Being a beginning surfer comes with a whole list of challenges.
● Where should I surf?
● What kind of wetsuit do I need?
● Where shouldn’t I surf?
● What’s the best tide at my local break?
● Does the wax go on the top or the bottom? (A beginner, in all
seriousness, asked me this once!)
It’s hard to say which item on the list is most important–they all have their
place–but the surfboard, it could be argued, should be at the top.
You can have a crappy wetsuit, or you can surf at the wrong tide and the
waves won’t be as good as they could be, but chances are, you won’t
notice because you’re a beginner.
You will, however, really really notice if you’re on the wrong board.
So, let’s talk about what the right board is for the beginner.
There are a ridiculous number of board designs to choose from:
shortboard, longboard, hybrid, fun shape, fish, quad, thruster, twinfin,
bonzer, single fin, gun, hard rails, soft rails, beveled rails, swallow tail, pin
tail…and the list goes on.
You can throw all these designs out the window.
It’s universally accepted that the longboard is the best choice if you’re a
beginner.
I’m not going to argue with that.
I learned on an old single fin because my mom didn’t know any better. It
helped that I was a little kid and didn’t know the difference. I just made it
work.
And I had all the time in the world.
However, it would have been easier on a longboard.
So here’s a list of why you should learn on a longboard:
● Why make learning more difficult than it needs to be?
And that’s the list.
Surfing is inherently difficult because you’re in an ever-changing
environment. No two waves are the same.
And you have to learn to read the ocean. Which isn’t easy.
So riding a longboard gives you a leg up while you’re learning wave shape
and ocean moods, tides, and surf etiquette.
Now let’s talk about why longboards are better, and what your longboard
choices are.
Longboards are better for two simple reasons:
-
- They’re easy to paddle
- They’re incredibly stable.
Both these things make learning a lot easier.
Your longboard choices fall into two categories:
1. Soft top longboard
2. Fiberglass longboard
Here are the pros and cons of each.
The Soft Top Longboard Pros:
1. Doesn’t hurt as much when it hits you.
2. Doesn’t hurt other people as much when you run them over, which
you will (accidentally, of course!).
3. They’re durable (hard to ding!).
4. Cost effective. They’re generally a lot cheaper than fiberglass boards.
Think a few hundred bucks compared to around a thousand bucks.
The Soft Top Longboard Cons:
1. They are not as responsive as a fiberglass board. Which is why you
don’t see longboard pros riding them. This can make them slightly
harder to ride.
Fiberglass Longboard Pros:
1. Can be more responsive, depending on the design. Think Old
Cadillac vs Ferrari, and everything in between.
2. The extra weight of fiberglass can add to the stability of the board.
3. More options: number of fins, tail shape, nose shape.
4. It’s a piece of art. You can become deeply attached to it, and it will
last many years if you take care of it.
Fiberglass Longboard Cons:
1. Expensive. Even when buying used.
2. Hurts when it hits you. Which it will.
3. Hurts when it hits others. Which it will.
4. Requires learning ding repair or paying for ding repair.
5. Heavier.
My recommendation has always been: Start with a soft top.
It’s not as painful to spend a few hundred bucks on a soft top and decide
you don’t really want to keep surfing, as opposed to dropping a thousand
and realizing the sport isn’t for you.
Spend the money you save on the less-expensive board and get a quality
wetsuit. Surfing is so much more fun when you aren’t cold and don’t have
armpit rashes.
Then, if you learn the basics and become hooked, get a fiberglass board.
By then, you’ll have learned some basic board dynamics, and will be able
to ask the right questions when shopping for a board to suit your surfing
style and ambitions.
And that’s it. It’s really pretty simple. No reason to overthink it.
The real fun is just being in the ocean. So grab what you need and go surf!
