Walden Mega Magic - Larger folk

[picardward]

Hi, I'm looking at purchasing a Walden Mega Magic. But I feel as though I'm being a bit naïve as well as making assumptions and don't want that to dictate spending £1100. To elaborate a bit:

I currently own a Torq Tec 9'6 longboard https://www.torq-surfboards.com/id-96-longboard.html which is 88L. Does me well but I have a few concerns.

I'm 26 years old, 6'3, 98kg or 216 pounds so on the bigger side but fairly fit, ability wise maybe an advanced beginner? Daren't say intermediate. Catch plenty of waves and can turn on the face etc but no dramatic cut backs. Been going solid for 18-24 months.

The conditions I surf in tend to be fairly mushy with no point break, rarely get above 7-8 second periods however the torq still gets into waves well with a bit of effort at times.

I'm looking at the Walden Mega Magic as it's a similar shape to the Torq with an extra 25L (or so), will having that extra volume get me into waves earlier? Would having something like this help with the backend of my sessions when I'm tired, I live 2 hours from the surf so we go 4-5 hours at a time. I'm trying to push noseriding aswell, which so far I've had little success, the torq doesn't respond healthily at all and the board just nose dives when I try it. I practice on my indo board for hours on end and seem to be progressing on that, but not at all with the surf. There's a lot of surf jargon thrown into the boards description which more often than not it's just advertising lingo, but from everyone's reviews they get raved about.

I'm certain it's ability based, but will the hardware help and make that room for error more forgivable? Are there downsides to the extra volume? Is 88L actually fine for 98kg for the conditions I've described and do I just need to keep going at it?

Are there better alternatives, even courses to help with nose riding. The reason I'm drawn to the walden is the 'compact' size, transporting and storing an 11ft board is weirdly much harder than a 9'6. To fund this aswell I'm looking to sell up other boards that I don't ride, and potentially the torq too, would this be a bad idea? I'm happy with longboard progression and don't really see myself on mid lengths or shortboards any time soon which I have 3-4 of, so I'm wanting to sell up on those.

Answers to any of my 20Qs would be really appreciated. If I need to elaborate more please ask. Happy to buy the pints in for any help. All the best my dudes.

[waikikikichan]

1) Your weight is appropriate for your height and for a board that big. But your youthful age is not.
2) "Everyone" says they are an "Advanced Beginner". I only read once on this forum where the OP said they were a "beginner". Depending where you surf, you might be a beginner, intermediate or a regular surfer. It's all relative.
3) "will having that extra volume get me into waves earlier?" I would say NO if you have a weak / improper paddle technique. Another thing to consider is even if it does get you in earlier, can you handle the extra thick rails and wide width to perform a good bottom turn ?
4) When you're even more tired I think the bulk of the board will make it harder to move around. If it's closer to 24 inches wide, your groin area will hurt more, making it harder to go from sitting, to prone, to pop up.
5) "the torq doesn't respond healthily at all and the board just nose dives when I try it." Try what ? Yes, I understand trying to noseride, but what steps are you taking ? Do you think a thicker / wider board will make you less prone to nose dive ?
6) "but will the hardware help and make that room for error more forgivable?" is it the Arrow or the Indian's fault ? A good surfer can ride any board. If you stand on the wrong place on the "most stable" board, it will still buck you off.
7) "Are there better alternatives, even courses to help with nose riding." David Nuuhiwa Bing noserider, if you can't noseride that, you simply just can't noseride.

[picardward]

Hey man so thanks for your reply firstly:

1) I've come to appreciate more the aesthetic of longboarding more recently, conditions we surf in even longboarding can be a tiring affair. It's always the guys on longboards having the most fun too, and I feel there's still plenty of progression you can make on them. I don't know if this is everywhere but certainly the beaches I surf at there's plenty out on shortboards they have a really hard time catching waves. That's not to say there's no advanced surfers on shortboards not having fun.

2) I could go on about this for donkeys, how do I tell someone how good I am at surfing without showing them, anyone who says they're advanced beginner is probably infact still a beginner but feels like they've achieved something in some form of progression. I know that applies to me.

3) Hmm this is a really good point, so would I see the benefits of the extra volume if the technique was good? And to answer the question, I have a grasp of bottom turns and not nose riding, I have 0 concept of how to properly perform a nose ride.

4) That's a big true! Never thought of that.

5) I think this point is the main objective of this post, which I've realised from your reply so thank-you. I don't really understand what's happening. I find the line, try walk the board, by the time I've taken a step or two, the front of the board is digging into the water surface. I try make sure the tail is in the break and that's about all I know. It's an unknown of an unknown, I can't ask the question of what's happening because I don't understand. In my head more volume in a board means more stability more happening at the back of the board to stop this from happening.

6) This is true, I remember someone saying a while ago the more volume gives more room for error. I.e. if you DO stand in the wrong place, a board with a more forgiving personality won't punish as much.

7) Gorgeous, what are the characteristics that make this a top noserider?

Thanks for again.

[jaffa1949]

How do I tell them how good I am? I know that is not an ego statement but rather so they can assess your progress.
One way and please don‘t consider an on board GoPro, get a friend. to video you, this will expose your technique and post it here on the forum and we can critique it!

All of what Waikikichan says is on the mark, The mega magic is often for big/ big surfers whose weight is matched with acquired skill, your Torq is a great board for you, just nailing it with better techniques is your answer.

Go out and play on your board, see if doing X works or causes nosedives, push turns harder, see what you need to do!
Play at a break slightly removed from any crowd, so no risks to others, let a little set of thinking like wheelstands come through, take notice of the results!

[picardward]

Haha! I've just got a go pro, I wonder how I can persuade a friend to film me

Ok that's great, I had a horrible feeling that's all that the board might have been wrong and just wanted to rule it out.

Thanks a lot for your replies, I'm more than happy not to spend £1,100. I will try get some footage and pester you guys again!
Much appreciated!

[waikikikichan]

3) Hmm this is a really good point, so would I see the benefits of the extra volume if the technique was good? And to answer the question, I have a grasp of bottom turns and not nose riding, I have 0 concept of how to properly perform a nose ride.

If you had good technique then you wouldn't need the extra volume in the first place. When they talk about volume helping, if your not stable on a 88L board added 10L (or even 25L) won't matter. Now if a 6'2" Fish shape feels to loose and out of control then maybe the volume of a 7'6" fun board will help. But getting a bigger longer wider Fish is not going top help.

If you don't know the concept of noseriding and do not have a strong bottom turn, then erase all thought of noseriding ( for now ) until you have a good bottom turn. You can't noseride if you can't TRIM, You can't TRIM if you can't set your RAIL. You can't set your RAIL unless you have a good BOTTOM TURN. ( and a good paddle, pop up, stance, etc. etc ). If you keep practicing wrong, you will develop bad habits that will take years to recover from. ( please don't tell me you are not cross stepping but SHUFFLING to the nose )

Sure, take a step or two front and back to adjust the balance point especially on your very long 9'6", that will be beneficial. But forget about getting to the nose for now.

( Oh forgot, if you want your board to be more "stable", take off the sidebites and only run a suitable sized single center fin if you are currently running a 2+1 set up )

[voyager]

Hi Picardward,

sorry to throw a spanner in the works here BUT as far as I'm concerned the Walden Mega Magic is game changer. As soon as I got the 9' version my surfing changed. I surfed when I was 13 in 1972, stopped for a few decades and started again in 1999. The only board that the really made things start working for me was the Walden. The reason why is - I was able to paddle out the back far more easily [Saunton 5' low tide is not an easy gig] and therefore confidence went up, wave count went up and then I was able to try some new things like the odd cross step, hang 5 cheater and then develop onto sharp cutbacks. The bottom line is - having this board made me WANT to be in the water, whereas with others often, the cloud of dispondency would descend and the inspiration was easily lost.
I'm a musician for a living and a mate of mine said he wanted to get a Gibson 335 semi acoustic, a guitar way above his ability, but he said he it was the 'guitar of his dreams', so I suggested he get it, IF - he made him want to play more, learn more and inspire him more.
Same with surfboards - first thing you need is something that inspires you, sometimes that means it's the wrong thing to buy, but we all do it because it's part of THE journey and when you get it right , YOU PROGRESS. When you get it wrong YOU HAVE KNOWLEDGE.

Don't get me wrong Waikikikichan is The Wise One of this forum. And the Walden Mega Magic might be an utter turkey......FOR You, but for me it was a Godsend. But surfers are odd, I've got another mate who bought a 9'6" Mega Magic and hated it, he has surfed about 4 times and only ever surfed 2' of white water - so he sold the Walden and bought a 7'2" thruster because he convinced himself he 'needed' that - he will never progress- period.
Like I said to him, get a board that you can bag lots of waves on, that's the first thing that matters- then you can progress from there.

You might find the Walden utterly does it for you!

[waikikikichan]

Don't get me wrong Waikikikichan is The Wise One of this forum. And the Walden Mega Magic might be an utter turkey......FOR You, but for me it was a Godsend.

I love Walden surfboards and used to compete on one. It's a great board for both nose and tail riding. However, I was concerned the OP was putting too much emphasis on a board being longer, wider and thicker will make it easier to nose ride. Which is not the case.

[voyager]

I was concerned the OP was putting too much emphasis on a board being longer, wider and thicker will make it easier to nose ride. Which is not the case.

Absolutely! But it sure as hell will help him paddle out the back/get into waves earlier/bag more waves/go out a
bit further than the average Joe......and then probably put a big fat smile on his face!
Then in a moment of unprecedented gung ho-ness, he might tentatively put one foot infront of the other....and not fall off! The seed has been sown.....

I had a 9' 3" In The Pink [sorry, I know I've banged on about this board a lot before]- the best nose rider I've ever known, it was like the front of the board was offering itself upto me saying 'here brother let me help you with your load!' but it paddled like an articulated lorry bed.
Needless to say, the cloud of despondency descended and this amazing 'nose rider' was probably the biggest set back to my nose riding!

I always say 90% of surfing is about paddling, if you ain't got the ability to get to where you need to be, it will be a pot-holed road you're going down indeed!

[Oldie]

Isn't there a breaking point where volume/size becomes more an obstacle than help? I would think that a 9.6ft board with 88l should be plenty for a young, 98kg surfer in 7-8 s waves. I (old, 92kgs) once was on a 108l softboard from a school in small waves - it felt more like a floating island than something I would be able to control.

[voyager]

Isn't there a breaking point where volume/size becomes more an obstacle than help?

Probably - but the more floatability in the early stages will perhaps help with catching more waves/getting out the back/ staying on the board.........I assume he won't be attempting 360 airs on it..........yet

[petelaud]

So I’m pretty much in the exact same situation as you. Big guy. Own the Torq now, but considering the Mega Magic. Did you get it? And did you think it made a difference?

[voyager]

who me?

Gamechanger!

[petelaud]

@voyager, I was thinking about the OP. I could tell from your earlier comment that it made a difference for you which is good to know too. I was just curious about him because his situation is so similar to mine.

I had this kind of light bulb moment the other day. Why are all of these smaller people so effortlessly catching waves, and I’m paddling like crazy and missing, even though I’m on a big longboard? Well some of them are riding big longboards too. If a 150lb guy is riding a 90ltr board and me (220lb) is riding a 90ltr board, they have a huge advantage on me. I would need a 130ltr board to get the same effect. It’s just physics at the end of the day.

People talk about board size and volume as if the surfer is the same size. But it’s all relative. I can surf on the board I have now, but I can’t imagine I wouldn’t get on more waves with an even bigger board. Just seems to make sense. It can’t all be about paddling technique.

Thanks for responding.

[waikikikichan]

It can’t all be about paddling technique.

So what if I, 5'3" and 125lbs / 57kg, paddle out on a 11 footer ? Then you will need to get a 12' ? It will be almost like a nuclear arms race. There will be a point of diminishing returns. Sure you might be able to get on earlier, but can you bottom turn, set your edge, trim and cutback all that rail ?

[petelaud]

I’m sure the law of diminishing returns applies at some point you’re right. But if you (125) and me (220) go out on the same sized board…you will just be catching a ton more waves then me. If we are both similar skill levels that is which we’re not because I’m a beginner. But right now, I just need to get on a lot of waves. And a person with 100lbs more body weight than you should be able to maneuver a larger board. Absolutely.

[petelaud]

I’m sure the law of diminishing returns applies at some point you’re right. But if you (125) and me (220) go out on the same sized board…you will just be catching a ton more waves then me. If we are both similar skill levels that is which we’re not because I’m a beginner. But right now, I just need to get on a lot of waves. And a person with 100lbs more body weight than you should be able to maneuver a larger board. Absolutely.

[voyager]

get the dang Mega Magic....you'll be in paddle heaven! :-}

[petelaud]

Haha @voyager, I’m going to. Today. Then I’ll be getting it wet Tuesday. Will let everyone know if it’s any different.

[voyager]

Excellent!

Where are you going in?

Will you get the 9' , 9'6" ?