First Board (Cheap NSP or Expensive Anacapa Bandit)

[ralarcon]

I looking at buying my first surf board. I'm 5'10" and 155lbs.

I've been searching the web and found two possible options. And NSP 7'2" Fun Surfboard or 7'2" Anacapa Bandit. They have very similar dimensions. You can see the details on the Tikisurf website.

This weekend i tried the NSP 7'2" (since is a popular board at rentals) and it was great fun very stable and just about enough float.

The Anacapa is more expensive and I don't think I'll get to try it before I buy it. So I'm undecide on which to go for. I'm unsure if the Anacapa would float as good, I believe NSPs are made to float a bit more (is that true).

Any one with experience with Anacapa boards?
Do you have an opinion which one will help my progression best?
Do you know of any similar boards that i should maybe look at first?

I surf in Woolacombe, UK. So the surf is small to medium.

Thanks

Note:
I have also tried large 8' surfboards. I was no good on them. Easy to paddle but I just could not find the right spot on the board (i kept of the back of the wave or nose diving). Also tried a 6'3" softFOam board whic had so much float i had no problem catching waves and standing up,however i could not turn with out going out of control.

[Richb]

I wouldn't spend too much on your first board as it likey gonna get knocked about quite a bit in your first year or two and you don't want to go doing serious damage your pride and joy! NSP/Bic type boards are pretty tough and will take a good beating so are ideal to learn on. They're actually not a bad ride too. A mini mal or fun board would be the right shape to go, sounds like the 7'2'' would be about the right size for you too. I'm 6' and bought an 7'6'' O'Shea mini mal to start with, which was fine, but I progressed beyond it quite quickly, so maybe a slightly smaller board would have been better. I also opted for a fibre glass board and ended up having to rebuild a large section of it after knocking it on some rocks! That was my fault though and if you can look after it better then they are great to learn on. Mini mals are the typical begginer boards (big boards for ease of catching waves and more float) and fun boards are similar, in that they have a fuller profile, but are slightly more performance shaped and are more manouverable = slightly harder to ride when learning. They are however better to improve on. If you're in the water a lot you may progress beyond an NSP quite quickly. If you're only going for a surf a few times a year then they'd probably be the ideal board. One of the worst things you can do is to buy a board you just can't ride or even catch a wave with! As always its best to try out a couple first and try chatting to the guys in the stores - Woolacombe's got quite a few friendly places.

Don't know a great deal about Anacapa boards soz.

[ralarcon]

Thanks for the reply.

I'm really keen to get my own board so that I can get to the beach anytime any day. This is my first year surfing and I try to get to the beach at least once a month with a couple of long weekends in the year (3-4 days). In november i'm off to baja california where i'm hoping i'll get at least a week of good surfing!.

My main concern is indeed that I could end up buying a board and progress beyond it quite quickly, as you mentioned for your mini mal, and then have to splash out on something better. But if a 7'2" funboard (NSP/BIC type) board keeps me happy for a couple years, i think i'll stick with them for now. Plus It will not hurt as much when it gets damaged!, as i'm sure it will.

As you progress, is it always to a shorter board? Or can you stick to the same lenght board but different spec/shape/higher quality make?