New to surfing

"Hello" thread part 2!!!

 

Buy a new or used 9' soft top longboard.

 

7'6 is a good size for your height. My first board was a 5'2. I'm 6'5.

 

Due to lots of various assorted surf sessions had by most participants in the recent few hours/days, the vitrol seems to be at an ebb. My best advice is to score a 7'6" fun shape, start a thread with a go pro on your progress, and take whatever abuse you receive with gratitude. A small trolling motor can be helpful in getting out during the big swells.

 

I'm a week out of a surf sesh, granted my last was stokey as can be in SD. Glad you brahs have been shotting the schitt out of swells though. I've resorted to the asphalt for time spent working on "those low maneuvers from the pages of Surfer magazine" with various power slides and such. Even hit an indoor park the other night. Heck, it ain't gonna hurt my surf game.

A 7'6 will be great for you new charger. I had a HPSB for a month before smartening up and jumping on a 7'4 that got me my real start. You'll be able to catch a fair amount of bumps that come your way and you won't exactly be left cruising on a New Zealander either. Good mix. Get stoked!

 

You've definitely come to the right place for advice.

 

Yeah............ Wait.............what!?

 

you are making a COLOSSAL mistake. this company is run by a pair of massive kooks, luc & holly stokes. anyone remember that physix surf co. kid? they're kinda like him, except that they're adults. they say their boards are made in san diego, but that is a flat-out LIE. every single one of them is a made in china piece of ****.

you want my advice? go to a local surf shop & talk to someone there who is knowledgeable. the board the picture ain't no funboard, nor is it a board you'll have any fun on.

 

Where do you live? How old are you and what kind of shape are you in? You should take some lessons if they are available in your area. Listen to Betty if nobody else. Buying that board would be more of a waste of money than renting boards to try out. Just because you were falling off a longboard becuase "it didn't have any momentum" doesn't mean there was anything wrong with the board.

 

After you learn on this it will still be fun to keep around and ride once you add a shortboard to your quiver. Either a 7'6" or 7'4" would be a decent place to start- and it's re-sale value will hold up better than the other board you've looked at. (This is coming from my perspective of 50 years in the water riding Long, then short, then long again; guns, funboards, mini-guns, fish, dumpster divers, sponges for a time, step-decks, flex tails, Bonzers, Performers, Propper Models, and now Channin mini-longboards and 7'6" thrusters. '68-'72 Weber Team OCMD) It's just about putting in the necessary water-time. Don't go cheap, but buy a good board with decent volume, clean lines and a good reputation for build quality. You'll be glad you did. Let shape and dimensions/floatation take priority over graphics, and then if you want to burn extra cash, browse the graphics. http://www.stewartsurfboards.com/gallery/stock-board-art-funboards/
Now THIS is a fun board. http://www.stewartsurfboards.com/surfboard/funboard/

 

looks like a cool shape. I would shred the sh*t out of that...if it was 6 foot or shorter. Seems to me if that shape were actually 7'6", it would be so massively wide, you wouldn't be able to fit it under your arm or carry it anywhere.

I started out on an old 70s single fin pin tail that was a couple feet taller than me and very floaty. However, it was all shortboards after that.

You can start out on a shortboard, but the learning curve is longer. Personally, I don't think longboards (or even funboards, for that matter) are that much easier to learn on. They're easier to paddle, easier to stand up on and you can catch the smallest/weakest little waves, but controlling them, in general, is an entirely different skill set than on a shorty and they're actually even more dangerous in larger waves...plus, you never learn to duck dive at all.

 

If you are in good shape, get a 6'8" -7' fun shape about 2 3/4" thick. You will have plenty of float, lots of maneuverability, and it should be able to duck dive if the nose is not too wide and thick. I made a 7'6" funshape, and wanted it to shred, but it surfs like a longboard. I started on a 7' single fin and it surfed and duck dived like a shortboard. I think once you get over 7' you start to lose the shortboard feeling of leaning into a turn and burying a rail and then quickly releasing it. Plus you will learn to surf good waves faster.

 

Worst advice ever. Learning on a softop is like learning how to drive a car with a scooter.

 

florida is loaded with decent surf shops. why don't you just pick one up on pensacola? or hit one on the way? that would be a much better option than picking up an online gsi.

 

do this. there MUST be shops in pensacola or nearby that have beginner-friendly, non-kooktastic chinese crapola available.

 

I learned on a used 7'6" which was tippy and a bit advanced for me. Then I got a used 8' Walden which is great for my size. I'd start with a used board.

 

New guy my advice is to go and buy something very big and very buoyant, you will need this extra volume to learn about wave placement, timing, pop up, and so much more. Plus once u get confident with moving a big board around you will ind that downsizing will feel cool and be pretty easy.

You will catch more waves and get more surfing experience on something big. I'd go with a makaha 10-9 or a 9 footer from Donald T in the pink. Or maybe a al merick performer 9 ' or maybe a Robert August long board. Just don't buy a bic whatever you do and don't go short board ish.