Surfboard Buy Guide Tips
How To Find the Right Surfboard For You
Wondering how to buy a surfboard? It’s not as difficult as it may seem. Consider the following basic rules and you will be well on your way to finding the perfect surfboard to buy.
Finding the Right Surfboard for You
You’ve walked the surf shops, you’ve searched online, and still you aren’t quite sure about which surfboard to buy? First consider your general surfing ability. Beginners usually start on longboards or even a soft-top board if you are worried about getting clonked in the head by the board.
Experienced surfers may get more of a high performance long board or surf a medium sized board (fun board) or a shortboard. The board you choose depends upon your ambitions and your skill, and your willingness to learn.
Age and Surfboard Buying
How old are you? Youngsters usually have no problem adapting to a shortboard which may require a little more effort to paddle and also requires more agility in catching waves and hopping up onto the board, as well as riding the board and performing standard shortboard maneuvers such as slashing cutbacks.
A longboard, on the other hand, will provide much more stability, paddles easier, and allows you to glide over the water and generate plenty of speed that makes it easier to catch waves.
A longboard, however, will be more difficult to maneuver on steep waves and so it is harder to make late and steep takeoffs, get barreled, etc.
When you are paddling back out and are confronted by a huge wall of foam coming at you or a breaking wave, then a shortboard is much easier to duck dive and get out past the break, whereas a longboard may be quite unwieldy and hard to hold onto when you are getting mowed over by repeated sets.
Are you a big guy? You may need an extra-thick longboard to float you. Go ahead and make it a little wider as well, while you are at it. Once you get the hang of paddling and catching waves you can graduate to a smaller board.
One Surfboard May Not Do It
If you know any hardcore surfers you have probably seen their closets, basement, bedroom, garage, and side yard all littered with surfboards.
As you become more skilled at surfing you may want several surfboards which are suitable for specific types of conditions.
On big days you take out your gun, when the waves are medium size barrels you take out your shredding shortboard, and when the surf is tiny, or medium sized and soft, then take out the old longboard.
What Are You Trying To Accomplish?
Seriously, do you want to charge big waves? If that really is your goal then set your sights high and learn to duck dive on a shortboard, learn to shred waves that are head high, then double overhead, and then who knows.
By that time you will know what type of board you are going to want for the “Big Day”!
Okay, so you aren’t that concerned with setting to “biggest wave ever ridden” records but you do want to surf some serious waves, and you would like to be able to hold your own in the lineup at the local spot where there are some serious shredders holding court.
Get yourself a shortboard and stay out of their way and try to find every wave you can possibly ride, especially the junky pitching draining inside barrels, and take off like you mean it, don’t take no for an answer, just go! Soon those grumpy angry shortboarders will be smiling and waving you over for the clean tubes and you’ll be getting fully shacked up and then spit out the end with panache!
Surfboard Buy Tips - Shredding and Discovering Yourself
While you are at it, try to master a few moves, at least one of which is wholly your own. Get a tri-fin thruster or a fish made for radical turns and master the radical turns. There are no rules, so break them!
Do whatever comes natural, but do it with all of your inner energy just bursting forth and just see what happens - that will be your signature move!
Go for anything you can think of, reverse backside bottom turns up into a retro kickout floater - invent it!
Buying a Surfboard To Chill Out
That’s all a little to agro for you? Well then chill out on your longboard and go for the nose. Start out by coming off a bottom turn and when the board is on its way up the momentum is just right - prance right out there to the tip and dip your toes in the water.
Arch your back and get in touch with your soul surfing self. Walking the nose is a lesson in physics you won’t forget, and once you start doing it you’ll be hooked.
While those hyper shortboarders are absolutely filleting the ocean, you will be massaging it and it you as you glide along in perfect trim with nothing at all in front of your feet, just pure ocean, and behind you the board melded into the wave itself - you’re walking on water!
Surfboard Buy Tip: Get Some Personal Advice
On any Surfboard Buy adventure you should ask some people what they think. Yes, ask Groovy George, the old guy with the VW van with the junker longboard on top.
Also ask Tom Grom, the 20-something kid who is still kickin it at his parents’ house so he can live the life centered around the daily surf sessions.
Surfboard Shops
Visit the nearest surf shops and look for the person who has a clue. Quiz them gently at first so as not to get stonewalled.
Don’t reveal to them that as soon as you buy your board you are going to be right in their way next time they take off on a critical wave and the Impossibles, Wrecks, Third Rock, or whatever name your local break is called.
Visit the Beach - Check out the ....Surfboards, yeah that’s it, the Boards!
If you aren’t planning on moving and you know which breaks you want to surf then hang out there and notice what types of boards people are riding.
What is your hero riding? Who has the coolest moves and what are they riding? What are the people your size and age and weight riding?
Check out who is regular foot and who is goofy foot and consider if all the waves at the break are lefts or rights or both.
Are you going to be riding backside all the time, crouching down into a rail grab and just laying back into the peeling face at one with the ocean.
Or are you going to be doing backside nose rides, perched on the tip communing with the Holy One! If the surfers aren’t to uptight maybe chat them up a bit.
Odds are within about ten minutes you will be shelling out cash for one of the boards they don’t really want to sell but could use some food money.
Make sure and check it out for major dings and fin damage. But if you can get a good deal go for it. Maybe the locals will have a little more pity on you if you overpaid them for an old board. They won’t run you over because they want to keep you around to buy some more of their old boards.
Surfboard Buy Tip: Color of the Surfboard
Oh, one more thing. What color do you like? Are you really going to show up in the middle of the pack on your velvet red magic carpet?
Do you like the neon green lightning bolts streaked across your white python? See what you like and don’t be shy, but remember if you are a beginner paddling out to the local spot you may want to remain, shall we say, understated rather than brash and brazen.
While you are at the beach also notice what types of wetsuits people need for that particular water temperature. Consider the other accessories you will need as well.
Maybe a traction pad on your board, a leash, a board bag, some wax, and your national flag so you can hold it high after you get your first full green room tube.
Surfboard Buy Tip Numero Uno
Stop thinking about it and do it! The wave isn’t going to ride itself! Stop reading these internet tips and stop chatting it up with every washed up barnacle old surfer and get yourself a board already.
At some point it doesn’t even matter what or who or how or why. All that matters is that you are floating around in the ocean scratching the surface in pursuit of rolling bands of energy called waves - that will teach you more than anyone or anything else! Good luck!
