Help me choose a new board (kook alert)

[MartinRecik]

Hi guys,

I’m pretty new to surfing. Currently surfing on a 7’2 foamie, I find it quite easy now, I can stand up almost every time, do some soft turns. Problem is I don’t have a car to travel to the closest surfable beach, which is around 10 miles away and I need to switch 2 busses. I’m planning to do it by bus, but my current foamie is huge, and it’s a struggle to run around a town with it and jump from one bus to another. I was thinking about buying a bit smaller foamie around 6’. Btw I’m 5’7 66kg. I have two options:

1. https://www.decathlon.co.uk/900-soft-su ... 86086.html
2. 5’7 version https://www.softechsoftboards.com/57-fl ... -softboard

Thanks for your help, appreciate it. Have a good day.

[KitesurferAU]

Your wave count on smaller board will drop significantly. May be even 10 times less. And there is not much difference in size between 6 and 7.2 feet (35 cm precisely). May be it's worth renting little and try different sizes all down to 5.x. At some point you will realise what board size you may need. And try to buy first board as second hand, you will have to change it very soon

[MartinRecik]

Would jumping from 7’2 to 6’ make a huge difference in catching waves, even if they’re both foamies with loads of volume? I can buy a new one, even if I’ll plan to buy a hardboard later on, I wanna keep my foamie for smaller days.

[waikikikichan]

Would jumping from 7’2 to 6’ make a huge difference in catching waves

SIX inches makes a big difference.

Question: are you sure you can bring a board on the bus ? If so, what is the actual stated limit on size ?

[MartinRecik]

Yeah, I’m sure that I can bring it on a bus. I don’t think that there’s a size limit at all. But my current board is really bulky, quite heavy and wide, I cant even bring it under my arm it’s just too wide and thick. And to get to the beach, I need to walk to the bus station, go to another town, then hop on another bus to go to beach town and then walk for like 15min to the beach. So it’s pain in the ass with the current board. I understand that I would need more practice to downsize, but it’s either surfing a bit smaller board or not surfing at all.

[oldmansurfer]

There are other options https://www.amazon.com/Surfboard-Sling-Carrier-LONGBOARD-Curve/dp/B00G58N0QM

[dtc]

as old man says, get a sling. a 6ft foamie wont be much narrower or lighter anyway, so I dont see that it helps your issue. If you got a board that is noticeably lighter and narrower, you are just adding to the issues of going short

if you really want a board that is easier to carry, grab firewire board, they weight like nothing. But they are much more expensive of course.

if you think you cant deal with a board other than a 6ft board, then get one. Just be aware of the issues that you will have. If you keep your current board, you can always go back to it.