Hey surfers of Newschoolers

BigDog

BigDog

Member
Lets talk surfing.

Last year my buddy introduced me to surfing so I rented a board for a couple weeks of the summer and picked it up pretty easily. I'm living in the east now so I wont be riding any high waves but I'm hoping to learn how to carve and just get a lot better at it.Basically coming here to see if anyone has good recommendations to a somewhat beginner whose 6'1 on what kind of board I should be getting. I'll hit up a local shop but it's always nice having a little insight before.

Post up some pictures of what you're riding on.

Favorite brands.

Whatevaa.
 
I tried this board out and loved it

Firewire-Quadra-5-Shortboard-510-610.jpg
 
Just watched that movie about the girl who loses an arm.

Just dont think about that while youre sitting in the water.

Good luck!
 
You're on the state of mind, supporting your local surf shop is one of the most important things in surfing, it's what keeps the sport alive. Just try to pick up tips from everyone else that's better than you, be courteous in the water, and keep stoked, and you'll continue to get better faster than anyone else and have way more fun.
 
I'm looking to find a shaping kit, if anyone knows anything about them heres a link to my thread

https://www.newschoolers.com/ns/forums/readthread/thread_id/746644/

Only times I've surfed is wake surfing and one time I took a lesson while in Hawaii when I was 10. I have family that live on the coast and I always thought it would be cool to go live with them for a summer and learn.
 
If you are new to surfing I would suggest getting a mini mal. It is a small longboard in the range 7' to 8', they will surf anything 1' to overhead waves and will allow you to catch many more waves than on a shortboard. If you are really set on a shorter board then get a fish with high volume.
 
So basically I used to ski a lot from Minnesota used to be real good and went to the hill all my life

but i'm a waterman at heart so i moved to Puerto Rico for 1 month and Australia for 3 months and now i live in California and i'm really into surfing and trying to start competeing

if your just getting into it go to your local shaper or someone who can make boards and tell them your skill level and the size and type of wave your going to be surfing they will help you size up the board so that it will fit you

The most common problem with people learning how to surf is buying boards too small: When you buy a board too small you will not catch waves and not get any practice only frustrate yourself

These were the boards i've had 9'6" longboard 7'6'' Mini mal or funboard 6'7'' shortboard 6'0'' I went from biggest to the smallest now i ride a 5'6 Firewire Dominator but i'm buying a 6'0" Fred Rubble as my go to shortboard

 
Well skiing on the east coast in the summer would be pretty boring too.

But thanks for all the answers so far, hooked up all your guys karma
 
You may be turned off by the initial cost but be sure to order a 1/2 pair. Just like 2 of the narrow ass snowboards, you should only go with one of the fat ass waterboards.

Surfing on the other hand is rad. I grew up surfing and went to high school a bit inland and college way inland. The college choice leaves a lot of powder skiing opportunities but no surf. Getting back to the roots next fall with a south africa surf trip for a week or two followed by a study abroad program in madagascar and the prospect of getting a session in before classes gives me the jitters.

Anyone else surfed Africa?
 
I've been working at a high surface area and normal to slightly above normal volume boards with flatter rockers. I've shaped two, and I surf east coast of the US. I've been liking very short boards, I just finished a 5'4"x20.75x2.3" which I've yet to test ride. But it has the ingredients to go well in smaller surf. If you want a small board, look for surface area, a bit of extra volume and flatter rockers. Longboards don't have that issue obviously. I used to ride a 5'7"x18.5x2.75 twin fin with really flat tail rocker. That worked too, but I knew how to surf when I started riding that.

Go into your local shop, see if they can tell you what works well in your waves. Or if a local shaper makes something cool. Also I've never been anywhere near 6'1", so a little board might be strange for you. I don't know, I'm 5'5". Chances are you could get a full custom board by your local shaper and pay the same or less than a new rusty or something.

And for learning, of course picking a 5'7"x18.5"x2.25" performance shortboard with crazy rocker will get you nowhere. But good positioning and wave choice will go very far, so learn where to sit. A huge board will help, but there's no reason to paddle like a mad man to get into a wave when you could sit further in, take a few strokes and be in the wave.
 
Going to the spot to catch the wave is rarely as hard as climbing a mountain. Maybe you could compare it to hiking a rail or something...

Buuuut. Surfing is fun. You are in the water. Its fun.
 
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