Step-up advice

a 6'8" rounded in is good, but how often do you have waves faces in the 7 foot plus range? I had a 6'8 in jersey and rode it about 4 times in 5 years, the rest was on 6'2-6'6 boards

 

what do you weigh? if you are afraid of challenge, perhaps boogieboarding is your preferred method of waveriding?

 

i'm close to your size and surf the northeast mushburgers. i use my 6-1 Rusty Dwart for 90% of the waves. no rocker and tons of float (41L). its fat too so stable as a step down.

 

for him 6/4 firewire dominator if he wants hybrid or try one of their thrusters..

 

1. a 6-8 is not a step up from a 7-6

2. if you want more speed and action...quicker bottom turns, faster trimming, etc a fish wont help.

3. borrow a 6-4 and try it out

 

I think what you're looking for or should be looking for is a more of intermediate skill level board not necessarily a "step up" especially for the east coast and/or summer time. I've got a true step up that I ride maybe 2 or 3 times a year max and I live at the beach. It's a rare, rare day that something 5'10 won't work. Look into something like a Lost V2 Stub, Firewire Potatonator or JS Dropped Swallow that will work for you in almost any condition.

 

I'm a tad smaller than you and recently went from a 7'6 egg to a 6'2' x 20" lost black sheep. I think it's got around 38L of volume. Very good for catching anything waist high plus. I think the recommendations to go with a 6'4" make sense based on my experience. Get something with 20" or so of width. Makes the transition a bit easier.

 

im 6' and weigh 185. i have a 6'8 step up that i bought for a trip to indo. i rode it there a few times and ended up riding it here (NJ) on a couple big days, but that was more cuz i just wanted to ride the thing. i dont think a
6'8 is really needed around here. i have a couple of 6'3" roundtail shortboards that can pretty much handle any swell here.

 

same here. no *real* need for most folks to have a proper step up around here. hell, i'm finding more & more that the 6'4" round tail that used to be my standard hpsb is now acting as my step up & only gets dusted off when it's properly OH &/or hollow, while my 5'10" formerly small wave board is my go to, daily driver.

i'm seeing a LOT of dramatically over-foamed people posting on this thread. 40+ liters @ 180-190lbs is excessive & crutch-worthy.

 

completely agree. my standard hpsb is one that i only ride a handful of times a year now. my former small to medium wave board is my go to up to head high, even a foot overhead. by the way, that knubster i bought off of you has made all the difference when it gets head high and up. just throw that in with the quad and it holds like crazy!!

 

awesome! always stoked to hear stuff like this!

 

This is the best advice

 

So true mr. Gafff ... one of my favorite boards is a 5'10" x 21"x2.5" so much fun in the summer when most are stuck long boarding or trying to chop hop their way into the wave. Yourpier I sent you a pm buddy

 

the volume rating is not really a good measure considering the density isn't consistent across foam, let alone different production methods (Salomon s core, firewire, tuflite etc)

there should be buoyancy quantity of you want a true measure of float

 

i have 3 'step-ups'…dada, momma, and baby. i NEVER use them in new jersey; last time they came out of the
garage was hurricane bill and even then i chose my short board.

 

I don't know how old ya'll (youze guyz) are, but as you get older foam becomes your friend. I surf a 6'8" Orion swallowtail that is about 2.6" thick and has a widish semi fish tail, so it stays loose. It gets me in early, still duck dives great, and is great in anything from shoulder high plus. I use a big (6'6") thick (2.75") fish for waist to shoulder plus. I used to ride smaller boards - I am only 5'9" and weigh 165#. I used to be younger. I have no shame in hogging waves early and riding them to the beach without having to chop hop through the flat sections. Foam is my buddy. Hi foam! Lets go play!