Popout board for my first??

Question

im gonna be 16 in nov, and i want to get into surfing asap, ive been boogieboarding for years now, and ive always wanted to surf

should i just get a popout board for my first?? does not being able to nose dip through the waves that big of a deal? thanks :p

im hoping john f answers :D

Answer 1

Get a good used surfboard off of craigslist or from your local shop. Don't waste your money on junk pop-outs.

Yeah, getting pounded by wave after wave is no fun at all so not learning how to pass waves is not an option. You will get it in time tho.

good luck on your board search

Answer 2

yeah John F always has great answers. anyway, dont get a pop out. it is not a good idea. for the "nose dip through the waves" part, its called duck diving and its almost impossible to do on any other board except fish, shortboards, and semi guns. the best way to get past the breaking waves on a longer board is to turtle roll. grab the rails tight when you see a wave about to come, then pull your body into the water so the fins are sticking up and it looks like you are paddling up side down. then flip back over and continue paddling. it makes it a lot easier to get out to the line up.

for your first board, i suggest getting a used board that you buy from a surf shop and is made by a shaper. since it is your first board, dont worry about it getting beat up and stuff. it happens. but yeah just dont buy a pop out and get a good quality surfboard. hope this helps. have fun surfing!

Answer 3

Don't buy a pop-out. Buy a quality name brand board off craigslist or at your local surf shop. Make sure you get a longboard to start out with while you are learning.

The Surfboard Man

http://www.thesurfboardman.com/

Answer 4

Unless you don't have another choice I would avoid a popout.  If John posts he'll give you the link to the anti-popout article.  Try looking for a used board via craigslist or through one of your local shops that takes trade ins.   Just be smart about what you buy, bodyboarding and surfing are very different and you may be really disappointed with how slowly your progress if you don't get a board that works well for you.  Fortunately you already should have good wave knowledge so you won't have to overcome that hurdle.

As far as duck diving , yeah it will take a while to figure that out, and if you go with a longer board you may never be able to fully duck dive it, there have been several posts in the past about duck diving alternatives so read through those.

Answer 5

get a g&s, they have great quality pop out boards for a pretty good deal

and no, its fine. there are many other ways to deal with oncoming waves :)

Answer 6

Don't buy a pop-out. Check out yesterday's questions. Look at the problem f311x87 is having with his Canyon (a Chinese made popout). While I can understand that sometimes you just can't get the money together to buy a good 'new' board, there are always lots of decent used boards for sale.

My first board was a piece of junk, but I didn't know any better. My next couple boards were nice boards, that I bought used. And I subsequently sold them to somebody, who got a nice, used, third hand board in the deal. I have owned dozens of boards and I really think that you will do much better with either a good quality new board, or if you can't afford it, a nice used one.

I really like boards from local shapers. They know the local wave conditions better than the big name manufacturers. But the big guys make some nice sticks also,

At 16, you should really learn on a decent board. For little kids, I think that soft-tops are the way to go. And get a lesson or two. You'll be surprised what you learn, that would have taken you weeks or more to figure out on your own, like my pals and I did in the 60s.

As much as I dislike popouts, I will say one last thing. If you end up buying a popout inspite of what lots of us have told you. At least buy a Bic, you can drive a pick-up over it and they exceptionally bouyant. (and like you mentioned, they are a bear to duck dive, but lessons will explain more about that).

http://www.surfing-waves.com/beginner_su...

http://www.mckevlins.com/nopopstory.htm

Good luck! And thanks for the confidence you seem to have in my opinion. Lots of the other answers you got to the question are great, too.

Answer 7

you want to get an almeric flyer it is a good board and i light and sturdy and it is good also it has a god up curve in it and it tears up ocean side