What exactly is the difference between all those boards in the surf shop? What kind should I ride? And do I seriously need to know what a stringer is?
It's time to demystify this once and for all!
The Funboard:
A Funboard is also sometimes called an Egg. As a beginner, this may be your best bet. I believe it is. It’s what I learned on when I started out. Not only are they fun boards to surf (thus the name), and less challenging than other boards, they can also be a great stepping stone.
A fun board is thick, so it floats well. It is wide in the middle for balance, it’s around 8 feet long and is shaped like an elongated egg. If you decide that you want to move to a short board, it is easy to do so from a funboard. It is much harder to go from a long board to a shortboard. The other great thing about a fun board is that it’s much less threatening than a longboard size wise. You can carry it, it doesn’t have as much momentum in the water, it can be easier to control both for turns and to be able to sense the water dynamics as your riding.
The Shortboard:
Shortboards range in length from 5 feet to around 8 feet or so. They have a pointed nose and various tail shapes. Within the short board realm, there are various forms–the fish, the gun etc.
The reason they’re not recommended for your first day out is that they sink easily, and they require more power to paddle. No question, they are harder to learn on.
However, shortboards are extremely fun and rewarding to ride once mastered!
They are by far my preferred choice. Shortboards provide riders with endless possibilities for tricks--from tight turns to aerials and endless fast maneuvers. Shortboards are the racecars of the surfing world.
Another plus is that they’re easy to carry around, and they can fit in the passenger seat of your car—with a seatbelt on for good measure. How cool is that?
The Longboard:
Longboards range in length from around 9 feet to 12 feet. They can be made of fiberglass, which is hard and probably the most preferred if you plan to surf it a lot. They can also be made of foam, which is great for learning on. However, in the long run a foam board is hard to surf on as you progress. It’s too soft to execute sharp turns and maneuvers. But it doesn’t hurt when you fall on it. A third form is hard plastic. A fourth is epoxy.
A longboard can be good for building confidence and the ability to stand up. You may decide longboard style is the way you want to go permanently. Some tricks that you can do on a longboard, which you cannot do on a short board, are hanging 10, walking the board, tandem surfing, riding a surfboard with your dog, being able to ride in the smallest conditions, laid-back surfing stuff.
Specialty Boards:
Specialty boards include the extremely long Rhino Chaser for big wave surfing, some special tow-in boards that have foot straps, etc.
The Rhino Chaser:
The Tow-in Board:
We'll get to the stringer some other day. In the meantime, I hope this helps next time you decide to try out a board.
Happy Surfing!
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