Board help please! :)

So, a mate has convinced me to give surfing a go again. I don’t know where to start in terms of getting a board. I’ve done lessons twice (about 5 years ago) but haven’t surfed again since. Last time I went I was on a foam mini-mal and had no issues balancing/standing up, so I think getting something like that wouldn’t really be worth it. Any suggestions? This is something I was looking at https://www.islandsurfboards.com.au/surfboards/black-coffey

Koper howse your fitness bud?  And by fitness I mean forget about running, rowing, tennis, kayaking, skating, snowboarding or almost any other sport you choose to name because they aren’t going to be of any use to you surfing, paddling is going to hurt a lot for a while ha ha ha!

With that out of the way it should be obvious you want a board that you’re able to paddle, a big stable board will be the best choice IMO not only as you will be able to balance on it and paddle but you will be able to stand on it as well.  How much do you weigh, how tall are you and howse your swimming fitness?  Personally I’m all for people buying mals to learn on, something about 9 foot is great place to start.  I don’t subscribe to the “I want a board I can progress on” train of thought.  If you can’t have any fun on it the first few times you try it you’re not going to progress anywhere except to another sport that you get more out of.  Almost everyone I know who surfs a lot has a mal or some other form of specialist small wave board, point being that there’s always room for a mal in a quiver and there will be plenty of times you can use it even if you’re pulling air reverses when the surfs good.

Without wanting to put you off, you’ve had two lessons and are literally hundreds of hours from being able to utilise a mal to it’s potential let alone a performance short board.  The board you linked to is more aimed at middle age surfers with expanding mid sections who are able to surf that want a board that is easier to paddle but still maintains some level of manoeuvrability.  Can a beginner use it?  Yes.  Are there better choices out there for a beginner?  Yes. 

You won’t be able to duckdive a mal but honestly, when you’re beginning you’re not going to be going out in surf that’s very big anyway.  I could go on and on about this but there is a reason why all the surf schools use mal based soft board designs.

Oh yeah, for the record, I’m 180cm tall and weigh about 75kg. My fitness is pretty good, from riding bikes and skating, I go to gym weekly etc. swimming/paddling on the other hand… probably not so good Are there any boards in particular that you’d recommend?

Koper i concur a 100% with NBG.

You want 2 key features: A board thats easy to paddle, and has quite a lot stability.
If you’re swimming fitness isnt really up to it a mini mal might be right up your alley as they hold those 2 key points. Given your height and weight ratio something in the 8ft range would be ideal. I started out on my old mans mal when i was 12 years old. That board was 10ft i was 5ft.

Surfing is in an element of its own, even after 15 years of paddling and riding waves i still get jelly arms on the odd occasion to this day.

Take NBG’s advice and go with the mal or mini mal. Get in the pool and smash out a few laps. Swimming is AMAZING for all round fitness and will boost your surfing and paddle power immensely.

Head down to your local board store or find your local shaper. They are a world of surfing knowledge.

Whatever your board pick im sure you’ll be stoked and psyched to get out on the line up. 

Keep the stoke!! Yeeww!