Need help choosing a new surfboard

Which ever board you buy, size etc, just learn to use THAT ONE!! Get good at it, THEN, move to others with greater differences that matter ONLY TO YOU, not friends, family, girlfriends......well, maybe girlfriends.....

 

This statement tells me that the OP is much wiser than a typical 17 year old.

Good luck with your search.

 

Ok so, i didn't realize you were so young. I have a few more suggestions for you that if you listen to, i can promise you'll be thanking me years down the road.

1) we already mentioned this but ill hit it again. Going custom is the way to go. But there's two diffrent perspectives here. As someone who has been surfing for a long while, iv just recently really dialed in my boards. Figured out what i like and what i don't like. Going custom allows you to put it all together for what's suits YOU and the way you surf. The second perspective is from someone like you. You don't know what you like or dislike yet. Going custom allows a local shaper to make somthing based off the local area and waves. From there you can start figuring out what you like. And while i do half agree with Barry that minute differences you can't feel, that's not ALL true. For instance your board now feels shakey at times. 25L. 18 5/8 wide. But sometimes you surf it well. Going 19 and a half wide and adding a few extra litters (28/29L) you will absolutely feel a difference. And given your comments on the board, i think doing so would get you on the right track. Barry's comment on 19 being to narrow no matter what...i don't fully agree. It is narrow for sure. But mine at 19.5 catches really small waves still. That's only a half inch difference.... and the thing is its not even meant for small waves. So you know, you seem smart, you can do the math there

2) Try as many boards and as many diffrent boards as possible. Going used helps. I suggest this because you can only really dial your boards in by feeling diffrent design features and figuring out what you like and don't like. This will help making any future customs.

3) When you buy boards from guys like pyzel or ci or whatever, there usually glassed lighter. Iv never actually bought from a place like that. I'm sure you could ask for a heavier glass job. But going 6oz glass will elongate the life of a board, make it a bit heavier (which some will say is bad, i say it's good. Especially on big days), and i doubt any of us mere mortals would notice the difference in our surfing between 4oz or 6oz.

3) This is a bit of a personal preference thing for me, just like the double concave and vee out the tail. I like lower rocker. On the east coast it helps with getting in early and paddles better. Even on big days, i prefer the lower rocker. This isn't the west coast. And the vee out the tail really does help with swinging the board around and getting on rail. This is ofcourse is assuming you took the suggestion in my first point about going wider. Go wider for more volume, vee to counteract the effect it'll have on your turns.

Lastly, my final suggestion overall. Go custom. Walk in. Tell them what you got and how it feels just like you did here. Ask for somthing similar but more geared towards the east coast (wider, more volume). Let the shaper make the calls on what's best, meaning don't ask for to much or specifics. Somthing beefier and similar, leave it at that. Judging by your contents I'd say 28/29L would be good for you. So throw that number out there. Get the board, ride it. Pay attention to it. Make mental notes of what you like or don't like. Further down the road on your next custom use those mental notes on the design. Eventually you'll be making your dream boards that work perfect for you and the waves you surf. It'll take some trial and error. And time. But going custom is cheaper so once again, that'll help. I wish you the best of luck. I really got to say, i never thought I'd get here. But the experience of dialing in my boards with a shaper and the end results was amazing, taught me allot about surfing, and I'm reaping the benefits by having my dream boards. And the guy who makes them was with me along this journey so he to knows, which im sure helps him when it comes to me walking in and we start talking about a board

 

And two more things.

Go with the 5 fin convertible option. All my boards have it. I only like the quad on my mini sim. Hate quad on any of my standard SBs. But the option is there. At the time i wasn't sure if i liked quads or not. Now i know and its not much more money for it. And if my taste changes, i got the option

And 2.5 thick. Anything less is to thin. I got boards as thin as 2 1/4, but at two and a half i get more volume and can affirm surf how i like to surf.

I know i said two things, but here's a third. Shape, outline, foil. All these contribute the your volume. Dimensions are important, but by using the foil and outline you can increase or decrease your volume. It's all personal preference, so its up to you to figure it out. But let's say toot close to having that dream board, dims are great, but its a little floaty. Foil it out some to drop some volume or pull in the nose or tail for same effect.

 

5'8 or maybe 5'9 WRV generator works great for me should work great for you and its somewhat in between the boards you described check it out https://www.waveridingvehicles.com/pages/generator. definitely my favorite board in my quiver

 

Just got two customs from Vec on Cape Cod. Great boards and he is a great guy to work with.

 

Maybe an extra 15-20 bucks... two (or more) options:

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