A Comprehensive Guide to Buying Your First Surfboard
This past weekend, I took two different women shopping for surfboards. As a surf instructor, I get asked what surfboard should I get a lot. And the answer isn’t the same for everyone.
The short answer is that I generally recommend a 9 ft. Stormblade Soft Top to start. It’s a board that works best for most new surfers no matter their size, gender, age, or experience. It’s the go to for many surf schools for this reason. But, it may not be the best first board for everyone.
Today I was asked this very question by a newbie who was 5′ 0″. She was petite. She also had some other board sports experience. I hadn’t met her in person, or seen her single surf session to date, but given her height and experience, I felt confident in recommending she go with an 8 ft. Stormblade instead.
That said, before buying a board, take a lesson. What size board did your instructor put you on? How did it go? Ask your instructor what they would recommend for you. They’ve seen you surf, and they’ll be able to best recommend the right board for you to get started.
If, however, you didn’t get the chance to ask your instructor, here are a few guidelines:
- First, go with a quality brand. Stormblade, or Catch Surf (their Odysea model), build high quality boards made to perform. Cheaper brands are designed to varying degrees around price point, so performance is often sacrificed for profit.
- If you’re relatively fit, get a 9 ft. board. I like the Stormblade Performance SSR. Their standard 9 ft. board is also a good option.
- If you are petite, and have experience with other board sports and/or other balance sports, going down to 8 ft. is probably not a problem.
- If you can’t fit a 9 ft board into your car or home, get an 8 ft Stormblade SSR. It’s wider, so it still has lots of volume for stability. Note that it can be a challenge to paddle if you have shorter arms.
- If you have a few extra lbs. or struggle with balance sports, the 8 ft Stormblade SSR could be a good option.
- If you’re a dude, bump up to 10 ft. board if you’re tall, or the Stormblade 9 or 10 ft SSR if you have a few extra lbs., or you’re not particularly athletic or suck at balance sports.
- If you have a tight budget, try Facebook Marketplace for used boards. Sometimes surf schools sell their old boards at the end of the season, so it’s worth calling around if the timing is right. If you buy a used board, make sure there are no rips, tears, holes, creases or punctures of any size on the board. Make sure the top material isn’t bubbling up. Check to see that all three fins are intact. Do not buy a soft top board without fins. Replacement fins for most soft tops are hard to find.
- Wavestorm is not the same as Stormblade. Neither is Wave Bandit. I’ve heard sales staff pitch the Wave Bandit over the Stormblade as they are made by the same company. They are not the same.
- Plan to spend $400-500 for a quality new soft top board.
- If your budget is $100, go ahead and get the used Wavestorm or Gerry Lopez surfboard. They will be harder to learn on for most people, but a cheap surfboard is better than no surfboard. Save your pennies and buy something better when you can.
But I wanna shortboard
A lot of beginners have a vision for their surfing. They imagine themselves ripping and getting airs out the gate. Or that’s their goal. And so they choose a shorter board to start. This is generally a big mistake. It’s much easier to build a solid surf foundation on a bigger board. Mastering your pop up and learning to ride down the line will be much easier on a big board. A shorter board will only slow your progress and leave you frustrated. Once you have mastered the basics, step down to the shorter board. Do so with strategic care. Don’t lose too much volume at once. I recently got my first mid length board and I’m learning all over again.
But I want a hard board
I jumped to a hard board pretty quick. In retrospect, too quick. I had just done a surf retreat in Costa Rica where they put me on a hard board. And when I came home my foamie just didn’t do it for me any more. I literally had one session on it and immediately went to the shop and picked up a new hard board exactly like the one I rode at the retreat. If you surf an empty break, starting on a hard board is probably fine. But if you’ll be surfing the very crowded breaks of Santa Cruz, you’ll want to start on a soft top to keep yourself and those around you safe. Before jumping on a hard top in crowded breaks, you should have a deep understanding of, and the ability to execute good surf etiquette. And you should also have solid board control, i.e. you don’t ditch your board. Ever.
This list isn’t the end all, be all of the best beginner boards out there. These are the boards I personally have seen in use with various schools in the U.S. and abroad, and/or have used to teach with. These are the boards my students have progressed with quickly. They are the ones my students have gotten more waves with — the students who showed up with shorter boards, and/or cheaper boards struggled, and when we put them on these boards they immediately had more success. Learn from their mistakes and choose wisely.
See you out there!