I want to buy a new surfboard for surfing. Going Shorter, what should I Do?

Question

I've been currently riding a 7'2 fun board (7'2 x 21.25 x 2.75).

I'm about 6 feet tall and weigh 160 pounds.

I can do some basic movements on the board, maybe I'm not being forceful / powerful enough, or the wave isn't powerful / big enough for my kind of board, but I feel like I could do things like cutbacks if I had a shorter board.

Can anyone suggesting some good dimensions I should go with I if I want to achieve this? Or should I keep on trying with my 7'2 funboard?

I'm thinking maybe 6'8, or 6'6 would be good? Would 6'4 be too small?

Answer 1

I'd say just by the way you sound a 6'4 would be way too short for you try to rent a 6'8 and see how you do if its still too big rent a 6'6. but you should totally rent some from a local surf place before you buy!

Answer 2

I'm with Rez on sticking with used boards but if you can catch waves but are having a hard time putting any performance into your ride it may well be your board.  I started out on a fun board and rode it for 3 years.  Caught plenty of waves but just couldn't make my board do what I wanted it to.  I sold it and went through a couple of short boards before I found one that worked well for me.  My surfing has improved a lot since then.  

My fun board was a 7'2", I now ride a 6'3" x 19 1/2 x 2 3/8 so it is a little fuller than a standard short board.

Not only did I go shorter but I also went longer by buying a longboard as well.  Doing both has also helped me out quite bit.

Answer 3

Length shouldn't be your deciding factor when choosing a shorter board (think fish for example).  Weight has a lot to do with  your ability to ride a board as well.  It mostly has to do with ability.  I know a few longboarders who can whip tight cutbacks like they were riding a shortboard.  You sound like you are just starting out and with a 7'2" board, it's not so big that it's preventing you from doing cutbacks.  Stick with it until your skills improve then try going shorter.  

Remember, if you go with a standard shortboard - you're wave count is really going to drop until you get better.  This will lengthen your learning curve imo.

If you just HAVE to get a shortboard, something in the 6'4-6'6" range is plenty long, just make sure it's at least 19-19.5" wide and 2.5" thick.

I'd stick to buying used boards off craigslist until you get a feel for what works for you.  There's really no point in dropping all that coin on a new board at this stage.