Help with picking a board!

46L to 55L will 100% make a difference.
My hi-performance shorty is about 31L, my groveler is almost 36L, both surf very differently.

that 7'8 WRV sounds cherry for you! the 7'2 NSP sounds like it's definitely too small for you at 220#

Now post pictures of your chick, dukey!

 

You realize if you ride a SB, your feet hang off the back of the board right? Do you think every pro surfer alive is popping up wrong? There not. My point here is, it sounds like you can't properly pop up. Before you go buy a board, maybe learn to pop up correctly. Also your big, but not that big...something tells me your balancing on your board wrong. How far up is the nose pointing?

Learn some basics before wasting money


Actually just give it up now. You suck. Move on to something else

 

Prepare to get ripped by forumme' members. I suggest a board no smaller than 9'-9'6" at your size. Anything smaller and you're doing yourself a disservice. Catch more waves and be more stoked. Don't jump the gun and go short yet. You WILL be frustrated.

 

I agree with kanman, get a long board and learn on that, wait a few months and then get a shorter board. You will have more fun on the longer board. I promise.

 

o dukey

 

I'm just messing man. At least about the you sucking part. But seriously. It sounds like your popping up wrong. Bigger board or shorter don't matter. Should be pushing up with your arms like a push up and bringing your feet under you. Shouldn't be jumping off your knees or using toes. I'd fix that now before you get stuck with a bad habit

 

suite thread

 

What's up Dukey, I would go for something larger. Your surfing will progress so much faster, then you can work on getting something smaller. Surfing quiz, do you know which months are surfing season?

 

https://catchsurf.com/collections/log/products/odysea-9-0-log?variant=17978639943

^this will catch any wave with any surfer riding it and is the best first board in regards to price, durability, and usefulness imo. love having it when its ankle high but i'm dying to surf, or when a friend wants to try


also chick pics?

 

sounds like you need a kill yourself special made by your local shaper, completely wrapped in carbon twice.

based on your weight I'm thinking 5', 18" wide, 1.75" thick, painted purple with "purple princess" airbrushed on by a puerto rican guy at the t-shirt stand at the mall (do they still have those).

fact: if you don't post a pic of your woman, your junk falls off.

serious answer: "mini" longboards are all the rage. positioning sounds like a problem for you though. but if you wanna be that guy with his nose 3' outta the water that double arm breast stroke lunges and then slides off the back of everything he paddles for, have at it. ill take them waves off your hands.

 

^^^ LOL those types are the best

 

serious answer again: no matter what, when you pop up you've gotta do the shuffle. lb, sb, whatever, your going to have to get your feet in the ideal spot, which always changes. as for paddling, different waves require different "paddles", or so i have found. if i am going for a flat mush crumbler on an lb, I'm going to want to be up a little further. i want to put a little more weight up front to force the issue and keep me on the shore side of that wave. if your nose gets in the water, then you're picking the wave up too late. you need to be up on that wave before it breaks on a lb. I'm never going to be so far back on a lb as i am sliding off, as you described. farthest back i go on my lb is feet on the end, and thats on steep days. if you are a little farther back, get them legs out of the water to eliminate drag, bend your knees, and keep as much of your body on a functional part of your board as possible. dude a lb is like a small boat and you have to propel it into waves. you're not a sb where you're pretty much finding the right spot of the wave and then helping a little bit. on a lb you're moving your boat. if you're not getting waves, your body is an anchor somehow.

if you do use the knees-first technique, i seriously hope your whole family gets killed by a bear with AIDS as i type this. learn some ish

 

i think that jump up to 55 would be perfect, big difference from 46 and should be very noticeable...folks say go longer...like a longboard, but often times newbies riding these things take some time to maneuver it to just catch a wave...they can be cumbersome but if you are pointed in the the right direction, they are easier to catch a wave and ride the white water...most newbies cant get the darn things down the line, instead they ride the white water staright to shore...a smaller board will aide in this problem just make sure you get some literage under your feet...good width and girth will help when going smaller.

 

^^^^ That's actually a good point. I learned on SBs. Niger SBs. Got my first LB after I knew what I was doing already and found it difficult to get used to. Although I'm a strong believer that LBs will improve your SB game, I wouldn't necessarily suggest a LB to a guy who's new to surfing. I'm nowhere near your size so I can't really give any input on sizing a board. But a mini LB style board in the mid-high 7s length wise with some good thickness to it and some width should help.

A lot of new guys look at board length and that's it. Thickness and width are much more or just as important. As well as outline. A longer board dosn't always mean more volume.

 

Herro thread, prease.

 

Make sure to lift your chest up which can offset weight and it's better technique for paddling.