buying a softop for 1st board?

[sarah86]

hey all i've been surfing for a few months now at my local breaks (croyde, saunton etc) and in NZ and OZ im pretty rubbish still (can just about stand up!) but i absolutly love it. I've mostly used softtops but i have tried Bic and NSP's which i found quite difficult, that why im thinking i should start off by buying myself a softop. Im starting uni soon and i'd really like one as hiring is just a pain and is quite expensive. Does anyone know of anywhere in devon that i can get second hand softops? Or do you think this is a bad idea?

Thanks for your help

sarah

[teighto]

Depends how much you are looking to spend there are always boards in the for sale section

[isaluteyou]

mmmm i wouldnt go for a softi you will just need to replace. Go for the bic and just get used to the feel.

Softboards a pretty expensive considering.

[sarah86]

thanks for your advice, maybe i should go for a bic or NSP. I havent got much money to spend so i may wait until christmas so i can save some cash up or i may just blow the ole student loan . The only reason im considering a softop is because i think im a pretty slow learner or maybe im just impatient!

[isaluteyou]

Having your own board gives you more push to learn the only time i would advise a softie is if you really really beleive its gonna take you months of hard work before you get onto green wave faces.

[libby]

Where are you going to uni? Do they have a uni surf club cos quite often they have foamies/soft tops that you can borrow.

[sarah86]

Im going plymouth uni so i'll have plenty of opportunity to go surf and they have a real good surf club. I just thought it would be easier to head on down to the beach when i wanted especially if i have my board and like you said you have more will to learn. I reckon they'll be lots of secondhand boards for sale as well , think i may just go for an NSP or Bic-is it best to go for these mass produced boards or should i keep saving and go for a locally made one, think it would last me a few years-i cant see myself riding a 6'2" shortboard just yet!
cheers

[Phil]

im off to plymouth uni as well, will most likley join the surf club so ill prob meet you soon then, id stay away from a soft top there ok to get the basics of poping up but once youve mastered that there kinda useless

id get a bic/NSP minimal for a first board would be ideal and there pretty much indestructable

btw what are you studying at plymouth?

[sarah86]

Yeah i think you're right, a second hand NSP/Bic should be fine, just need to get my hands on a cheapish one. Im studying physio so hopefully i'll get enough time to go surf a few times a week! fingers crossed. What are you studying?
thanks for the advice

[Phil]

im studying ocean science

id go for a NSP over a bic though if you can, there still a pop out but there better made than a BIC, ive had a NSP longboard for a few years and have learnt alot riding it. only now geting rid of it to get my first custom board. so you wont out grow it to fast

[cj]

I was driving home from work down a1a one day when I lived in Daytona, and saw the sets rolling in, but I didn't have my board, and my board was over 15 minutes away, and that would mean it would have taken me about 45 minutes to go get my board and come back, so I decided to just hit up the surf shop across the street from the beach.

For $10 I rented a Soft top, what I like to call 'the nerf board' and went out on it.

I learned on fiberglass, then bought an epoxy, etc. etc. etc., but when I first started surfing I was considering buying a nerf board, soft board, or whatever you want to call it, and all my buddies were like no no don't do that, its a waste of money, people will laught at you and kick your ass and throw things at you because you surf on a nerf board.

So, I didn't buy it, but I wish I would have now. That day I rented one I had a blast on it, and i remember thinking, as I was riding it, wow this would have been perfect for me to learn on, I probably would have advanced a lot faster than I did.

So I say buy the nerf board, they are only a couple hundred bucks brand new, whereas an epoxy or fiberglass is going to set you back, especially these days post Clark Foam and all...

Besides once you advance beyond the nerf board, you will have a GOOD board for your buddies to learn on, rather than letting them borrow your main board.

Surfers tend to get what some people call a quiver, your arsinal of boards.

All I am saying is I personally think you will advance faster on a nerf board, but just about everyone would probably disagree with me, since lets face it, they are nerf boards.

[isaluteyou]

of course everyones different but based on my own experience spending a couple of hunderd on a softi would have been a waste as i would have outgrown it in 2 weeks and these things have rubbish resale value.

On the other hand buy a nice funboard and even years later if you havent already sold it you may still take it out ocationally as for the softi it will be cobweb city.

[Phil]

hey sarah dont know if you still read this forum, but was that you today that turned up to harlyn with arron driving a golf?

[GowerCharger]

the guy at one of the local surfschools here does 360s on one of those 7-6 soft-top swell boards.

[cj]

the guy at one of the local surfschools here does 360s on one of those 7-6 soft-top swell boards.

See, I'm not the only one that thinks that they are fun to play with once in a while.