I wanna go surfing...

Buying your first surfboard is something that you will remember for the rest of your life, hopefully for the right reasons! If you have never been surfing before but would like to give it a go, I would recommend that you try hiring a board for a few days or even better take a course through a BSA (British Surfing Association) accredited surf school.

This way you will not only get some good tuition and public liability insurance, you will get your wetsuit and surfboard thrown into the deal to.

So you have had some lessons, or borrowed a friend’s board and you have decided that surfing is 100% for you. Great stuff let your new life begin!

Best surfboard for beginners...

You may have noticed the surfers out in the water ripping it up on tiny pencil thin thrusters (surfboard with 3 fins) and thought ‘wow that looks cool.’ Well it does look cool I suppose, but if you think that you can buy a high performance board and rip straight away; you are in for a humbling experience!

In order to aid your progression and have fun out in the water, the average sized beginner should be looking at a board around 6’8” – 7’2” with a wide deck and very little rocker. A minimal is perfect for the average beginner, but if you want to look a little cooler then you can get loads of thrusters in this size range.

A larger board will help you in a variety of ways, the main one being the ability to catch waves. If you’re not catching waves then you’re not really surfing! A fat board has more buoyancy and will ‘float’ you better in the water. This in turn aids your paddling and makes waves much easier to catch. There is nothing worse than sitting in the water on your lovely 6’1” pin not catching waves. You will stand out to other surfers as a kook, and you definitely won’t have much fun!

Custom, Foam or Popout?

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So we have determined that you will be requiring a rather hefty board to begin with. There is no shame in this, we all have to start somewhere, plus other surfers will respect you for acknowledging your place in the line-up and paying your dues.

You may have noticed at the beach or in the surf shop that not all surfboards look the same. There are various construction methods employed to make surfboards. We have Custom Boards, Foamies and Popouts. As a beginner each has plus and minus points outlined below.

Custom Board.

Custom boards (as the name implies) are usually made to order by a shaper and specifically built to your requirements. The materials used are polyurethane or polystyrene foam, covered with layers of fibreglass cloth and polyester or epoxy resin. This results in a surfboard that is very strong yet super light and manoeuvrable.

It is possible to pick up a custom board second hand and most surf shops usually have a good selection in the racks. It is possible to pick up some bargains if you know what to look for.

If you decide to get a custom board, the shaper will have explicit knowledge as to what type of board will be best for you. Expect to pay £$£$ for this, but if you have the cash available there is nothing like seeing your new board come to life, plus you know that your getting a product designed specifically to your exact requirements. The UK has some great shapers, check out the likes of Ocean Magic, Gulf Stream, JP, Fluid Juice, tunnel vision etc…

If buying second hand look out for troublesome qualities such as ‘yellowing’, this usually occurs when the board has been ‘dinged’ water has breached the fibreglass skin and discoloured the foam resulting in an area that differs in colour from the rest of the board. It is best to avoid this if possible and it usually causes de-lamination of the glass from the foam. To check for this, push your thumbs into the area gently, if it feels spongy, walk away!