First board

by **Kabazz** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 9:47 am

Can someone suggest me a first board. I go surfing in cornwall or north devon every year and can get to bournemouth in under an hour.
I'm 14, 5'6 tall but still growing
Looking to spend £250 max. but i don't mind getting 2nd hand
Looking for something that is okay as a beginner but i won't have to replace to quickly as i get better

**Sponsor**

by **fzlogik** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 10:15 am

I think generally people are going to recommend a mini-mal... that way, you can catch waves pretty easily and they're forgiving with balance.

You're the same height as me (I'm 20! I must be short!) - I ride a 7'8 mini-mal and it's great fun.

by **Kabazz** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 10:26 am

Yeah i was thinking about getting a mini mal but some people seem to hate them lol
Would 7'3 be alright for me?

by **bluesnowcone** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 11:06 am

i think you should be ok on a 7'3" depending on how much u weigh.

by **Kabazz** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 11:47 am

I'm around 130lbs atm

What about nsp boards? how are they?

by **bluesnowcone** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 12:23 pm

there great for beginners, iv never had one myself, but then again iv never had a begginer board. nsp's are good because theyve got alot of float and you can drop them and they wont be dammaged. getting something like a 7'4" nsp should be fine for you. good luck, its just a shame there isnt much swell around

by **Kabazz** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 12:31 pm

bluesnowcone wrote:there great for beginners, iv never had one myself, but then again iv never had a begginer board. nsp's are good because theyve got alot of float and you can drop them and they wont be dammaged. getting something like a 7'4" nsp should be fine for you. good luck, its just a shame there isnt much swell around

Cheers,

I see your from the south coast, where do you surf? How long till there are some rideable waves around the bournemouth area?

Edit: is everyone talking about the bic mini mals? or are there other makes

by **fzlogik** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 1:30 pm

Kabazz wrote:Edit: is everyone talking about the bic mini mals? or are there other makes

Nah, mini-mals are just a type of board; a mini-mal's defined by its shape and dimensions, not a specific brand. My mini-mal's a Saltrock. I've heard bad things about Bic/NSP... great for floating and riding simple waves, but I think the general opinion is you can't progress much on them. From what I understand, "clunky" is the right word.

I'm in South West Wales and check the waves here daily (sometimes twice a day; once at low-tide and once at high-tide). I'm trying to figure out the best combination of conditions (as per magicseaweed.com surf reports, BBC reports, etc.)

Unfortunately, according to 10 years of data, July and August are the flattest months. Should be getting good after this lapse though, I hope!

by **Kabazz** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 1:54 pm

Damn, those bic mini mals were quite cheap lol
What are some good makes to look at, and whats the smallest size you think i should go? (i've surfed quite abit and i've got good balance as i wakeboard alot aswell)

by **badger101** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 2:21 pm

Avoid NSP/BIC at all costs.
Heavy as hell and damn hard to turn!

check out a1surf.com classifieds section.

I started on a 7'6 Sunride, served me well, turned ok, pretty cheap and light.

by **Kabazz** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 2:32 pm

Checked out the classifieds
Would this be good?
http://www.surfclassifieds.co.uk/cgi-bi ... =14&max=36

by **long_man** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 9:40 pm

hey Kabazz,

welcome to the forum, i like you are new here!

i was pretty much in the same boat as you last week. i was looking for a board that could help me progress, one i could keep for a fair while.

i started looking at the BIC's and NSP's, but felt i would outgrow these fairly quickly, (good to start off with, not so good to progress with). so after those boards were out of the question i narrowed it down to either a Take off, Circle one, or hawaiian soul.

i asked around on here and gained some awesome advice. after looking around for a while, doing a bit of investigating, i eventually went for an 8' Hawaiian Soul mini mal as it's hand made + it cost me 310 squid c/w bag, leash, fins and wax. i'm 22, 6'5" and weigh about 15 stone.

so basically i would go for a custom like that Escape rather than a pop out (dont forget that you'll need the rest of the kit aswell, boardbag etc )

P.s sorry AGAIN for the long post :roll:

by **long_man** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 9:43 pm

.....
Kabazz, where abouts are you based matey :?:

im under an hour away from bournemouth also, good old Gillingham, Dorset :!:

by **Kabazz** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 7:49 am

long_man wrote:hey Kabazz,

welcome to the forum, i like you are new here!

i was pretty much in the same boat as you last week. i was looking for a board that could help me progress, one i could keep for a fair while.

i started looking at the BIC's and NSP's, but felt i would outgrow these fairly quickly, (good to start off with, not so good to progress with). so after those boards were out of the question i narrowed it down to either a Take off, Circle one, or hawaiian soul.

i asked around on here and gained some awesome advice. after looking around for a while, doing a bit of investigating, i eventually went for an 8' Hawaiian Soul mini mal as it's hand made + it cost me 310 squid c/w bag, leash, fins and wax. i'm 22, 6'5" and weigh about 15 stone.

so basically i would go for a custom like that Escape rather than a pop out (dont forget that you'll need the rest of the kit aswell, boardbag etc )

P.s sorry AGAIN for the long post

Thanks for the advice i'll take a look, what size board should i get? I'm 5'6 but still growing...

i'm from romsey (town near to southampton)

Edit: The circle one boards look good, but which one (http://www.circle-one.co.uk/heritage.html) i want something i can progress on, the 7'2 maybe?

by **Kabazz** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 8:57 am

Bumping

I'm think i'm gonna get the 6'11 circle one. I got out a measuring tape and it seems just about right but its short enough for me to progress on. What do you think? Is it too small? I'm only 5'6
And does swallowtail affect anything?
http://www.westcoastsurf.co.uk/cgi-bin/ ... Code=CONE6
or
http://www.westcoastsurf.co.uk/cgi-bin/ ... OSHEAEPOXY

by **long_man** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 12:52 pm

i personally think it might be a bit too short, how many times a week will you be surfing?

H

by **Kabazz** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 5:07 pm

During school term time it will be just every weekend

by **gixer** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 5:30 pm

i got a 7"2 o shea mal. i breiflly rode a pop out mal and found i could catch waves really easy but it was hard to turn..so i got the o shea..much better but i think i should have gone a bit bigger on hindsight.it dosent sink anything,i just find in the slop the guys on bigger boards are getting a higher wave count.im gonna stick with it though as i hope the autumn/winter will mean far less..err nothingness.ive also got a shortboard ready for when i am

by **Kabazz** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 5:43 pm

gixer wrote:i got a 7"2 o shea mal. i breiflly rode a pop out mal and found i could catch waves really easy but it was hard to turn..so i got the o shea..much better but i think i should have gone a bit bigger on hindsight.it dosent sink anything,i just find in the slop the guys on bigger boards are getting a higher wave count.im gonna stick with it though as i hope the autumn/winter will mean far less..err nothingness.ive also got a shortboard ready for when i am

Yeah the o'shea look pretty nice, £315 for the 7'2 tho.. oach
How tall are you? Trying to figure out if i could get away with a 6'11

by **gixer** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 7:41 pm

5" 11....im short for my wieight :wink:

i recon the deals good with the bag and derlivery....i heard its not the thickest glas though

First board

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