An Introduction to buying a surfboard We've complied a concise introductory guide documenting the wide range of boards available today. The choice for surfers can be very bewildering. This guide aims to resolve some of this confusion and hopefully can be used to make an informed decision on your next or first steps to buying a surfboard. |
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The Long board Longboards are loved and hated by all. If you’re on a longboard, you love riding them. However, If you're on a shortboard, chances are you’ll hate all the longboarders in the line-up. The truth is, riding a longboard puts you as close to the roots of surfing as possible. Even hot-dogging, the earliest version of high performance surfing style began on boards over nine feet long. On a board that catches any wave with ease, you’ll increase your wave count and learn, or relearn, depending on your background to appreciate the simple joy of riding a wave. Just try not to get too greedy when surfing in a mixed line-up. Because of it’s length, width, and thickness, the longboard is often referred to as tanks or tankers. Ironically, these are design attributes that allow any rider the ultimate in paddling ease and stability, making them the best beginner boards available. Depending on the type of surf and how the board is ridden, longboards feature a variety of fin setups from a single fin, 2+1, or thruster fin set up. The longboard's straight rail line makes it trim effortlessly down the line but requires strength and good technique to perform. Noserider longboards are usually thick and bulky with concave in the nose while high performance designs are thinner with more rocker in the nose and tail. High performance longboards at times also utilize a concaved nose for increased nose riding ability. Most longboard bottoms utilize vee, blending from the center and flowing off the tail while some high performance models offer vee with concave running through it for added speed. Longboards work in any size wave and for surfers of any skill level including rank beginners to life long veterans. (The Longboard – approx £499 - upwards) |
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The Mini Mal Mini Mals have it all. An excellent board for the learner surfer as the rounded nose template makes catching waves simple (or as simple as it can get anyway). The wide mid point means that they are stable, easy to paddle and plane early. The tail template is shortboard related so if you stand anywhere over the fins you will get tight turning arcs and accurate performance. The funny thing is if you live and surf regularly in the U.K. then pretty much you would appreciate a mini mal in your quiver. On the face of it mini mals are ideally suited to learner / intermediate surfers. If you stand near the middle of these boards you get great stability and safe handling which suits anyone trying to get their act together in the surf. Also because mini mals are relatively light, they are easy to control and fairly easy to 'hang on to' in choppy conditions all points that a learner surfer should be stoked to hear. On the other side, many established surfers often choose to carry a minimal in their quiver because these boards are so user friendly in such a large range of surf conditions. If your usual surfboard won't function because the waves aren't right then you can pretty much guarantee a mini will function. By covering your basics, you'll spend more time surfing. (A Mini Mal approx £379 - £450) |
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The Shortboard Due to the highly competitive nature of the shortboard market, high performance shortboard designs have become very generic in recent years. Most shapers play follow the leader, making only subtle changes in bottom contours and outline to differentiate their designs from one another. Most surfers lacking a trained eye in board design will not notice or feel much difference from one shaper's design to another. The basic shortboard has a single to double concave and three fins (thruster set-up). These boards are thinned down as much as possible creating a board that lacks floatation and offering poor paddling ability. To the novice surfer, shortboards can be very difficult to catch waves on and unless you’re a surfer of considerable skill, shortboards prove to be very difficult to ride in weak/small surf. These boards are designed for performance minded surfers and are designed for quality surf. Shortboards need to be turned continuously to generate speed and if you posses this kind of ability, you’ll likely be able to do any type of manuever you can imagine including airs, tail slides, floaters, reverses, etc. The shortboard design is definitely meant for the intermediate to advanced level surfer and will create serious problems for a beginner (A Shortboard – approx £399 - £499) |
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The Fish Fishes are short and wide with flat rocker in the entry and tail. The Modern Fish, also known as the Rocket Fish have three fins. Conversely, the traditional fish (circa 1970's) was designed with twin keel fins. Fishes catch waves surprisingly well despite their lack of surface area (most fishes are substantially shorter than a surfer's normal shortboard), mainly because of its flatter rocker, allowing the board to plane at a lower speed. The shortness of this design creates a tight turning radius, making the board better suited to small waves but the above average surfer can also make them work in medium size surf as well. Because of the added width, fish tend to ride flat on the wave and don’t transition from rail to rail very well making them difficult to surf vertically. However, the flat rocker and quick planning make this a very fast design that loves to race down the line and fly past slow sections on the wave. The fish is best for intermediate to advanced surfers. (A Fish - Approx £279 - £499) |
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