Tofino Surfer - What type of Board should I learn on?

[HotAlbatross]

Hey All?

I live in Tofino British Columbia, Canada.

I have surfed about 6 times in my life and am now wanting to get seriously into surfing.

I was invovled in an accident a few years ago and gained some substantial weight but I am losing it.

I'm currently 6'2" and 260lbs and I'm wanting to know what is an ideal board for a 200lb+ Guy that's surfing primarily cold water tofino waves.

Thanks!

[dtc]

You will want a big board.

For most beginners the recommendation is about 9ft/3ft over their head, and same for you. However, you will want a board with more volume than most beginners - ideally somewhere around 90 Litres. Surfing in cold water you will have a thick wetsuit as well. Thus something a bit wider/thicker/longer than the standard 9ft longboard. So 24 inches wide, 3 1/2 thick, more like 9ft6 long than 9ft. That kind of range.

The obvious choice is the Walden mega magic. Its a pretty expensive board though; however have a look and it gives you an indication of what you should be thinking about https://www.waldensurfboards.com/collec ... mega-magic

Another option is to go for a 9'6 longboard like the Torq https://www.torq-surfboards.com/id-96-longboard.html
or NSP https://www.nspsurfboards.com/product/e ... longboard/ These are cheaper boards, perfectly fine for a beginner (NSP has multiple options).

Now there are heaps of longboard manufacturers/shapers around, so dont feel you have to go for one of the ones linked - just showing you the options and what you should look for. Keep in mind you ideally will want an 'oversized' board - so most longboards will be a bit too small (most are around 70L volume, you will want closer to 90L or more). Go longer, go wider

A possible option is a big softboard. Softboards have plenty of volume and might be ok for a while. However! Cheaper softboards and even some of the better brands will be too flexible for you (they will 'bend'). So I strongly suggest a hard board rather than a softboard; nonetheless if you wanted to start with a softboard that is an option. Again, 9ft or longer if you can find longer.

If you are interested in a new board, you may find a custom board is just as cheap - hunt around for someone who makes longboards and ask for one wider and thicker along the lines of the Walden.

Hope that helps

[HotAlbatross]

This helps SO MUCH.

Thank you for all the advice, its very appreciated.