How To Pick Your First Surfboard: A Guide For Beginners
It’s happened; your imagination has been captured by thoughts of cruising along the face of an unbroken wave. Feeling the power of the ocean and harnessing it for a ride of pure enjoyment. Welcome to the lineup! But before you paddle out to take on the ocean, you’ll need some essential equipment, the foremost of which is your first surfboard.
Choosing your first surfboard can be an overwhelming prospect. Surf shops are full of boards of all styles, shapes, colours and materials. Many people will have a helpful, or otherwise, opinion about where to start. But don’t worry—we’ve made this guide to help you navigate the busy lineup of boards and opinions and begin with a board that will give you the highest chance of success in your new endeavour.
Understanding the Basics
The basic idea of surfing is that you can paddle out to a lineup, identify a wave, paddle into the wave, smoothly transition from lying prone to standing, and balance on top of the board while riding the energy of the wave.
As you are probably already aware, that is an oversimplified explanation, and the reality is far more nuanced than simply paddle, stand, and ride. The goal of your first board is to remove as much of the nuance as possible and make it as simple as you can.
Choosing the correct surfboard to learn on is possibly the most critical decision to start with. As much as we would love to dive straight into shredding on a sled like Mick Fanning or Kelly Slater, you’re not there yet, so we need to start where you are.
Enter the soft-top surfboard. These go by many names, such as foamie, foam top, softboard, soft top etc. But they all mean the same thing. A surfboard with a soft, foam-like deck and rails instead of the hard fiberglass skin of a traditional surfboard.
Why Foamies Are Ideal for Beginners
Originally, foamies were designed for surf schools and rentals due to being easier to balance on and more resistant to being damaged or damaging a person. Foamies have evolved significantly over the past decade or so and are offered by a lot of the major surfboard brands with almost as many variable features as a traditional surfboard.
Not all foamies are designed for beginners, so it’s not as easy as just picking out the first foamie you like the colour of. It is important to match the attributes of the board to your own personal attributes.
Here are a few things to consider when choosing your first surfboard.
1. Safety
Safety may not be the first thought on your mind when choosing your first surfboard, but it is, nevertheless, one of the first things you should consider. A surfboard is a very large piece of equipment that, when powered by the energy of a wave, can be a formidable weapon causing harm and chaos in the ocean.
In the early days of surfing, you will spend a lot of time wiping out and trying to wrestle your board through the break to have a shot at wiping out again. A softboard with flexible plastic fins is going to be a lot more forgiving when it inevitably hits you or someone else, reducing the risk of concussion, cuts, and bruises. That is not to say that a softboard is risk-free; I have seen plenty of cuts and bruises that result from a wipeout. They will just not be as bad as if it had been a traditional board and fins.
2. Floatation and Stability
Foamies designed for learners are longer, wider, and thicker and subsequently provide better flotation and stability for the user. This has the dual benefit of making them easier to paddle and balance on. The increased volume allows you to catch small waves easier and with less effort, allowing you to catch more waves in a session and practice the critical skills to improve.
3. Affordability
A quality foamie is going to cost significantly less than a traditional fiberglass or epoxy board of the same length. It is also very common to find used foamies for sale at an even more discounted price.
4. Durability
Learner surfers often aren’t familiar with the process of caring for and maintaining a surfboard. Whether it’s dings and bumps outside the water or in the water, accidents are common. One of the best benefits of a foamy is how resilient they are to damage. Knocks and bumps that would ding or crack a traditional board will have very little impact on a foamy. The only exception is the dreaded fin chop from another surfer, but even those are minimally impactful.
Choosing the Right Size Board
One of the most important aspects of choosing your first surfboard is getting the size right. The right size is going to depend on the size of the rider; however, as a simple rule for adults, your first board should be at least 2 feet longer than your height. For kids, beginning with a foamy around the 6–7-foot mark should be ideal.
For men that are over 85-90 kg, irrespective of height, I would not suggest a board no smaller than 8 foot with a stiff core. Soft-top surfboards are usually more flexible, but too much flex can be a liability. For the heavy bloke, spending a little more to get a quality-built foamy is going to be very beneficial.
For the lighter adults, a board between 7-8 foot is a good starting position. If you are dealing with very small waves at your local break, I would tend towards a longer board to give you more paddle power and flotation in the small surf.
For mid-sized teens and smaller adults, a 7 foot foamie is usually a good balance between maneuverability and flotation.
Pro tip: pay more attention to the attributes of the board than the colour or pattern. A big, burly bloke on a pink 9ft board is going to have a much easier time than on the white 7ft board. When you’re a learner, volume is your friend.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
When choosing your first board, avoid these common pitfalls:
- Choosing a board based solely on price. A cheap board is not always the best value board. Some boards are cheap for a reason. Consider how long it will be in your quiver, durability, floatation, and resale value (for when you outgrow it).
- Going too small, too fast. Shorter boards look cool but are more difficult to paddle out into the break, more difficult to paddle into waves, and more difficult to stand up on.
- Overthinking the “performance” aspects. When you’re just starting out, the performance aspects they use to sell a board are going to be almost meaningless to you. The most important aspects to focus on are length, volume, with a bit of stiffness & rocker.
What Happens After the Foamy?
Contrary to common belief, foamies aren’t just learner boards. Some surfers keep one or two in their quiver for a chill session at a small point break or for those small summer conditions that aren’t conducive to a shortboard. Foamies are fun, versatile, stress-free and allow you to feel the stoke in otherwise unsurfable conditions.
However, your surfing can only progress so far on a soft-top surfboard. The very elements of the surfboard that make it easy to learn on make it harder to learn more advanced turns, carves, snaps, and airs that we all dream about.
Pro tip: the best time to upgrade from a foamy to a traditional longboard or shortboard is when you can confidently paddle out to the peak, identify your wave, paddle in, catch and pop-up consistently, and you are working on progressing your turns. At this point, the attributes of the foamie will be limiting your capacity to turn and maneuver your board. When the board itself is holding you back, it’s time to upgrade.
Final Thoughts
Choosing your first surfboard is like choosing your entry ticket into the surfing world. A foamie gives you the highest chance of a successful start—safe, stable, durable, and fun. It allows you to focus on learning the basics of surfing so you can begin to really surf.
Do some homework, make an informed choice, and let the good times roll.
See you in the lineup.
At Campbell Designed Surfboards we know surfing and we know our surfboard technology is second to none. We are so confident in our surfboards that we're offering a MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE if you don't love your new surfboard.
Head over to our SURFBOARD page or reach out to us for a free on-site consult to help you choose your next magic board.
