Help with board choice please :)
Hey crew
I have about a month to hang out on the central coast before I go back to the snow. So I thought hey, I should be surfing!
I’ve been looking at buying my first board! (2nd hand cause I can’t spend much).
Last summer I started learning to surf (and loved it!), I demoed a 8ft Super Fish (I think it was called). It was a fun shape.
I would like to move to short boards but I’ve never tried one. Am I doing it too soon?
To be honest with myself, I am still a beginner. I can get up and ride it to the shore, and I’m just starting to make it turn.
If you think I’m not switching too soon, would 7ft be okay for me to ride?
I’m 6"4 and I way 80-85kg which is quite light for my height. My height/size don’t really work together on a sizing chart lol.
I realise it’s more about thickness & width etc, but what would be some good dimensions for me?
I found a 7ft board for $200 down the road from me. Could you guys help a brother out here cause, I’m way more of a Yuki Kuma than a Mizu Kuma 
I have probably asked this question before but which part of the coast are you surfing? Might run into you as I’ve just started to get back into the surf. Shift work and laziness will be the death of me
I like Umina (don’t judge me, I’m a beginner lol).
Or Wamberal, or anywhere that won’t kill me. But I have a car with racks so I can go to any beach really. I don’t know anyone down here anymore so I’d love to go for surf with you or any BoardWorlders for that matter.
Also I just found a Mini Mal at a warehouse clearance. Would these dimensions work for me:
7’0 long
20 1/2 wide
2 3/8 thick
I’m in between Killcare and macmastersbl but i only bodyboard So its easy to get to any beach really. give me a yell and we can grab a few waves.
Sorry I can’t help with the board though.
Nice place to be! Sweet, well I’ve gotta get a board first. Then I’ll give u a pm so we catch a few 
Also I found a board by a company called SHAKKA. I almost bought it instantly just from the amount of times I’ve Shaka-ed on BW.
But it’s a foam board, and though I’ve never surfed on one, I think that would get boring pretty quick?
Sounds like a plan. Good luck on the board
if you thought there was a lot of difference between snowboards, surfboards are even worse. For a beginner, stay with something a bit longer fatter and thicker. Just because a board is the same length mean noting, you can have an 8ft mini mal and an 8ft indo gun and they are completely worlds apart, one you will enjoy, the other will make you throw it in the bin with diisgust. You would be best off on something about 8ft by at least 20"wide and probably 3” thick.
You don’t want heaps of rocker or nose lift but a little bit of tail kick will help you turn it as well as a thruster configuration. Also well rounded rails are more forgiving, the further the very hard edge near the fins progresses up the board the less forgiving the board will be. Long story short if you have links to any boards you’re looking at shot them up and I’ll have a squiz for you!
Thanks bro, I appreciate the help.
Here are the 2 boards I’ve narrowed it down to (although I’m guessing the second one going off what you just said about thickness).
Board 1
8"0 Mini Mal. Epoxy.
Board 2
LENGTH: 8’0”
WIDTH: 22”
THICKNESS: 3”
NOSE: Pin Round
TAIL: Squash
BOTTOM: Single - Double Concave + Vee
FIN SYSTEM: FCS (G5) Tri Fins
FINISH: Polished
Both of those boards will be reasonable for you mate and hard to beat the price if they go for around $200. The first one may give you more of a fighting chance to duckdive it as it has less volume but the trade off is it will be slightly harder to paddle but when the boards are that long it’s not going to be a huge issue. You will “outgrow” both of those boards but the benefit is that when you do you can keep them as small wave fun boards for the tiny surf days.
Yeah, I was never able to really duck dive the big 8 footer that I demo-ed last time. That’s why I was thinking short board.
But at this stage I still only want to catch the smaller stuff, so I should probably be realistic and go with a mini mal.
I guess I’ll see which one I can get for a good price and go with that.
Thanks for your help NTHN
Hey mate,
I reckon that if ya were gonna keep the board for when ya come back from OS, and have all intentions of surfin some more, I’d put my cash into something like the 7S Super Fish like ya previously tested and had some success on!!!!! Maybe even drop one size down in the same model!!!!!
If it’s cash flow and hence the cheaper boards linked, Then I’d personally run with the board on the second link, or even search for somethin similar in a 7’6”!!!!!
The first board, while smaller in dimensions, is an epoxy board!!!!! They use a lighter core (blank) and therefore not only will they will float better than it’s polyester cousins, that same float will make it harder to duck dive also!!!!!
Along with epoxy being a stronger outer shell, it can also be a pain in the arse when it’s compromised!!!!! If it gets damaged, the board can take on a lot of water and if left un-repaired can render the board useless in a short period of time!!!!! Epoxy boards also have some negative performance characteristics that I personally don’t recommend are good for someone that is learning/progressing!!!!!
The first board also has a fin box for the rear fin, and while you can convert it to a smaller fin to match the side fins in order to make it a thruster set up, I also suggest that you stick with the fin setup of the second style of board, which is more of a Fun-Board Style as opposed to the Mini-Mal Style of the first one!!!!!
Hope this helps somewhat?????
I’m going to give you a different opinion in saying I think you should move to the shortboard shape. You’re obviously comfortable on boards in general, and you have the basics of surfing down. I’d suggest purchasing a board that’s going to support you at your level now, but also leave room for decent progression. I think you’d be hampering your long term progression with a mini mal. You said you can get up and and you’re starting to turn, so why not continue your progression with a board designed to turn better.
You can find shortboards that are a “hybrid” shape, as in a hybrid of a fish and a shortboard. They have the basic shortboard shape, but with more volume and width. What you’re getting is a board that can turn well but also provides enough stability and float to allow you to not feel too uncomfortable now. There are different types of hybrids out there but overall I think this is what you should be looking for.
Don’t forget changing your fins can also make a difference to how the board performs. i.e. start with a larger fin to give you more stability as you learn, then move to a smaller fin to increase turning performance when you feel confortable.
This is exactly what I’m riding now in the 6’4” version, it’s a tonne of fun and I love the thing in thruster config, quad is fast but a little strange off the top, if you could find a 6’“6 version you would have something that would suit for some time to come but would be hard to find.
Yeah, as I said straight off the bat, I’d put my cash into a 7S Super Fish as he has already found this a comfortable platform, and as I have ridden and sold those boards can highly vouch for their ability to please from beginner to pro!!!!!
I would just go smaller in length then what he first rode!!!!!
They also have a good resale value, as others know of their performance, so when it comes to downsizing again, it wont put as much of a dent in the wallet!!!!!
This is the board that you were referrin to, Andy?????
Yeah, I rode the 8ft version of that (older or newer version I think). 7S Superfish.
Well hey, I would love a shorter version of what I already know to be fun for me. But have you seen the price tag on those things??
They are like $800!!! That’s way out of my price range, cause I need every spare dollar for Japan.
When Nikky and I demoed them, the money we paid to demo now goes towards buying a board from these guys. But even so, it would still cost me about $700.
Still way too much cash.
I was in the mind set that I should buy something cheap, second hand so I don’t care if I “outgrow” it.
Does anyone know of any cheap fish/short board hybrids out there?
Also if I was to just get a fat short board. What dimensions would I need for a rookie to still be able to get up in small surf?