what board should i get??

I have seen those superfish and think they look really nice. I have also heard that they ride great too especially for a Chinese pop out. I'm almost exactly your height and weight (more muscle than fat) and I ride a bing dharma that I love. I have 2 of them a 6'0" and a 5'6" , I prefer the 5'6" . I don't really ride a shortboard so don't have any advice on that.

 

Check out the Aloha Bean i got one recently and its a real fun board.

 

not to hijack, but zippy how do you like the bing daharma? checked them out, looks like a fun A.I. board in my mind.

 

the super fishes are crap...I would suggest getting a longboard or a performance fish

 

I love the Dharma. I rode my 5'6" in Ocean City on the 28th and it was a little wierd on those steep barrelling waves but it was doable. Definitely better in rounder waves.

 

Yeah I disagree with that statement. I have a superfishxl. It's not my main board but on occasion I surf the superfish and its everything it's described to be. It paddles easy, it's fast down the line and it's pretty maneuverable. Works better as a thruster though. Probably why people don't like it as a fish. But that being said... I'd contact rusty.com and see what they could put together for you.

 

I'm an year 18 old trapped in an 46 year old body so don't feel bad, lol. The 5'6" floats me fine but I like smaller boards and have had people say "Dude thats too small" . It would depend on what your riding with it. I frequent a more mushy rounder wave so it's perfect. If you were primarily surfing a steeper beach break it might not be right. Like I said i surfed it on December 28th with no problem. Even took my 6'0" out after Iren passed and surfed some barreling waves that day with not much problem other than dropping in a little further out on the shoulder. Other than the difference in skill level I did notice my friends with tru short boards dropping in earlier and getting barreled far more than me since I always tend to out race the lip on these boards. They are super fast and loose.

 

You didn't mention where in Fla you are. There are a ton of good local shapers throughout Florida. Nielsen in Cocoa Beach area and Jim Dunlop around Jax are 2 that come to mind. Talk to a shaper and they can help you probably more than guys on a message board.
JTS

 

Exactly!!!! You're already a big guy when it comes to surfing so why buy a lightly glassed board that will be beat all to hell in one year. Get a custom(which are normally cheaper than shops) performance fish which will be made for your size and give you several years of boardlife without being in the shop for ding repair all the time.

 

hey i was pretty much in your exact situation and am your same size. you'll probably get the most mileage from a longboard in your location but for days with a little more push try something like the ci biscuit--wide, thick, flat, floaty--but don't buy it as small as they recommend. size it like your normal shortboard and you'll be stoked.

 

Check out the takayama scorpion in the 6'4 range. I'm your same height and weight and I love mine! I stepped down from a mini long board to this and it was an easy transistion. The scorpion is an round nose egg shape with a pin tail. Its a quad set up but also has a single fin box if you wanna ride it single or even convert that box to thruster. The board is low flat rocker so it paddles really easy and catches waves effortlessly. It surfs really skaty and turns so easy and will go top to bottom and you can even nose ride it if you want to! Its got enough beef to get you through flat sections to connect waves longer. Its construction is tough so it will last for years. I loved mine and surfed it for a year everyday till I traded it in on a 5'10 of the same board!

 

Agreee with JTS ... the "super floatey fish "! http://www.tomneilsonshapes.com/surfboards/floatey_fish.php

He'll make any board you want at a great price. In FLA you've got Kechele,Quiet Flight ,Coil, etc. etc. ...the list goes on and on..Customs for less than pop-outs !

best of luck ~

 

you can never go wrong with a thruster about 2-3 inches taller than you. Add a little thickness or width to help float you with the rubber.

 

If you're in Florida, go see the Coil guys. Mike Daniel is the man at taking your stats, surfing ability, wave conditions, etc. and making your magic board. Plus its a board that will last ALOT longer than any PU board.

 

Some really good info in this thread. I'm close to your age, and exceed your dimensions (5'11 220) and I'm riding coils now....couldn't be happier with them.

One thing about them though, they are definitely performance oriented. Both of mine are fish derivatives, but they are more performance oriented then they appear. They are not cruisers. Both are very fast, but require user input. I had been primarily riding a retro fish that would generate a ton of speed if I basically did nothing but stand before I got my first coil....my coils don't do that, BUT they will let me surf much more high performance than the retro fish ever did. It's so refreshing for me to be backon something that lets me surf the way i want to, and used to,given my current physical proportions

I looked real hard at that Floatey fish too. I even went back an forth on the dimensions with Tom briefly...He recomensed either a 6'2 or 6'4 for me in EPS but I think I was only 210 or 215 lbs back then. Ultimately, I ended up switching gears and going with the Coil, but i remember reading reviews for the nielsen and they were all positive. Seemed like a very versatile board.

I've managed to put on 50lbs over the past decade, but my boards are the same length as they were 10 years ago when I was 170, and I'm still able to basically surf the same way on them. Now paddling my out of shape office working 220 fat a$$ around...thats a different story, but once I'm up riding I feel as good as ever.

At your dimensions, I think if you want a performance daily driver board that is properly sized for you may have a hard time finding one without going custom. Off the rack will probably be a compromise...more length to compensate for not enough hidden volume. If you go with a more retro shape, you could probably pull any number of shapes off a rack.

That's my 2 cents anyway..

FYI, I know the feeling you describe of your current board. I don't like riding boards in the size range at all. Boards that size feel too long to ride properly as a short board, yet not long enough to ride like a longer board...just kind of lost. The only time something in that range feels good to me, is if the waves have some size, but aren't too heavy, but then any board feels good in those conditions. That's why I can't do a "big guy" shortboard. Even being heavy, unless your 7' tall they just feel weird.

 

www.21-13.com