buying a longboard..

First off, 8' is not a longboard. There is no such thing as a mini-longboard, no matter what Steve Walden says.

If you're going to get a longboard, go b***s out. I'm even smaller than you, and I absolutely LOVE my 9'4" and 9'6" logs.

I would avoid Walden in general. If you really want to get into longboarding, get yourself a handshaped, poly, glassed log. There really is no "all around" longboard, but things like noseriding, etc. are more about the user than the board - though some boards are better-designed for noseriding.

I'd suggest something in the 9'2" to 9'6" range with a single fin - nice and big. Don't bother with 2+1 - performance longboarding is like having sex with a condom, you can do it, but something just doesn't feel right.

Now if all you want is something to tool around on in summer crowds and have no ambitions to be CJ Nelson, Dane Peterson or Al Knost, get a pop-out. That way if you give a kook a haircut and ding your board in the process, you won't be too bummed!

 

Got my first longboard this year.picked up a 8'6 Channel Island waterhog.Im having a blast with this puppy.

 

I agree with tbeaver. Longboarding a state of mind. Get a true longboard(9' +) and just roll with it. Get wet when it's only knee high and still have some fun. It eliminates some of the *****in' I read on these sites when we go weeks with no waves in the summer. I'm from VA Beach and until I retire down to Nicaragua in about 7 years, I'm gonna be strictly a longboarder. I would suggest a local shaper who can evaluate your abilities and needs and build you what you want. Good luck!

 

dude, im 5'7 and im riding a 9'2, i love it, the thing just catches anything from 1ft! And im still having fun, just playing around doing cross steps, and nose rides.
trust me, you'll want a log, youll catch EVERY wave

 

Agree with most all said. I'd go no shorter than 9.0 and I think Poly is the way to go. The weight alone helps with the glide and momentum which is what longboarding is all about. Lots of nice LB's will start popping up for sale soon. That being said I gotta say the Walden Magic model 9.0 and up is not a bad choice. I don't have one but I've ridden them and I have a lot of friends who have them - no beefs with that board. I also agree a single fin is the way to go. If it turns out you by a 2 + 1 - you can ride it as a single fin but those side bites come in handy on steeper bigger days.

 

To piggyback on what beaver said, you really aren't "longboarding" until you get into the 9ft range. Believe it or not, it is a completely different mindset and can jack up your short board skills if you aren't careful. You paddle early to get your log up to speed which is a learning experience in timing. No late take offs (not what you call a late take off on a shortboard, anyway). Your speed comes from the wave, not shifting rail to rail, so, unless you're on a narrow-tailed longboard with some "v", thrusters and quads are useless drag. Then there's the ease of paddling that will make you lazy, if you're not careful.

I also agree with beaver's take on 2+1 on a true long board. Soft rails provide more hold than an sidebites could ever provide. Personally, I feel it's a marketing scheme to make people feel like they aren't prematurely old....sort of like station wagons vs SUVs.

Your above statement has me thinking you're looking for the longboard float with shortboard physics. Have you considered an egg or a pig?

 

I would get something in the 9'2 to 9'6 range 16.25 tail 18.5 nose and 3 1/8 thick . Make I single fin with and nice 50/50 rail and very little belly rocker and nice tail rocker. This will make it perform in most surf we get arounf here. Get yourself a nice pivot fin or a flex drive fin no less than 10 inches . this will give you good forward drive but yet still have enough fin to ride the nose and still turn good .

 

I've got a 9-foot single fin Stewart Hydroglide and absolutely love it. Easy to paddle, fast as anything you can imagine, and allows me to do crazy long drawn out turns smooth as anything. Not to mention the noseriding ability, etc. I've used it in everything from 1-foot up to about two or three feet overhead. Riding a longboard is great, however, be forwarned that it is very addictive, will mess with your shortboard skills (esp timing of takeoffs), and paddle outs can be hairy when it gets big...there is no such thing as duck-diving when you're on a log.

 

Yeah got that right !!!!. Turtle Roll or hold on for the ride if you can make over the top

 

I think at your size you can go with a 9'0. Matt's design suggestions are sound. To add to that, I'd suggest a little nose concave (low entry rocker, btw), either a little belly through the middle or just flat, to a rolled vee through the tail. Fin suggestion is spot on, too, but if you go with a 9'0 instead of a bigger 9'2 - 9'6, you can put in a 9.5" fin.

I don't think you have to worry too much about transitioning from your shortboard. Traditional longboarding is totally different... there's absolutely nothing about them that's the same, from how you paddle to how you turn, to how you trim. There's no "in between" on a longboard, and anything in the 8'0 range isn't going to give you that same feeling of glide, trim, pivot turn, noseriding... all the stuff that makes longboarding in knee high surf fun.

 

get a longboard, its great to have. you will use it way more then you think. youll get like triple the waves on a knee high day then you would on a shortboard. even in some cold months you may find yourself using it. i find myself not as cold as you sit more out of the bitter atlantic.

absolutely get a 9'0. my 9'0 is a different world from my 8'2 i learned on years back.

let the naysayers have at it, but i picked up a 9'0 firewire squash that was used literally a handful of times this may and i could not be happier with it. the board really is as advertised. i tried my best to find a poly log, but everything i saw at swaps and on craigslist was beat up and i was not spending over a grand on a new board.

 

Yeah i also have never seen the point to performance longboarding. I ride a Matador with the dims 10'0 x 24" x 3 1/2" and have a ball on it. One of my friends who rides a perfromance just looks like an idiot trying to pump and turn something so big. If i was you i would just go all out and not get anything below 9 foot.

 

three thoughts -
1- You'll get past that "potato chip" feeling quickly. I ride a longboard about 5% of the time, and boards in the 6 foot range about 90% of the time. Not saying i'm good, but i feel fine switching back and forth.

2- Go for a full-on longboard in the 9'0" range. An 8'0" is not a longboard, and wont feel like one. You said your shortboard is a 6'1" (not a 6'10" or something) probably because you want the full uncompromised shortboard experience and not some hybrid. Approach buying a longboard the same way - you want the real deal.

3- I dont think getting a locally shaped custom log for $800 is unrealsitic, if you're willing to skip the bells and whistles.

 

Agree with Mitchell - $800 is not unreasonable for a locally shaped log if you're okay with a pretty basic template.

Contact the guys at Cosmic Bull or Brian Wynn. I bet they can set you up in that price range.

 

It's called a longboard hangover and the reason I forced myself to stop using my Infinity Cluster V. The ease of paddling and ability to effortlessly catch waves was so addictive that started to use it in everything...including head-high and above.

After surfing it exclusively for 3 months, I was all jacked up when I swapped back to big guy shortboard. My timing was off....I was out of "paddling shape".....hell...just sitting on a shortboard felt weird, with the waterline around my waist and what not. The moral is: If you want to remain good at shortboarding, only use a longboard when you absolutely have to. Just my 2 cents.....

 

I'll sometimes switch boards every session, and sometimes even in a single session. Feels funny, like taking off snowboard boots and putting on sneakers. But get the feeling back pretty quickly if you do it all the time.