What size surfboard should I buy?

What Size Surfboard To Buy?

• I am going to California this year and i am looking to buy a surfboard i have surfed three times before (3 day surf camp type things) what size should i get i am 5'10 and weigh ...show more

• Answer:

  Please dont listen to the first two answers neither of them have any idea what they are talking about. First are you staying in Cali? If you are then yeah go ahead and buy a board there. If you live elsewhere though consider that shipping costs to get it home can be quite expensive and that if you have to fly then you risk a lot of damage going through the airlines. Trust me, airline related damage is never fun. As of the Montreal Convention of 1999 airlines are responsible for damage to checked baggage you still have to file a claim within 7 days and before you leave the airport sometimes. Okay you have had some lessons, you're stoked on surfing, you want to buy a board. You are of course free to buy whatever type of board you like. Personally I am so so glad that I started on a 7'6" because it provided the challenge of having less stability/more maneuverability than a longboard but still able to catch just about any wave from knee high to head high. It remains one of my favorite boards still even to this day (6 years later). Longboards or funboards are the best way to start because they will have you up and riding the wave face sooner. There is less frustration involved and they are more forgiving. You dont always have to be on big, fast waves or right in the pocket to take off. You will have an easier time getting accustomed to reading waves and you will have the option of surfing small waves to start instead of having to paddle right into the bigger stuff where people who know what they are doing will likely have to surf around you (very annoying). You can graduate to a shorter board in a year or two, and by that time you will hopefully have some understanding of different shapes/fin setups and how they work in different waves types. There are different shapes to funboards/longboards but overall they are more forgiving in a wider range of situations than say a 6'0" thruster. If you must go for a shortboard consider one with volume and with fuller rails. Probably a squash tail or something thats going to get some lift for smaller waves. Then you have to think thruster or quad fin. You might also consider a fish shape board which would have more float for small waves. There also a lot of hybrid boards these days that combine the volume of fishes with the size and maneuverability of shortboards. Its a very complex world to jump into. And dont go off looks alone. Just because you buy a shortboard doesnt mean it wont take you a year or more depending on how much you surf to even start standing up consistently.