So... Should I buy a longboard or not?

If you want one, first rent or try out a friend's. Then save your money and buy a used one. If surfing 's your passion, learn to ride different sizes and types of boards. IMO, it helps make one a more complete surfer. With the surf conditions we have on the east coast, a long board is a good option to have.

 

Q,q.qqq? And qqq ?

 

longboarding at assateague could mean the difference of surfing (that day) or doing
something else.

 

yes. single fin pin of course. there is not much better than getting toes over on overhead surf.

 

this. as an east coast surfer, you need to make peace w/ the longboard if you want to surf as much as possible. but like desxx said, try a friend's (or 2) out before you plunk down your cash for one. even used, they ain't cheap, but they're worth it & they last (if built well)...my log is the 2nd oldest board in my quiver & the oldest that actually gets ridden.

 

praise the fsm & pass the ammunition! a true believer!

take this guy's advice, hawk. thruster set ups don't belong on longboards.

 

I have had more fun on thruster LBs than single fins. I guess cause I have not dabbled much in the LB realm, but I like the fact that you can throw your weight around and really get a shortboard style turn in that way. The single fins never respond that way, I can't seem to really slam a turn in, it seems like I have to delay a bit and its much more of a balancing act....

I know single fin riding is like an art form, but I feel like I can still use some of my shortboard antics on the thruster LBs.

This entire statement probably makes me a longboard blesphemist or something, but hey...

Ohh and to the OP, yeah brother. Get one. Even all the "cool kids" in California, who were sponsered and have 645 shortboards all secretly have a few LBs. I have caught all of them at one point or another hiding down on sunset cliffs. As I paddle out, I point at them and say "HA! I KNEW IT!!!"

LBs are the tits sometimes.

 

I will never forget the first time I road a longboard. It was down in Baja, when my room-mate, who had a couple LBs from Wrightville Beach said, he bro, I know you aren't a longboard guy, but why don't you give this a try....

For the next hour, I was out there just chillin. Having a blast. When I came back in, I said "All these time, and I never knew you guys were cheating. If I had known how easy these things are, I would have bought one years ago" Changed my perspective of the LB and surfing in general for ever....

Not saying LBing is easy by any means, but if you are an experienced shortboarder and you try one of those puppies on for size, its like having a motorcycle with training wheels.... Incredible...

 

There are a lot of days during the summer when riding tiny stupid waves is the only option. A longboard at Assateague will let you have a little more fun on those days. Probably 20-30 days a summer when the LB is it. A mini simmons type board works well when its a little bigger, but not when its tiny.

If you need to be out those days you'll need a log.

That said, on big days, the LB helps you get into the wave early, make the big drop and go go go. Really fast, and really fun in a way you just can't get with a shorter board.

 

Yes. I have a 9'0 single fin, only LB I got, but man it has changed my surfing. I can go on for days about LBs and how there not just for small stuff and how they really come to life when it gets bigger. But I won't. I'll put it simply, if surfings your passion, ride all diffrent boards. Like someone else said it makes you a more complete surfer. Today I was out on my 6'3 single fin, tomorrow I'll be on the LB. Diffrent ride for diffrent wants/needs. But when you can switch up your style effectively with a diffrent boards for diffrent style waves, I think that makes a damn good surfer

 

maybe a little credit also due to shapers/companies that saved it from obscurity. lb's in the '60s sucked, they
were gone 1970/90, back in '90s but still sucked, but well-tweaked in the '00s to become FUN AGAIN!!!

 

No doubt. I completely agree with the big stuff comments too. At one point, I didn't have a gun, or any kind of stepup bigger than a 6'2 so I took a 9'0 thurster longboard out on Sunset Cliffs. Surf was probably 9-10 feet easy. Aside from a few dicey situations in the impact zone, the waves I caught that day were amazing. That king of the world feeling. I was getting into these things so early, and then just cruising, getting 10-12 turns in on each wave. 30 second rides. Changed my whole perspective on the longboard....

Unfortunately, here in the SE, I really don't have to worry much about what to ride when its "big", so I rely on the LB just to be able to surf.... But yeah, riding big waves on a LB is an incredible feeling. Next time I rode that same spot on my shortboard when it was big, i felt like a fly just skipping around on the face...

 

yup, I rode SB's all thru the 90s and just got burnt out on not being able to surf most days. it was esp annoying since i was going to college 2hrs away from the beach and only had a weekend or so a month to get down to the coast. I actually threw in the towel after an especially frustrating session and spent a decade out of the water. ffwd to 2010 when I moved back to the coast and a friend lent me an 8' funboard. I caught waves and realized just how much i missed surfing. 'Then I caught more and realized it wasn't me that sucked all this time but my equipment. I've got 4 LB's now and I surf EVERY DAY that there is the tiniest of pulses in the water. When waves get bigger the fun really begins. pulling a long flowing floater on a 9'2 in waist high surf is the coolest feeling ever. the speed you can obtain also without pumping or bouncing around on the board is amazing. LBers aren't worried about getting caught behind sections, if anything you race way past the wave until you get used to trimming and slowing down. oh and Noseriding don't get me started on that good luck and happy hunting!

 

u started surfing on a shortboard?that's pretty damn impressive,u should always have a longboard for small days.a good quiver should have all the necessary boards,a standard shortboard,a step up,and a longboard.i bought a longboard 3 years ago and I still never rode it because it doesn't fit in my car.i have a small car so I ride small boards

 

that's the cool thing about longboards,u can actually ride it anytime for any swell.u can surf on the small days,and when the surf is 8ft and above and ur shorty doesn't have the paddling power,u can take the log out and still get bombs.I seen people get barreled on logs,do nice carves.I think its a lot harder to do progressive surfing on a log than a shortboard

 

YES... you should get a longboard. And a fish... when you can afford one.

Like 42 said, a longboard has a longer lifespan than a shortboard, so think if it as a long term investment in your surfing.

I broke away from the shortboard-only mentality about 20 years ago, after learning to surf on the first "shortboards" of the shortboard revolution from the late 60's/early 70's. Single finned shortboards first, then twins, then quads and other multi-finned boards, and finally thrusters. Only ever rode longboards on small summer days when I borrowed one from somebody. Added a couple longboards (a classic log and a HPLB) to my quiver around '95, and they've been a part of it ever since. I consider them a must have here in NJ, and consider it a big mistake not having one all along.

Today one of the greatest things about my surfing life is having the ability to fully appreciate every type of board design, and have the ability to make choices based on conditions (and mental state!) to get the most out of every session.

 

Yup. State of mind.

Somedays, I think, well, do I want to get 8 or 10 waves today, and make try a few airs? Or do I want to just get as many waves as possible and just have fun. If its the latter, than longboard it is.

More surfing. Less paddling = Long Boards. I will take every little scap that rolls through and just clock tons of waves on the LB, where on the SB, you gotta be so selective and do more paddling and waiting than surfing. Specially round these parts.

 

Plus -- you have an awesome longboard shaper in OBX, Tim Nolte. I ride a 9 foot custom TN 2+1 setup high performance longboard up here in Rhode Island, and I can do everything on it from slushy Narragansett beach to overhead Point Judith. It doesn't carve quite like a shorter board, but it makes everything easy, like others have said you get into big waves earlier and generally can have fun when the shortboarders are pounding their traction pads in frustration!

 

Do a big huge drawn out drop knee cut back. Ugh im salivating at the thought.