Deciding what board to purchase in the early part of your surfing journey can be a bit of a minefield with all kinds of advice flying around. What length, what construction, what volume and more are all things to take into consideration. Price, how often you'll get to surf, your current fitness levels and dedication all come into play too.
At Blitz Surf Shop in Gisborne we like to problem solve with our customers face to face to choose the correct board for their ability from our large range of surfboards
But here we have done a bit of a guide with options to help you start and/or progress with the pros and cons of each option so you can weigh up how to buy yourself a surfboard in New Zealand.
Even though you probably have dreams of getting barreled and doing airs on a shortboard, this is not a good place for new surfers to start as it will make the learning much harder and probably put you off surfing altogether with such slow progress. Surfing is a very difficult sport to get competent at so don't put yourself in a place where you are going to make it even more difficult.
Keep reading.
Softboards
Beginner surfboards are often starting here these days with some great quality options that cost less than a hard surfboard. There are some really cheap softboards out there, but you probably want to steer clear of those, they'll just end up in landfill before you make much progress. Over the years we have narrowed our selection down to mid-priced, high-quality softboards from reputable brands so we have customers stoked on their board purchase. Make sure your board is well-constructed, has stringers to stiffen the board and the slicks are not just glued on or you risk early delamination and an unusable board.
Why choose a softboard?
A lot of people site safety as their main concern. Surfing is a really fun sport for all levels but lets be clear there are aspects of risk involved, it can be quite dangerous, but that is also part of the thrill. One of the risks is getting hurt or hurting someone else with your own surfboard. Softboards generally have a polystyrene core with waterproof, soft outer layers and softer fins. This mitigates the risk of a more serious injury from contact with your board or fins.
The next factor is ease of use. Softboards are generally bigger, wider, more stable and more buoyant than their hardboard counterparts of the same length. In fact a softboard can have anywhere between about 30-50% more volume than a standard surfboard of the same length. For instance the Ocean and Earth Ezi-Rider 9'0 softboard in this image has 93 litres volume, whereas a standard all round 9'0 longboard will have a volume around 65-75 litres volume. So it is much easier to learn to stand on a higher volume, more stable board and also easier to catch small waves which is where you should be starting.
Limitations of softboards
As mentioned softboards are an excellent place for beginner surfers to start their surfing journey (safety, cost, ease of use) but there are some limitations. The most obvious is that once you start to progress the shape of softboards and the softer fins tend to limit your ability to advance your turning. Rails are softer and fatter, there is more flex in the board under pressure, this makes it harder to bury a rail and do a proper turn. Some modern softboards are epoxy soft which is nearly like having a standard surbaord wrapped in a soft cover which can get you the best of both worlds of safety and performance. Also some of the modern ones like Softech can use FCS 2 fins so just by putting in a better set of surfboard fins you can enhance the performance of your softboard.
Waste. If you get significant damage to your softboard e.g snap it clean in half with some dodgy surfing, unlike a proper surfboard, they are not able to be repaired. This is a whole load of polystyrene and other barely degradable products going to landfill. Small cuts and holes can be repaired with the right product but big ones are lights out.
Finally they are not really designed to go out in grunty waves. Some of the shorter epoxy soft board will be fine but the longer you go the more likely you are to crease or snap your board if it gets too heavy.
Longboards
Why choose a longboard?
A longboard is probably your next easiest option to go to after a softboard and will give you better progression as you improve than a softboard will. You will still have plenty of volume and width for stability and bouyancy and then plenty of rail length to help paddling and gliding through the water which, in turn, will make it easy for you to catch waves and give you plenty of time to get to your feet. A longboard will generally be considered a board over 9' but some consider boards over 8' as mini-longboards.
When I take an adult for their first surf lesson I will often take them on a longboard as it is more likely they will get to their feet and feel the stoke of riding a wave. And the harder board is easier for a surf instructor to manage sometimes than a large softboard of similar length.
If you are going to choose a proper longboard as the place to start your surfing journey, rather than a softboard, its probably best to steer clear of a high performance longboard as they are much less forgiving if you don't turn correctly, and also traditional "logs" that are bigger, wider and heavier and require quite a lot of skill to work correctly. You are best going for an all rounder which is more forgiving than a performance longboard and easier to turn than a traditional longboard. Talk to your local NZ surf shop staff like Blitz Surf Shop to differentiate between the different categories. There are also plenty of lower cost options that produce quality longboards from brands like Torq and NSP, made from strong epoxy construction they should last you a long time and take a bit of a beating that you'd expect from beginner surfers.
Limitations of Longboards
It takes a lot of skill to ride a longboard correctly with years of practice under your belt. That is making full use of the entire length of the board, off the tail to turn, middle of the board to trim, nose of the board to hang five or ten. And with the length of the board at some point if you haven't developed these skills it will become hard for you to progress your turns beyond just angling along a wave or gentle trim type turns. That's not to say you can't stay on a longboard for your entire surfing journey, you just need to put the hours in and learn the intricacies of longboarding.
Also with the size of the board it is difficult to learn to duckdive as you gain more experience and start to go out in larger waves. Bailing and rolling can serve a purpose to get you out into bigger waves but it drains your energy. This will improve with experience but if you want to learn to duckdive you will eventually have to go smaller in length and volume.
Funboards/Midlength Surfboards
A funboard, mini-mal or midlength surfboard is generally a rounded nosed board in around the 6'8-8'0 range. They still generally have quite a good amount of volume, width, thickness and rail length to make it much easier for you to paddle and learn to surf than a shorter board has. There are also higher volume funboards in most good brands' ranges. Ask at your local surf shop if you are wanting more volume in a shorter package.
There are plenty of good quality, mid-lower priced midlength boards out there by reputable brands like Modern, Torq and NSP. Probably best to stay clear of the cheap, group buying boards as the quality is low, you really do get what you pay for.
For a kid a funboard/midlength is kind of like a longboard for an adult so this is a decent option for kids to start that want it to be easy but don't want too much board to handle and are not after a softboard.
Why choose a midlength surfboard?
This is a happy medium to give you enough volume, stability and glide to help you get going with your surfing but will be a lot easier to learn to turn once you are up and also a lot easier to navigate your way out through the line up than larger boards. They also generally fit into a standard length car pretty easily where longer boards will most likely have to go on the top of your car on roofracks. Surfing more like you will when you progress to a surfboard as you will generally stand in one part of the board rather than needing to work the whole length.
If you are going to dedicate plenty of time to learning to surf and not be too worried about getting up straight away a midlength is a good option. And certainly if you are starting to progress its a good way to down size from a bigger board.
Limitations of Midlength Surfboards
As a beginner the very starting point is going to be more difficult than with a large softboard, midlength softboard or longboard due to less length, width, thickness and volume. You won't be able to catch small waves as easily or get as much glide. This will mean less glide when you are paddling and requiring more puch from the waves to get you going. But think of it like a drivers licence....you often manage to get your drivers licence before you can drive properly but it gives you the chance to keep going, gaining experience and getting to where you should be. Put in plenty of time and effort and you will get there.
Fish and High Volume Shortboards
For an adult or teen this will be the final step towards heading to a performance shortboard. For these age groups this would be more of an intermediate than beginner type surfboard and not the best place to start asd a complete beginner.
For kids that are beyond a softboard or don't want to own a softboard for whatever reason there are some great options here with fish and higher volume shortboards that would be more like a midlength to an adult. Lets say we have a 6'0 fish with 35 litres volume, with a competent, fit surfer this could accomodate someone over 90kgs. So with a 30kg kid there is heaps of flotation and stability here.
A fish is a fuller shaped shortboard with flatter rocker (bottom curve), more volume and wider than a performance board. Competent surfers tend to have a fish for softer waves or summer surfing when the waves are not giving them the power they need for a performance board and these types ofboards can generate more speed themselves. Whereas for a kid it is just a progression towards the inevitable shortboard if they keep it up.
There are also some great, really wide shortboard options available like the Modern Highline . This board has loads of width and volume in a much shorter package.
Why Choose a Fish or High Volume Shortboard?
For an adult or teen that has been through the above options and wants to work towards a shortboard but is not quite there yet, this is the final step. You probably need to know how to catch green waves, pop up and ride along a wave in a straight line relatively easily on a bigger board before you undergun yourself.
For a kid, read the above about midlength surfboards as that will be the benefits of them having a shorter board. Less length so easier to turn, less board to manage going out through the waves and chance of progression.
It will be easier for you to get out into the line up as your confidence grows in ever increasing waves sizes on a smaller board and easier to learn to duckdive than larger boards.
There is also less board for transporting and they will fit into cars easily without having to get roofracks.
Limitations of Fish and Higher Volume Shortboards
You are dropping length and volume here so it is going to be much harder to catch waves and harder to glide on smaller waves than it would be with a longer board. If you are a complete beginner adult probably wait till you have improved before considering these boards.
With a kid also there will be less stability and glide than a bigger board but depending on the size of the kid it might not matter too much.
Conclusion
There are loads of different options to learn to surf on. Those of us that learnt to surf in the late 80s and early 90s were probably hamstrung a bit by the surfboards of the time being extremely thin with lots of rocker "because that's what Kelly Slater rides". This would have slowed our progression a lot, caused a lot of frusration and probably a lot of people giving up. But most that perservered still got there in the end.
So it is possible to learn on all types of boards but why not make it easier on yourself so you can have way more fun, less frustration and learn even faster in what is a very difficult sport.
Go into your local surf shop in New Zealand, talk to the helpful, knowledgeable staff, be honest about your current ability and how dedicated you are and you should end up leaving the surf shop with a board that is going to get you hooked with the surfing bug.
Surfing may be difficult but it is an extremely satisfying and rewarding pastime, even as a complete beginner.
Come and see us in our Gisborne Surf Shop, Blitz Surf Shop so we can help you start off your surfing journey with a bang.
