Starting surfing..

dazftw

So I want to start surfing since maybe like last year just never really got around to it. I started a new job awhile ago and a guy who works there surfs and hes gotten me into the idea again! Im just wondering what sort of board should I go for?

I would like a decent board anyway I can afford to get something good, ive been skateboarding for about 7 years so im pretty good with balancing(i know its probably alot different with surfing). In my mind im telling myself I would be more comfortable on a smaller board I dont like the idea of long boards or something thats alot taller than me..

Height is around 6ft little less id say, the guy in work said I would be looking at getting one about 7ft.

Just looking for some advice

dedon

I'd say go for a 7 9" Bic

I learnt on a 7ft but it took me a while longer than say learning on a 7 9". I am 5 11".

The Bic board will sort you out. Nice and easy to learn on and with the bigger swells approaching us now soon it would be the right way to go in my opinion.

Bes of luck!!

c - 13

dazftw wrote: »

So I want to start surfing since maybe like last year just never really got around to it. I started a new job awhile ago and a guy who works there surfs and hes gotten me into the idea again! Im just wondering what sort of board should I go for?

Well, if your unsure if you want to keep it up i's suggest you go second hand to start with. There's no point paying a rake of cash for a board that will sit in your shed.

dazftw wrote: »

I would like a decent board anyway I can afford to get something good, ive been skateboarding for about 7 years so im pretty good with balancing(i know its probably alot different with surfing). In my mind im telling myself I would be more comfortable on a smaller board I dont like the idea of long boards or something thats alot taller than me..

I would suggest around the high sevens myself to be honest. 7' 9" would be good as someone suggested.

The next question would be do you want to go fibreglass/epoxy/plastic. For starting out the plastic can be good as its very durable, cheap and bouyant. The problem is you may outgrow it in ability fast enough.

If you want to put the money in go epoxy or fibreglass, they're lighter, more bouyant, more responsive but can take damage more easily and are more expensive.

Personally if I had the cash i'd go epoxy, but thats just my personal preference.

Once you get good with this size board you can decide if you want to size down or size up.

All that being said there's no reason you can't learn on the 7' 2" it will just be a bit more difficult and may discourage you. You'll find theres not a whoel lot of crossover between skateboarding and surfing, its a completely different skill set, but on the plus side when you fall of surfing at least its into water

Waterford based ? If thats the case call into T-Bay surf shop if you want to go second hand, they usually have a few bits coming in and out. Take someone who knows what their talking about with you to inspect the boards.

If you decide to go new a lot of people here have bought from kingofwatersports.com and were very happy with their purchases. They're pretty well priced and the delivery is fast enough too.

Any other questions, fire away. You have a wetsuit already ?

dazftw

I do have a wetsuit bought it about the start of the year a ripcurl one not sure of the model. Cost me €150. I use it to go swimming but the last while its been pretty tight on me that will probably effect me im thinking?

I don't mind spending between €350 - €400. The job im in at the moment is pretty handy money. So im just saving it may aswell put it to some use

Ill have a look at that bic board later same with the website.. im starting work now so ill post back up on my break.. but if you see this before that let me know what I can get with that budget!

Thanks lads!

c - 13

Good start to have the wetsuit anyway. I'd check that its a 5/3 though if I were you any thinner and you wont last the winter in it to be honest. It will start getting colder from now on.

Tight is good, but not so tight it restricts motion.

Let me take a look at KOWSP and see if I can dredge up anything in that price range -

Bic 7' 9" (Plastic)
Pros - Cheap(er), durable, known to be good beginner boards
Cons - May outgrow fast, not the most responsive
Comes with Bag, Leash, Fins and wax for E290

A friend started out on one of these and progressed to longboard afterwards. Surfed it a fair few times to try it out. Not a bad beginner board at all and you can run it over in your car and not damage the board at all.

Bilbo 7' 6" (Epoxy)
Pros - Faster, Lighter
Cons - Easily Damaged, slightly shorted so may be harder to get you pop up on in the beginning
Comes with Bag, Leash, Fins and wax for E415

Surfed a friends bildo longboard a few times found it very very bouyant and fast. Unfortunately it died in a freak delamination accident in the water one day. I think that that isnt generally the norm.

Circle One 7' 10" (Epoxy)
Pros - Faster, Lighter, Little longer making for easier pop-ups
Cons - Easily Damaged
Comes with Bag, Leash, Fins and wax for E449

I've only surfed a Circle one once so cant really comment on it personally. IIRC its not really loved by more experienced surfers but I see nothing wrong with it for starting out.


If I was starting out and knew i'd keep at the surfing i'd probably go with the Bilbao myself. a lot of that is down to personal preference though having surfed one before.

If your friends surf have a go of their boards and see what you like.

Obviously go into the shops around as well to have a look - in your case mainly the Reef (Large selection of spider boards, nice but expensive), Surferz (Has that place closed down) and the T-Bay shop (Mixed range) in Tramore. You never know you might come up with a bargain.

Forgot to mention, I havent included postage costs on any of those boards and all currency conversions were done with xe.com

dazftw

The suit is 3mm thick afaik. I remember wanting a thick one. Im going out saturday now to look at boards and what not and depending what the water is like ill go rent a board to try it out. Im trying to get a few friends to start with me, I dunno its not something I want to start on my own.. If they quit once im use to it I dont mind :rolleyes:

ill post more when I get another break...

dazftw

http://www.irelandwebsitedesign.com/websites/tramoresurfshop/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=40&category_id=23&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=26

Any good? I know its short, it just interests me way more than the longer boards..

Kell

Personally-

if you havent surfed before, a 6'8 would be too short IMHO. I know lads that started a year ago who are still having difficulty on a school 8ft+ foam board who used to be skaters.

Personally a mini-mal 7'6 or large fish 7'2/3 I think would be ideal so long as you can pop well in your lessons that is and can paddle well. I wouldnt buy a board without having taken a few lessons, but thats just me.

Check this guys boards. Really, really nice to look at, ride and the user feedback is terrific, including me www.powersourcesurfboards.com

Delivery is about a week from order.

K-

dazftw

Yea I know what you mean, There is a NSP 7'7" mini mal on the same site, I was thinking about that aswell. Im going out tomorrow and again sunday to rent boards with some friends and get a feel for it. The site I linked actually has a shop out there so im going ask them what I should do aswell. Ill see if I can rent a different board each day to see which I find more suitable! I think they only have foamy ones though so ive heard.

sound good?

c - 13

The surf centre there only rents foamers if I remember correctly. Borrow your friends boards and have a shot at those though.

dazftw

Yeah they do, a few of us are going out today at 1 just to see what its like if I have any interest which I feel I will ill just go buy a board and rack for the car. None of my friends actually have proper surfboards.. This is there 1st time trying aswell :rolleyes: Ah well we will see how it goes its miserable down here and theres probably going to be no surf at all in it but im going out optimistic

c - 13

I wouldn't put too much hope in there being waves. I was talking to a friend from tramore yesterday and he said its been flat with the last month.

dazftw

c - 13 wrote: »

I wouldn't put too much hope in there being waves. I was talking to a friend from tramore yesterday and he said its been flat with the last month.

Yea Ive been checking magicseaweed.com(dont know if its proper) and its all be down at 1ft and it will go up to 3-5ft on tuesday and wednesday.

Bunmahon is supposed to good. My friend in work says, he says go to tramore to learn go to Bunmahon when you learn how to surf.

Im really only hoping for it to be good enough to let me stand up on the board and let the water move me in towards the beach!

c - 13

dazftw wrote: »

Yea Ive been checking magicseaweed.com(dont know if its proper) and its all be down at 1ft and it will go up to 3-5ft on tuesday and wednesday.

Bunmahon is supposed to good. My friend in work says, he says go to tramore to learn go to Bunmahon when you learn how to surf.

Im really only hoping for it to be good enough to let me stand up on the board and let the water move me in towards the beach!

Yep, thats pretty much the curve most people take. Its almost always a bit better in Bunmahon.

costanova

It's still really flat today. End of the week there will be something if we are lucky. Say, did you consider doing some surf lessons before buying a board? I used to work in a surf school and we always let people try different boards to get a feeling what suits them best. But I do not know if the Tramore surf school uses anything apart from foamies.

dazftw

I dont really want to get lessons its more fun learning myself Myself and 2 friends went out today and had a good laugh stood up a good few times but it was hard to stay up going slow I found. It was really flat yeah. It was better flat than big waves when starting :pac:

Myself and one of my friends are going to fully commit to it and buy boards now tomorrow.. NSP 7'2" There €350 and your man out there told us they were good starting boards and it was one I was actually looking at on the site only it was 7'6" This is with the leash wax and fins!

costanova

Hej, you are right, the best surfer is the one who has most fun. 7'6'' NSP does not sound to bad for the beginning...

paddybar

i started last year (I'm 5'10 and 12 stone)and took the plunge in december and bought a bic 7'3.biggest mistake ever,I've been in the water since december and reallly struggled until june when i bought a 7'10,Since then I catch (almost) every wave I paddle for.I found as a beginner you need as much volume as possible other wise you will end up getting frustrated at not catching waves you will be catching all the time if you were on a bigger board.best of luck

dazftw

We went out there yesterday and they had like no boards out there.. smallest was 7'2" they had a 7'6" it was like 400 and they had no fins or bolts for the fins.. it was pretty annoying they said something about being sent the wrong stuff and if we came out on thursday we would get the boards and some extras for cheaper :rolleyes:

paddybar

shop around .you'll grow out of a 7 10 pretty soon so pick up a second hand oneand for about 250e and trade it in when you step down to a smaller board.the bics and there like hold there value pretty well

dazftw

Any of ye boardsies going to be around tomorrow in tramore? You can watch two lads make a fool of themselves ha :P