What is a good surfboard for a beginner?

Question

i live in south florida in case there are different boards for different areas

Answer 1

Here are some recommendations based on my experience, and having shaped a good beginner board myself:

Length -  between 7'6" and 8'6". Anything shorter will be harder to paddle and catch a wave with. Anything longer can be unweildy and hard to carry.

Width - Around 22". This will give you stability and faster planing. Too wide and it might not fit under your arm!

Thickness - 2 3/4 to 3". This provides lots of buoyancy.

Shape - Avoid a pin-tail and pointy nose. Go for a rounded shape for easy handling and more planing surface.

Rocker - This is the curvature along the length of the board as you look at it from the side. Some nose rocker is a good thing as it will help you avoid nose-diving when taking off on a wave. However, too much will make paddling and planing a bit harder as you 'push' water in front rather than sliding over it.

Fins - A 'thruster' (3 fin setup) would be ideal, and is the most common.

Type - Other answerers recommend a softboard. These are good for learning on as they are floaty and dont hurt so much when you get hit by them. However, they can be a bit bendy and lack the performance you might need if you want to take your surfing to the next level. Usually they don't need waxing however, and you won't need a cover for them.

Different areas - Most waves have similar dynamics, but they will vary from day to day even in the same spot. I would advise learning in relatively small, peeling or spilling waves (the face of the wave should be less than waist high to start with).

Don't paddle into anything that you feel is beyond your capability - it will just knock your confidence and could be dangerous. It pays to research the swell, tide and wind direction and find the best spot. Use surf cams and online reports, talk to surf shop staff and most of all HAVE FUN!

Answer 2

softbords are good for beginners they are easier to learn on

Answer 3

depends on your size, but an egg shape in the 8' range is always a good place to start.

good luck and have fun

Answer 4

umm, i think some kind of longboard that has a soft top

Answer 5

depends on how good u are if u can catch a wave then a 8'' short board would be good and if it is difficult to catch a wave for u then go for a longboard softboards are good aswell because they wont hurt u if u get hit by it

Answer 6

a fun shape or mini mal

Answer 7

It would depend on your height and weight - but usually a rounded nose longboard would be a good place to start. You can go with either a soft top or a regular board. Go cheap.

I personally didn't jive on the soft tops. If your local surf shop has a used long board of fun board around 8 - 9 feet, that would do the trick - and as thick as you can get it. 2.75 - 3" maybe.

Soft tops are safter and if you feel like you might hurt yourself on a surfboard (or have a big wave hurl one in your face), then you should try start with a soft top.

There are some well known "beginner" boards. NSP has some really good funboards for beginners - i've rented the 7'6 and 7'10 before and had a lot of fun. Bic and Blue are the other ones that I've heard of.