Longboard Surfboard vs. Skateboard

Get the Log dude, you'll be happy you did

 

I hear ya, my advice being in VB is to get the LB, you'll up your wave count significantly, especially on those marginal days where some may not paddle out, but with the log you'll catch every ripple. The extra time you spend doing pop-ups will translate, as well as the extra time on your feet. Is the style different? Yes, but you'll improve your short boarding tremendously by getting more waves on the LB. I learned this after years of trying to catch small weak mush waves on a short board, blew my shoulders out trying. The skateboard is a great idea, i'm getting one for Christmas, but I got my LB several years ago and it's helped me tremendously. I shoulda listened to my buddy who suggested one to me when I bought my WRV FunFish, but I didn't and I continued to struggle till I finally caved and got one.

 

I shortboarded for a decade before I started riding longboards. You will catch more waves and spend more time in the water (more ride-able days) which will ultimately improve your surfing. If you can turn from the tail on a log you will be able to throw the tail on a shortboard. One big difference is that on the shortboard it is critical to drive off of the front foot on the drop in, transitioning your weight back in the bottom turn, where as on the log you are constantly moving around, trimming, to be in the right spot. I think that while very different in style, walking will help you gain confidence on your feet and improve your backside balance. Get a log. Cheers.

 

This is true only for people who never learned on a shortboard and never were good watermen to begin with. I rode a shorboard or a fish exclusively for many many years and totally dissed on loggers. Finally inherited a Donald Takayama noserider which sucked. Then I rode a friends HPLB and it ripped. I could carve where I used to flail in knee to waist high mush. After years of riding both long and shortboards, I can say without a doubt that 1. my style has gotten smoother and more fluid 2. I have caught and enjoyed much more surf. Many of my friends who grew up on a shortboard have said the same thing. Try it, you'll like it!

 

You might like a high performance longboard. Though not my favorite type of longboard, you might like how light they are and you can surf them off the tail and don't have to move around as much as a traditional type log- especially if you go 8ft funshape.

 

go on CL and find both for cheap?

 

No matter what, the more time you spend on the water the better you'll be. A skateboard just isn't going to give you that feel of turning in water. Plus, a skateboard won't develop your wave timing, positioning, paddling, etc. These fellers are right on...a longboard will get you WAY more surf-able days, and they make small stuff really fun. You'd be amazed at what you can accomplish and learn on 2ft waves with a longboard.

One last note - saw that you mentioned bottom turning. Unless it's pretty big out there, don't bother with bottom turning. Take a slight angle when catching the wave and you'll get down the line much quicker and avoid a lot more close-outs. A longboard on a small day is a great way to practice this.

 

being in VB i'm with DPSup. get the log

 

I agree...and once you figure out what a LB allows you to do on a wave...you probably won't go back to a shortie...I know i didn't go back. And you're in VA beach? oh god yea..LB all the way...no more flopping around on knee to waist high waves trying to get up speed and do a " maneuver " . Shortboarding (as done by 98% of surfers) is ugly. there I said it.
LBing is graceful and all that jazz. And it allows you to surf MORE.

 

I see mid length boards becoming more popular with good surfers for this reason. Check out a 7'6'' Stoker V Machine. Some board like that can surf on 90% of east coast conditions. I wish I had one.

 

oh and there's some awful looking Longboarding going down all over the planet too..didn't mean to imply that style just comes with the board.but all in all Shortboarders who are only concerned with trying "maneuvers" are the ones most guilty of making Surfing "look" bad. It's an art for Christ sake not a sport. Everyone should Lose the "maneuver" mentality. What you do on the board should be about riding the wave. LBing (and riding ALL the other types of boards) will help with that!

 

Seems I'm in the minority here but not many brahs on here own a Carver. I own 3 and ride them for 2-4 hours a day. Yes, a longboard will get you more rides but on the real small days those are complete schitt rides that are barely worth anything and very hard to argue that they are facilitating your progress on shortboard maneuvers. Meanwhile, with the Carver, pavement waves break day and night every day. No, it won't help you with wave positioning, etc. Then again no one is going to ride their Carver on a day there's good swell. Plus, wave positioning skills are fairly independent of what board you're on.

You mention wanting to choreograph your maneuvers down to the biomechanics of those movements. That exactly what I do each day on the Carver. And not just some of the sesh, I work shortboard technique every second I'm on the thing. Snaps, cutbacks, roundhouses, pumping uphill, pumping downhill, long carves, you name it. On even the raddest of days on the water, how much time on a wave face are you experiencing in total? Maybe 4 or 5 minutes and that's for the very, very stoked days you're out for hours in good waves. On the Carver, you're in the equivalent of a wave face nearly the whole time. Reps are key to mechanical progression and how many reps do you get during a surf sesh - it's out of your hands. Reps on the Carver are exponentially more and you get as many as you want in a day.

Not to mention the unreal workout you get on this thing. I climb hills with a fairly steep incline for reps in my sessions. I don't kick once for speed throughout the whole sesh and I stay moving and rather quickly for hours. Legs and core beyond belief and tons of back. Not exactly all the paddle muscles but more than you think. It's been bone dry here and even though I'll charge just about anything, there have been many days lately I've not been able to get out on the water with any purpose. Those are the days I double my time on the Carver. I don't lose any paddling strength going nearly a week without ability to surf but still getting daily Carver work in and my SoCal trip proved that to me.

This isn't an attack on LB's, it's a more than enthusiastic endorsement of what a Carver can do to your SB maneuvering. I can't even do it justice to explain its value to technique. Based on what you said you're looking for, the Carver is completely the way to go. You said you were looking to shred a SB, not catch no-turn rides in ankle mush.

 

wow that does sound like a tasty morsel. pulling a floater on boards 7'6" and up is like the coolest feeling in the world. stalling for barrels is easier too it seems...man i just love Logs!

 

I have a 7'7 Stretch that is as HP as a mid length can get. The board is phenomenal and fun as hell. However, how many days have I rode it in four months? Maybe three. Why? It's not a shortboard and isn't getting me better on a shortboard like riding a shortboard is. I've got fatty grovelers and a retro fish for the days I need to get into even the crappiest of "waves". True, it's not a longboard, but my SB skill has transcended in the last three months as a result of going shorter on my SBs and riding the Carver daily as well. This would not have happened if I was riding my 7'7 every day I found waves. I can now ride HPs in the right waves and for a guy that's only been at it for 8 months, you gotta believe my recipe has worked especially if I'm riding that in New England.

But yeah, everybody and their sister loves my mid length and it is a great board. May bring it to SoCal when I go back next month just to mix it up between SB riding.

 

Another thing about wave positioning is that it's a hell of a lot more critical to be able to do that on a SB than a LB. so on the reps you're easing into a successful takeoff far out on the shoulder on a LB, that's helping reinforce your proper SB wave positioning? Na brah. Law of Specificity. You want to get better on hunting waves on a shortboard, then hunt waves on a shortboard. This guy doesn't seem to be asking how to cross-step or nose ride better. He wants to throw bucket and smack lips and hack like Mick Fanning.

Does that mean mid lengths weren't my gateway to progressing at the onset of my surfing? Schitt they were. But this guy isn't a complete beginner and he seems to be doing alright on a non-LB. Just wants to do better.

 

I may be a little biased, but I would definitely choose a log over a Carver any day of the week. As others have said, you will at least be in the water with a log. You can never get enough water time. Your wave count will multiply, mostly due to the ease of catching waves on a longer board. Don't let this fool you - masteringlongboard tricks and techniques is a major challenge in itself. It takes a lot of patience and time to walk the nose or land a reverse take-off; but, if you're on the East Coast, you'll have plenty of days to practice.

Just like a weights on a baseball bat - when you pick up the shortboard again, it will be a totally different riding experience. It may take a few waves to get back to speed, but once you do, you'll understand. It takes a lot of finesse and wave planning to move a big board around...just wait until you go back to a shorter board. It will be like weights on a baseball bat, my friend. Enjoy.

 

Nothing surpasses time in the water...experience, ability to read waves/conditions, timing, etc...