im a beginner surfer which type of board is best for me?

colinsavage

started surfing in bundoran am totally addicted.ive beeen renting my wet suit and board out want to buy my own can you help

cue

Welcome Colin. Have a look at the sticky above. It is very useful.
Enjoy the waves.

colinsavage

thanks cue only noticed that post after i wrote my own

thebeerbaron

get a 7 foot 3 board it will be a good size for someone starting off

luisspellcast

bah - beginner's boards are only good when they're rented...

... if you're buying your own gear (from new or not) and you want to surf a funboard then get a funboard... if you want to surf fish then get a fish

... learning curve will be steep but for my money i rather go with what i want than what i need (or what others think i should get...)

if you still not sure about what board you want, then you should still be renting them

only a couple of cents from someone who's not rich enough to buy (new or second hand) gear that i'm not really sure if i want (or will enjoy...)

thebeerbaron

What are you taling about?
you want to surf a funboard then get a funboard...
if you want to surf fish then get a fish

Renting is by far more expensive and surf boards are not that expensive any
more. It depends how how much surfing you will get to do that should be
the basis for you buying one.

but for my money i rather go with what i want than what i need

Are they njot the same thing? what you need and what you want? dumbass!

cornbb

thebeerbaron banned for a week for being abusive.

Jomob

but for my money i rather go with what i want than what i need

Are they njot the same thing? what you need and what you want? dumbass!

You couldnt be more wrong. Do you actually surf?

When i started surfing I wanted to surf a toothpick shortboard like all the people in the magazines. Would this have been the right board for me to buy as my first board ...No!

@ Colinsavage - IMO buy a minimal (NSP, BIC, Southern Surf, Take-off etc) around the 7'6" length. This will be a good board to start out on and then as you progress you can think about getting a board more like the shape you eventually want to surf. If you start out on a tiny shortboard you will struggle for a long time. I suppose you could get a longboard which would be good to learn on too but if you're a beginner and you're surfing in the whitewater, a longboard could be a danger to yourself and those around you when you wipeout. Theres some serious weight in them and they could do damage.

Jomob

if you still not sure about what board you want, then you should still be renting them

Dont agree with this at all.

When somene is starting out surfing they generally dont really have a clue about boards. A 'beginners'/funboard is a good place to start. If someone was to go renting boards until they got totally clued up on boards then theyd be totally broke. Beginner boards hold their value very well too so once you buy your initial board then you wont have to spend much on your next board.

luisspellcast

you guys can call me what you want but i'm not changing my opinion

beginner's board is, for me, a beginner's board - they can cost from 50 quid with more repairs than you can imagine to 300 or 400 quid

i can still read english and even though the OP appears to be written from a cell-phone while stuck in the middle of traffic, it seems that the person has access to a beach and would like to progress now that he knows a thing or two

correct me if i'm wrong but no one is "addicted" to surf if he or she can't stand in the board - otherwise that wouldn't be is speach

failing to know that and assuming he passed the try-to-stand-up phase, MY opinion is don't waste your money getting a huge board "to get you going" - MY opinion is, if i think he is close to a beach, addicted (or has force of will) then it won't take that long to start surfing the board he wishes to surf - hence my comment: if you would like to be surfing a fish-board then get a fish-board... if you would like to be surfing a fun-board, get a fun-board... and etc. for the rest of the boards...

... for MY money i always prefer to go with what I want, rather than what I need - you guys are implying that he NEEDS to start with a longboard (which is fair enough) and i'm only saying that I couldn't afford a longboard and then try to sell it (like the adds that are in adverts for months) to try to get another board

if he can't decide which board he wants, let him rent a different board until he decides - truth to be told, i bet he knows exactly what board he wants to surf by now - as someone else said, boards aren't that expensive nowadays - i just got a brand new 6'2 for 250euro (shipped)

... will it take me a good while to adapt to the board, given i was away from surf for more years than i want to admit ? sure

... is it bad that i can only go on weekends because of my 9-5 ? damn sure

... would i be buying a longboard for the months to be until i'm comfortable again with a surfboard, then try to sell it, and then get to my short board ? nop - i'll save you guys the thought and the risk to be banned

i am a dumbass

spaceHopper

luisspellcast wrote: »

i am a dumbass

cornbb

Lets stay on-topic or the thread will be locked.

SteviePitt

I started out on this board.Good width and stabability and not as slow as a longboard. It's not quite a longboard or a super thin short board but something inbetween.
ithttp://store.magicseaweed.com/BIC-6ft7-Shortboard-Surfboard/Item/1980/

CRenegade

I bought my first board 7'7" Nsp board after discussing it with the guys at Bundroan surf Co.
Pete has a very good post up on their website about choosing your first board: http://www.bundoransurfco.com/blog/choosing-the-right-surfboard-for-you/

Go to your local surf shop and chat with the guys in there. They will know best from your size, ability, how often you will get out, where you would like to see yourself in a years time i.e. still in white water or on a clean wave?, etc.

I Upgraded to a custom 6'8" fish after just over 2 years surfing weekends and holidays.

[Rasta]

My advice would be to get 2-3 lessons with the same group.
Ask them afterwards what board they would advise, or even better, ask
them if they have any neat 2nd hand boards for sale.
When i first started, i was taking lessons and at the end my instructor, who
was a really nice guy sold me a 2nd hand board of his for like €150 euro.
He even let me try it out before I bought it. :pac:
It lasted for 2-3 years(it was a 6'4 shortboard).
I still have it now but i rarely use it cause its quite dinged.

colinsavage

Thanks everyone for the help

ben bennett

been coaching for18 years and this comes up all the time, if you go to a shop and take advise from them you need to be very careful, guyswant to sell you boards they have in stock, but maybe not the one you need.

Rasta, you were done tobe honest, a 6'4 after two or three lessons is mental. Guys on here have been surfing for ages and forget what its like to be a beginner, go large learn all the skills you can on it, through keeping your wave count and riding time as high as you can. When you can catch green waves, pop quickly to your feet, do a decnt bottom and top turn while trimming across a green wave, then drop down and start speeding it all up and really pull some great turns out of it.

I see loads of people who go small before before they have these skills and struggle a lot more than they should before improving their surfing, and i mean their technical surfing not paddling out and falling down the face of a bigger wave than before. boardswill sell quick if they are decent beginner boards and looked after so once you invest once then you are sorted.

hope that helps ben

levi

I'm considering buying a surf board... We went a good bit last summer and I'm really enjoying it. Was up in Donegal last weekend and had a great time but I think I've rented enough and it's time to invest in a board as I reckon I'd like to go as much as possible this summer and renting is pretty much dead money.

I'm a girl who's about 5'5" but I'd be on heavier side so I'm curious as to what board to get. I've been surfing on an 8ft foam board and catching waves so I'm wondering what sort of size minimal I should buy. I understand that I should go into the shop and have a chat with the people in the shop but as the above poster was saying, they might just try sell you whatever they're trying to get rid of/have in stock.

Any ideas? Would a 7'10 be ok or would I be safer going for 8/8'4?

Daniel S

Jomob wrote: »

When i started surfing I wanted to surf a toothpick shortboard like all the people in the magazines. Would this have been the right board for me to buy as my first board ...No!

I did that when I started. I'm still surfing it about 6 years later

piddles

levi wrote: »

I'm considering buying a surf board... We went a good bit last summer and I'm really enjoying it. Was up in Donegal last weekend and had a great time but I think I've rented enough and it's time to invest in a board as I reckon I'd like to go as much as possible this summer and renting is pretty much dead money.

I'm a girl who's about 5'5" but I'd be on heavier side so I'm curious as to what board to get. I've been surfing on an 8ft foam board and catching waves so I'm wondering what sort of size minimal I should buy. I understand that I should go into the shop and have a chat with the people in the shop but as the above poster was saying, they might just try sell you whatever they're trying to get rid of/have in stock.

Any ideas? Would a 7'10 be ok or would I be safer going for 8/8'4?

I have a 7'10 circle one epoxy and love it... it's really helped me progess with my surfing.
I'd say go into a shop and ask someone who knows, try even two or three and see what the concenus is and then make your choice. Theya re some surf shops that are really good and won't be just trying to sell you what board they have left in stock.

[Rasta]

ben bennett wrote: »

been coaching for18 years and this comes up all the time, if you go to a shop and take advise from them you need to be very careful, guyswant to sell you boards they have in stock, but maybe not the one you need.

Rasta, you were done tobe honest, a 6'4 after two or three lessons is mental. Guys on here have been surfing for ages and forget what its like to be a beginner, go large learn all the skills you can on it, through keeping your wave count and riding time as high as you can. When you can catch green waves, pop quickly to your feet, do a decent bottom and top turn while trimming across a green wave, then drop down and start speeding it all up and really pull some great turns out of it.

I see loads of people who go small before before they have these skills and struggle a lot more than they should before improving their surfing, and i mean their technical surfing not paddling out and falling down the face of a bigger wave than before. boardswill sell quick if they are decent beginner boards and looked after so once you invest once then you are sorted.

hope that helps ben

Well i had almost a whole month of lessons(got a huge discount with the instructor) and he let me borrow his foamy for the year and then I bought the shortboard off of him.
All you need to do is get in plenty sessions in a quick time period and you'll be flying. I mean the OP could even just buy a 6 foot foamie, which is a board i might buy soon cause of the lack of any powerful waves during the summer. You're generally screwed if you only have a shortboard in the summer haha.

Mickeroo

[Rasta] wrote: »

Well i had almost a whole month of lessons(got a huge discount with the instructor) and he let me borrow his foamy for the year and then I bought the shortboard off of him.
All you need to do is get in plenty sessions in a quick time period and you'll be flying. I mean the OP could even just buy a 6 foot foamie, which is a board i might buy soon cause of the lack of any powerful waves during the summer. You're generally screwed if you only have a shortboard in the summer haha.

Don't get 6ft foamy for the summer, get a proper long board, so much more ya can do with it.

[Rasta]

Mickeroo wrote: »

Don't get 6ft foamy for the summer, get a proper long board, so much more ya can do with it.

Too bad they don't come anywhere near as cheap as a foamy.
and theres nothing like gliding on a 6 foot pink foamy for a laugh!!

Mickeroo

[Rasta] wrote: »

Too bad they don't come anywhere near as cheap as a foamy.
and theres nothing like gliding on a 6 foot pink foamy for a laugh!!

They tend not be cheap alright but keep an eye on the classifieds and that for an aul bargain, they're worth the investment