Short board choice

[surfing ant]

Ok... im kind of new to this sport and i was wondering at 5ft 10in 127lbs what kind of shortboard and size should i get?

[dondiemand]

do yourself a favor, get a longer board, somthing around 9'

[GowerCharger]

hmm, thats an odd answer to post in the shortboarders only forum

[bluesnowcone]

well a 9' is good for beginers, unless they want to become short boarders, i would advist getting a 7'6", around that area, and probably an nsp or a bic. i started shortboarding, found it wast for me and bought a longboards straight away, but i have a mat who started on a 9' board, and he had to buy a 7'6 befor he could buy ashort board cas it was to unstable.

[GowerCharger]

i disagree, i think a 9 foot mal is a dangerous thing for a beginner (or at least a danger to others in a beginners hands). 7-8 foot foam boards are much safer and easier to handle for someone not used to begin in waves. I've been hit more than once by loose boards ditched by beginners who couldnt hold on to them when a wave hit them because they where too big and clunky.

[Laguna]

i disagree, i think a 9 foot mal is a dangerous thing for a beginner (or at least a danger to others in a beginners hands). I've been hit more than once by loose boards ditched by beginners who couldnt hold on to them when a wave hit them because they where too big and clunky.

Wern't they wearing leashes? I dont think thats the case anyway, Longboards are a lot easier to learn on (9ft odd), a surfboard can hit anyone, you just got to be careful!

[GowerCharger]

yes, but they have pretty long leashes on longboards, i still think a beginners board is better than a long board for a beginner, theyre designed for the job. A plank may be stable and floaty, but learning to turn is easier on a beginners board, plus theyre soft so less likely to hurt the surfer themselves or get dinged, and theyre generally brightly coloured to make them easy to spot if you get into any difficulty, theres lots of reasons. If longboarding is all you ever plan to do then by all means start on a longboard, but otherwise its just an extra 2 ft to lug about and transport for little or no gain.

[Laguna]

Thats why beginner boards for surfing lessons are 9ft swell soft surfboards

[GowerCharger]

well, most of the surf schools ive seen use the 8ft swell boards or minimals, and imho the foam minimal is the better choice for a beginner

[Laguna]

the swell boards are 9' and also I think they are better for learning on as they are longer,wider and thicker which = easier paddling, easier to stand up

[tomcat360]

I do see a valid point about having a long, heavy, and not easily manuverable board(for a beginner, of course) being somewhat dangerous, although having a longboard will stay in your quiver forever.

Also, consider putting a shorter leash on a longboard when beginning. It's not like you need a long leash to go noseride on your first time out...

[Driftingalong]

I do see a valid point about having a long, heavy, and not easily manuverable board(for a beginner, of course) being somewhat dangerous, although having a longboard will stay in your quiver forever.

Also, consider putting a shorter leash on a longboard when beginning. It's not like you need a long leash to go noseride on your first time out...

Good points there tomcat. I guess it could also depend on where you can learn (little to no crowd).

On a side note, but releated story:

My first board was/is a 7'2" big guy fish (Aug. '03). I went out from Aug. thru Oct. than I had to wait (no wet suit). Pick up a 3/2 in spring, so I could surf April thru Nov. It took me a while before I could stand up on that thing with semi consistency. It seemed slow to paddle and I couldn't duck dive it (kinda wide and thick). Then the surf shop I frequent had a late winter board sale, so I pick up 6'6" shortboard; pointed nose, HP swallow tail (Feb. 05). It seemed to paddle a little better for me, I could duck dive it and it would accelerate faster when trying to catch waves. However, I still really struggled with catching a lot of waves. I picked up a 5/4 wet suit this past Dec. (so, now I can surf thru winter as well). Again Malibus, the great surf shop that they are, held another late winter board sale, so I picked up a longboard; for the many days of small waves we have around here (heavly debated between that and a fish). Picked up the longboard pretty quick and have been surfing that exclusively, so I can get better at longboarding (and I've been loving it!). Paddles like a dream, I can catch waves pretty easily now, turn and next up learning to cross-step properly. Well that brings me to why I started this long ramble in the first place (sorry about that). Yesterday, I took out my 6'6" to catch some leftover Alberto waves after work because I still havn't fixed my longboard (see the thread in the hardware forum). It took a little bit to get used to again (very wobbly/sensitive), but I could paddle it better than before and I probably caught more waves yesterday on that thing than I have since I got it! (so stoked!) I believe due to how much I had learned on the longboard...