Beginner Thread (Read before asking what board/suit etc.)

oldguysrip

A heads up for beginners, as a ding repairer I get loads of Chinese Alder, Cortez, Rocky Point, Tama reef and similar boards with the fins falling out after a little tap because structurally they are poorly constructed. They are a bitch to fix correctly because there is no structure to support the fin system and I cannot get the same replacement boxes. I rarely see NSP, Bic or Circle one boards.

newtosurf

Hi there I'm fairly new to surfing, just started in the summer but ive caught the bug and im already hooked!! Surf mainly at tullan and rossnowlagh due to its proximity to home( only an hour and 15mins away). I want to buy a decent wetsuit and board that will do me for a few years. I'm a beginner and have tried the softboards but really want to get onto a better board to progress. I have been recommended an 8ft cortez as a board that will be great to learn on and do me a few years, what do people think??
Also what sort of wetsuit should I go for I want something at decent quality, I'm guessing a 5/3 is my best option as I want to surf in the winter. Where is reasonable to buy? Billabong has been recommended at a surf shop but I see people here dont rate it that highly!!!
All comments greatly appreciated!!!

Mickeroo

newtosurf wrote: »

Hi there I'm fairly new to surfing, just started in the summer but ive caught the bug and im already hooked!! Surf mainly at tullan and rossnowlagh due to its proximity to home( only an hour and 15mins away). I want to buy a decent wetsuit and board that will do me for a few years. I'm a beginner and have tried the softboards but really want to get onto a better board to progress. I have been recommended an 8ft cortez as a board that will be great to learn on and do me a few years, what do people think??
Also what sort of wetsuit should I go for I want something at decent quality, I'm guessing a 5/3 is my best option as I want to surf in the winter. Where is reasonable to buy? Billabong has been recommended at a surf shop but I see people here dont rate it that highly!!!
All comments greatly appreciated!!!

I've not used Cortez boards but apparently they have a tendency to ding quite easily(check out the post just before yours), but as for the size 8ft is fine for a first board. Check the classifieds for 2nd hand bics or nsps, they're good for learning on and will hold their value when you want to sell them on.

Kind of repeating myself from earlier in the thread but anyway

If you plan on surfing through the winter then you'd be aswell to spend most your budget on a good suit, 5/3 is grand for winter, you'll most likely need a hood and booties too, gloves are no harm either but I've not found them completely necessary. I would stay away from the likes of Billabong or Quicksilver, anyone I know who got one of their suits had them fall apart after a couple of months of regular use. Good brands to look at are C-Skins, Xcel, Rip Curl and O'Neill(probably a bit cheaper than the other 3). A friend of mine has an Alder suit which seems decent enough and might be a bit cheaper but I'm not sure how good they are as a whole.

When getting the suit its best to get it from a local surf shop rather than online, you can try it on so you know it fits, also some places will match a price you find online on occasion. It's worth seeing if there's any good deals on last seasons suits on the bargain rails.

cornbb

Howdy, welcome to the forum.

I reckon C-Skins suits are sturdy and offer good value for money. 5/3 is a must in this country. Try a few on and see what you like.

As for boards, I've never seen a Cortex but FWIW I used a Circle One epoxy board for years and found it to be pretty bomb-proof.

newtosurf

Guys thanks alot for the replies, much appreciated.

I have kind of narrowed it down, I am stuck between getting an 8ft Cortez or an 8ft Pup from Westbay.

What i am stuck on is would it be easier to resell the cortez than the westbay if I needed too.
Also would it be cheaper to fix any dings in the cortez rather than the westbury! I know the westbury is handmade custom which is brilliant, but the cortez are more common and teherfore might resell better if need be!
Any thoughts?

Mickeroo

I think the westbay woud be a better quality board, will hold it's value better than the cortez if you look after it, you'd find it easier to sell if anything I think.

newtosurf

Thanks for the rep Mick. I have kind of honed in on this board:

http://www.westbaysurfboards.co.uk/thepup/

Its called the pup:

What would you think of it as a board for beginner and also resale/selling.
It says it is firbreglass and epoxy - would this be easy enough to repair if it got cracked or a ding?

Thanks:)

Mickeroo

Looks like a nice board. Seems to be made with beginners in mind so if you can afford it, go for it!

It'll be a good board to develop on when you get a bit better too I would think, if you look after it you'll have no problem selling it on.

As for repairs, it's not going to be as bomb proof as the plastic boards so you should be fairly careful with it, however minor dings wouldn't be hard to repair at all and you'd probably manage it yourself, a professional is always going to do a better job though

newtosurf

Mickeroo wrote: »

Looks like a nice board. Seems to be made with beginners in mind so if you can afford it, go for it!

It'll be a good board to develop on when you get a bit better too I would think, if you look after it you'll have no problem selling it on.

As for repairs, it's not going to be as bomb proof as the plastic boards so you should be fairly careful with it, however minor dings wouldn't be hard to repair at all and you'd probably manage it yourself, a professional is always going to do a better job though

Good man mick - thanks alot!

spaceHopper

If you look after the pup it will stand to you, being epoxy it will be though but the type of foam used it has a tendency to soak up water if it gets a ding. Don't let that put you off remember it will be solid.

If you get on take the board out of the water and fix it or get it fixed. A tube if epoxy suncure would fix most dings and if it's bad, most ding repair places can fix it for you, where are you?

newtosurf

Space Hopper - thanks for the reply, yeah the pups do seem good, but would teh cortez be easier fixed than the pup?
Based in Co Tyrone

spaceHopper

newtosurf wrote: »

Space Hopper - thanks for the reply, yeah the pups do seem good, but would teh cortez be easier fixed than the pup?
Based in Co Tyrone

No there's no reason it would be easier to fix they would be much the same. Maybe even the pup would be easier it fix as it has no gel coat to color match

Ronnie Beck

Good stickie. I'd recommend a 5/4 not a 5/3 if you plan to surf from december - march/april ... with a hood built in and gloves too:D. No point in being cold:( in the water.

ben bennett

please dont go near cortez ,worst boards around cheap and shiny but no volume in tail and any beginer or improver i have seen on them really strugle, just done ride that well. Lots of shops selling them now as beginner boards but no good at all i reckon, better of spending the extra few bob if you can, bic nsp are the way forward you will learn much quicker, catch more waves, have more fun and sell for better price when your moving on. which should be for at least a year na d a half or so.

marshman94

i surfed 4 times during the summer and recently bought a 6ft 5in and thinking of getting a suit the board is easy to ride even with my limited experence. i think people buying longboard, mini mal and then shortboard are mad

Scamaill

Where are the best locations for surfing around the country?

ben bennett

"i surfed 4 times during the summer and recently bought a 6ft 5in and thinking of getting a suit the board is easy to ride even with my limited experence. i think people buying longboard, mini mal and then shortboard are mad "

Depends on your definition of riding a board, a board that size should beriding across green waves doing good top and bottom turns to create speed and stay in the the pocket, if you are doing this fair play to you thats savage.

On the other hand if you are getting some white water waves and just getting to your feet for a few seconds and generally slowing down and missing the wave unless they are really big , then truth be told you need the bigger board the others have spoke about , to learn the skills to ride the smaller right .
Either way best of luck to you, enjoy

keryl

marshman94 wrote: »

i surfed 4 times during the summer and recently bought a 6ft 5in and thinking of getting a suit the board is easy to ride even with my limited experence. i think people buying longboard, mini mal and then shortboard are mad

I understand what your saying about going Longboard to Mal and then Shortboard but not sure I've ever been advised on that here or elsewhere. It's generally get your feel for a wave and the basics on a mal and then decide to go short or long. If you can get those waves on the green like Ben said at an early stage than congrats.

niamhg82

Hi all, some advice needed... I've been surfing for about 6 months now and want to buy my first board. There's some great advice here but here's my prob... I'm only 5'2" and of petite build, so the beginner long boards are nearly twice my height and impossible for me to even carry to the water, I'm not ready for a shortboard so don't know what to do????
Any help appreciated :-)

niamhg82

Hi all, some advice needed... I've been surfing for about 6 months now and want to buy my first board. There's some great advice here but here's my prob... I'm only 5'2" and of petite build, so the beginner long boards are nearly twice my height and impossible for me to even carry to the water, I'm not ready for a shortboard so don't know what to do????
Any help greatly appreciated...
(hope I'm in the right thread)

Ronnie Beck

niamhg82 wrote: »

Hi all, some advice needed... I've been surfing for about 6 months now and want to buy my first board. There's some great advice here but here's my prob... I'm only 5'2" and of petite build, so the beginner long boards are nearly twice my height and impossible for me to even carry to the water, I'm not ready for a shortboard so don't know what to do????
Any help greatly appreciated...
(hope I'm in the right thread)

If you have the cash for a new board go into a decent surf shop (one with a strong surf board to clothes ratio) and ask for some help. Where do you surf or plan on surfing? Your probably looking at getting a 7'3 to 7'6 minimal. something like this http://www.adverts.ie/water-sports/bic-surf-performer-7-6/959097 .

niamhg82

I don't want to spend too much as it's my first board so am hoping to pick up a decent second hand one I travel with work so I surf everywhere round Ireland but mainly cork and waterford. I was thinking 6'10" too short?

Ronnie Beck

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/watersports/2868860

Something like that maybe. Its hard too know. If your reasonably fit and strong it should be perfect. I'm 6 1 and near 14 stone so i'm not really sure.

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/watersports/2849084 thats another option.

This one here would be a safe bet http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/watersports/2855649
wouldn't go any bigger than a 7 3 minimal. You can always sell boards on if they don't suit you.

ratticus

c - 13 wrote: »

Small section added into post 4 regarding this, anyone has any more ideas fire away or feel free to contribute yourselves

I use a small waterproof pouch (mine is a Northcore but most surf shops will stock them) to keep my car keys in. It goes around my neck and inside the wetsuit, works wonderfully.

killedsirius

marshman94 wrote: »

i surfed 4 times during the summer and recently bought a 6ft 5in and thinking of getting a suit the board is easy to ride even with my limited experence. i think people buying longboard, mini mal and then shortboard are mad

i don't think you should be declaring people mad after surfing 4 times in the summer. Ive never personally seen the need for anything less than 7'6 in Irish summer beach waves at my level, which is what most beginners need to surf and progress, In fact most of the summer I use a 9ft 3. In the winter yeah a 7'2 down is grand for me. It's good to be able to surf a few types of boards, gives you a better range of what waves to surf, avoiding disappointment on small days

Cianh

Another 'What Board' Question.

I'm 5'7 and around 11/11.5 stone.
I'm a beginner i've done 4 weekends with lessons. Still at the stage of trying to get the pop up right... used the knee method first and it has cursed me...

Looking at a bic or similar to get more practice in, just want to make sure I get the right length. Too short is a nightmare to try catch anything on at my stage of learning but I dont want to go too big either, e.g the bigger foam boards i've ended up with you can make a balls of the pop up and still recover by jumping/walking up the board

Thanks
Cian

Mickeroo

Cianh wrote: »

Another 'What Board' Question.

I'm 5'7 and around 11/11.5 stone.
I'm a beginner i've done 4 weekends with lessons. Still at the stage of trying to get the pop up right... used the knee method first and it has cursed me...

Looking at a bic or similar to get more practice in, just want to make sure I get the right length. Too short is a nightmare to try catch anything on at my stage of learning but I dont want to go too big either, e.g the bigger foam boards i've ended up with you can make a balls of the pop up and still recover by jumping/walking up the board

Thanks
Cian

I learned on a Bic 7"9 and found it great. I'm roughly the same size as you too.

Cianh

Mickeroo wrote: »

I learned on a Bic 7"9 and found it great. I'm roughly the same size as you too.

Cheers, do bics come in different widths or volume? or are they just scaled according to the length?

Mickeroo

Cianh wrote: »

Cheers, do bics come in different widths or volume? or are they just scaled according to the length?

it varies, I know one of the shorter bics is more of a shortboard shape, I've heard they're a bit harder to learn on than the 7'9 or 8'3 which are shaped more like a trad longboard, but would still have a good lot of volyume in them. I think the 7'9 is good because its not long enough to be a longboard and not short enough to be a shortboard, so when you get the hang of it you can decide whether you want to go shorter or longer.

SeanDaly

Can anybody tell me if this board is epoxy or fiberglass and give me your estimation of how much its really worth Thanks for all help in advance

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/watersports/3339252