: easy enough if I manage to position my body right, though I'm definitely getting stronger from the additional effort, and that's making my longboard days better too I'd say its ~20% more difficult than the longboard.

Catching waves: I'm having more success catching the wave a little later, once it's a bit steeper, than on my 9'. My wave count is a little lower, but mostly due to the paddling time back to the line up.

The ride: this is the biggest change, it definitely does not ride like a longboard. This board wants to carve up a wave - I need to catch up to it I found it pretty unstable set up as a quad, but as a thruster I've been more stable. That's mostly just getting used to the different feel and increased manoeuvrability. Also, this board really floats - if you're used to a PU board (even a longboard) this will probably feel weird to you.

Fitting in the car: yep - front seat is all the way forward though, not a very comfy ride for a tall passenger, but it works for solo mid-week sessions, which is my main use case. Maybe a 7'2" would have been a better long-term choice, but the decreased volume would have made the transition more difficult.

7.6 board in a tesla model 3

Overall, I'm stoked. Thank you all for your insights!

[ConcreteVitamin]

Hey!

Sorry for the slow reply. In the end I got the Firewire Addvance 7'6".

I tried out the Seaxe and Addvance (couldn't find a Vacay or Greedy Beaver to demo) but in the end this board works for me.

IMG_1988.JPG

Here's some info for others who may be in a similar position.

Paddling: easy enough if I manage to position my body right, though I'm definitely getting stronger from the additional effort, and that's making my longboard days better too I'd say its ~20% more difficult than the longboard.

Catching waves: I'm having more success catching the wave a little later, once it's a bit steeper, than on my 9'. My wave count is a little lower, but mostly due to the paddling time back to the line up.

The ride: this is the biggest change, it definitely does not ride like a longboard. This board wants to carve up a wave - I need to catch up to it I found it pretty unstable set up as a quad, but as a thruster I've been more stable. That's mostly just getting used to the different feel and increased manoeuvrability. Also, this board really floats - if you're used to a PU board (even a longboard) this will probably feel weird to you.

Fitting in the car: yep - front seat is all the way forward though, not a very comfy ride for a tall passenger, but it works for solo mid-week sessions, which is my main use case. Maybe a 7'2" would have been a better long-term choice, but the decreased volume would have made the transition more difficult.

IMG_6508.JPG

Overall, I'm stoked. Thank you all for your insights!

Nice! I'm potentially looking to buy a Vacay is Santa Cruz or Bay Area. How much did you get it for, and where?