What Surfboard to Ride When You Want to Learn How to Surf

05 Jan What Surfboard to Ride When You Want to Learn How to Surf

While learning how to surf may not be on everyone’s bucket list, it sure makes for a memorable experience. It not only offers the opportunity to develop a new hobby, but it comes with plenty of health benefits. Note that the key to becoming an expert surfer is to know what surfboard to ride, especially when you’re in the learning phase. 

Whether you want to buy a surfboard for yourself or your 10-year old, it’s important to invest in the right thing. If it is your first time, choosing the right surfboard is taxing as there are tons of market options.

Also, surfboards come in a variety of shapes, constructions, and sizes. That is why choosing a surfboard that can help you learn how to surf is essential. Simply stated, you need to seek out the best option if you’re a beginner or have recently joined surf school.

If you don’t know how to choose the right surfboard to help your surf lessons, we have you covered here.

Choosing a Beginner Surfboard to Ride

Before delving into the details of how you can choose a beginner surfboard, you need to work on fundamental skills before you catch your first wave. You can’t progress to the next level in your surf lesson without refining those skills. 

These skills include everything from how you practice your pop-ups, position your body on a surfboard, maintain balance to how you use to paddle, strength, and endurance. Learning these basic skills can help you paddle and float a beginner surfboard. Also, you will be able to ride a surfboard with high buoyancy and stability.

One rule of thumb for choosing the best surfboard for your learning stage is “the bigger the board size is, the better the surfing experience will be.” A good foam board makes catching and riding many waves easier. It is because when you catch more waves, you progress quickly.

Take a look at the features that make a surfboard the best option when you’re learning how to surf.

Length, Width, and Thickness

As mentioned above, the longer, thicker, and wider your surfboard is, the simpler it will be to stand up and paddle into high waves. If you have never tried surfing before, it is better to opt for foam boards and mini mals.

They have simple designs and are big, wide, and thick. These options make riding on waves easy and help you maintain stability if you make mistakes in your learning phase. The foam boards are also soft with softer fins, which will be a huge benefit when you’re not always under full control of your surf board. Avoid choosing short boards as they require professional surfing skills to handle.

Volume

Volume is another important dimension to keep in mind when selecting the surfboard to learn how to surf. Volume is the space or area a surfboard occupies. It typically refers to buoyancy in surfing.

Long form boards, in this regard, have higher volume compared to shortboards as they have more foam. A surfboard with more volume is a plus point when you’re learning how to surf as it makes your board buoyant.  With high buoyancy, you can easily paddle into waves.

Fins and Shapes

At the beginning stage, the number of total fins and tail shape is not important. The features may only confuse you if you start finding a surfboard with a perfect tail shape. However, once you become more proficient in surfing, you will consider them as important attributes.

Surfing Destination

Choosing a surfboard that doesn’t suit your surfing destination will make learning a lengthy process. Remember that your surfing destination and surfing frequency have a huge impact on the type of surfboard you choose.

For instance, if you reside in an area where water produces high waves, you need a short surfboard. Because you’re a beginner, it might not be an ideal surf destination for you.

Key Takeaway

In a nutshell, you need a surfboard with lots of buoyancy and a stable and wide outline when you want to learn how to surf. While longboards make a good option with more volume and stability, they are not always ideal as they need strong maneuvering sometimes. Thus, regardless of your form board choice, it is important that you take surf lessons before you start surfing.