Purchasing your first surfboard is a very exciting experience! Picking the right board is critical – especially for beginners.
Over the years, I’ve heard many stories about beginners buying a board because they thought it looked cool or they wanted a board that their friend had. Learning to surf on the wrong board can be very challenging and frustrating.
We want to make sure that you get the right board and don’t become discouraged form learning to surf. To help you out we put together a couple of steps to follow when purchasing your first surfboard.
Steps for purchasing your first surfboard:Step 1: Understand what you’re looking for
For beginners, you want to stay away from a high performance short board. A wider, thicker and taller board is much better for paddling speed and stability. A good rule of thumb is to get a board that is foot taller than you. We recommend fun boards for beginners.
Step 2: Think about where you will be surfing
Here in Boston and the greater New England area, we typically don’t have consistent waves. Most of the time it’s a very small, mushy wave with not much power. Again, fun boards or longboards are more favorable for these types of conditions.
Step 3: Visit a surf shop
Head into a local surf shop and leverage their expertise. Surf shops often carry a wide variety of board shapes and sizes and is a great place to start with your search. If you don’t have a convenient surf shop, try looking around online. Many manufacturers offer affordable boards online and will ship direct to you.
Step 4: Buy used
A shiny new board looks great on the rack but don’t let yourself be fooled. Boards get beat up and dinged very quickly – go for a used one! This won’t be the last board that you buy so no need to spend hundreds of dollars. As you continue to develop your skills, you can trade in or sell your board and upgrade to something new.
