First Board

by **Bingbong** » Tue Mar 30, 2004 2:53 pm

Hi, i'm looking to buy my first board, up till now I have been hiring allsorts of minimals but want to buy my own now in time for summer. I quite like the Bic 7'3, 7'6 Performer and 7'9 Natural Surf but have been told at 6foot 1 and 14 stone I may need something bigger.

Can anyone advise on which of these may be best suited to my weight? And how long before I could expect to move on to something smaller (I have only surfed 10 times so far but intend to surf every weekend possible this summer).

by **kieran** » Tue Mar 30, 2004 3:44 pm

Youll probably be alright on the second two mate, but the bigger the board the more youll progress because has greater stability.
your next board will depend on rate you progress , this can be helped by spending every available minute in the water.

Basically the larger the surfer the more volume you want

by **sinistapenguin** » Tue Mar 30, 2004 3:55 pm

Volume is more important than length.

You are looking around the right length and the 'bic style' boards tend to have the volume you need.

I hope 14 stone isn't really a fatty, cos I am 5'11 and c 13 stone and have a 7'5 mini mal.

You might not need to move on to something smaller in terms of length. Bear in mind that the majority of summer surf in this country is small, so a mini-mal may be a good solution. Just move on to a custom, lighter one with slightly less volume!

I went the other way - I have just moved on to something bigger after 15 years on a shortboard!

Cheers

Sinista

by **Bingbong** » Tue Mar 30, 2004 6:46 pm

Cheers for the advice. I reckon I like the 7'6 Performer best (doesnt look quite as plank like as the 7'9 Natural Surf) Maybe that'll be the best one to go for?

by **kieran** » Tue Mar 30, 2004 8:59 pm

have alook at NSP aswell before you buy a BIC they have a similar construction to the performer but come in a greater range of sizes.
I had a BIC and they are excellent but in hindsight....

by **sinistapenguin** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 8:21 am

I agree about NSP - I always thought their boards look a bit nicer than the BICs and have more varied shapes.

The graphics tend to be less flowery too!

Cheers

Sinista

by **surf patrol** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 1:41 pm

If you are going to surf regularly you need to get your board asap - save that board hire money for your surf trips.
BIC and NSP boards have plenty of volume and are ideal for bigger surfers.
Wait to see how your surfing progresses, and what style you like. You might find that in a couple of months on a 7'9 that you might want to get into mal surfing and go for a 9'+
Pick the right board and you will progress much faster - an NSP or BIC are dead easy to sell on second hand when you are looking for a new board.

by **saffasurfer7** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 1:45 pm

Haha, the NSP's are great! Well, to be fair I haven't tested mine out yet cos I only got it yesterday but they're really durable and apparently really good to start on. Mine is pretty flowery but then it is aimed at chicks and not a guys board. It looks great though, don't do floral at all but the boards a good design, I like it.

I'd obviously agree with checking out the NSP's. I got a really good deal too. There's some good deals around so I'd advice doing quite a bit of shopping around before deciding on anything....Good luck. :)

by **Bingbong** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 1:04 pm

Jeez, thanks for all the advice, although I reckon i'm even more confused now.

Looks like everyone thinks the NSP's look better, just ogt to work out whether the 7'6 or 7'9.

Cheers though everyone.

by **freaky_welsh_chick** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 2:13 pm

how much do bics sell on for? mine for instance is a 7'3", i bought for £200, and is in good condition?

by **Bingbong** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 2:21 pm

It's mad, i've seen 7'3 and 7'9 Bics sell for more secondhand on ebay than they cost new online. The last 7'3 I saw sold for £185 and it was three years old.

by **kieran** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 2:28 pm

i bought my 7'9 brand new £220

by **freaky_welsh_chick** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 2:56 pm

wow thats pretty cool! not sure i'd want to sell mine though, even when i've bought a shortboard, i'd want to keep it for smaller, mushy days. can't wait till i can downsize though, i want to get a board by Lost Enterprises, they have the coolest designs ever (i know, a bit shallow of me, but i can't help it, they are sweet designs!)

by **surferdude_scarborough** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 5:50 pm

I bought a bic 6'7 for £80 not long backand its in really good condition. check out the surf classifieds on a1surf.co.uk

by **sinistapenguin** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 1:52 pm

Bics and NSPs do hold their value well. In fact, most surfboards that are well cared for hold their value well.

I had a tiny 6'6 thruster that I bought in 1994 for £170 (second hand), by the time I chopped it in in 2002 it was ditched. I had smashed the tail in and repaired it 3 times. The deck was cracked beyond belief and all the foam was yellow. It had several big dings on the underside and I sold it for...

£120!! That's £50 for 8 years surfing!!

My advice for all you lot who have Bic or NSP boards it that as soon as you are comfortable with it - GO CUSTOM! You will be amazed at how much more fluid and fast a hand crafted custom board it. Plus you know that the one you have is unique!

To answer BingBong's question about whether to go with the 7'3 or 7'9 - I don't think you'll notice a huge difference between the 2. BICs and NSPs are not high performance boards by any stretch and as such either would do. You may find more takers for the 7'9 when you come to sell it on, but you'll find it easier to get out back on a 7'3

Cheers

Sinista

by **kieran** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 2:07 pm

i love my custom

by **sinistapenguin** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 3:46 pm

I've loved every board I ever had - from my super heavy pop-out to my super light 'needle' thruster.

But nothing has given me the joy my 7'5 custom mini-mal has! I got a small cover up barrel on my second time out and haven't stopped smiling since!

by **Wonderwater** » Sat Apr 10, 2004 6:06 pm

To all you out there looking for the right board. I'm a pretty big guy over 15 stone and surfed all of the bic boards available. Personally i think those boards are crap, hard to turn, pretty heavy and difficult to duckdive. On my holiday down under i bought a board from SCD and my surfing progressed a lot since. This board was 6'1 x 22' x 3' with a pretty flat rocker and a big wide fish tail. Board paddles and starts like a long board but turns on a dime and is easy to duck. Board is easy to surf in all conditions, and as i'm from the Netherlands i often ride it with ease in small waves when al the shortboarders are struggling.

Anyway i found out it is better to invest a little more in a custom boards made for your needs then to ride a bic board which you have to sell if you seriously want to surf.

First Board - advice for fatties

First Board - advice for fatties

get a board quick

Similar topics

Shop

Latest