I am getting back into surfing - what surfboard size should I get?

So you want to get back into surfing eh?  That normally means you are older, less fit, way out of practise or a combination of all the above!

It's actually not that hard to work out what you should ride - the hardest thing is accepting your goals for surfing won't be what they used to be.  You might want to relive the dream of "busting the moves" you used to however chasing that rare one move will come at the expense of a whole lot of missed waves.

Getting back into to surfing simply requires something easier to paddle. This simply means more volume (length) which = more float which = easier to paddle!

OPTION 1 - LONGBOARDS
The easiest paddling boards are the minimal’s and longboards. There is a reason the "older crew" get into them is they are simply easier to paddle and cruise into waves, especially on the many tiny 1-2ft days where shortboards are a struggle even for the fit guys. The compromise is no “ripping" and busting moves like when you were young but you end up enjoying a different style of surfing anyway and just getting as many waves as possible is more fun that busting a tight turn occasionally.  Once you start it gets very addictive and you wonder why you ever struggled with a shortboard on the small days

What size longboard?   In longboards once you are over 8ft you often want a little more help anyway so 8’6 or 9’2 are our most popular sizes. See here our longboard selection here

OPTION 2 - FISH SURFBOARDS
The alternative if you are keen to do some turns and consider yourself fit is a fish surfboard. These are simply shortboard templates with more volume through being wider and thicker. Once again the bigger the board the more float but the bigger the board the less lighter the turns and performance. The trick here is not benchmarking yourself against the 6'2 you "used to ride" but realizing that it's better to have a couple inches too many than not enough.

What size fish surfboard? - Our 7ft fish are very popular in this general demographic but you need to make an honest call with yourself on how young and fit you think you are.  At a minimum we say a 6'6 here but check out the available fish surfboards here.

You can also read our our guide to starting again page and if that fails drop us a message via our contact us page and we'd be happy to help you work it out