Looking Addvance - have 6'8" Dom - but gained 20 lbs and outta shape!

I'm 42, 6'2", now 235 lbs. I love my 6'8" Dom, but over the past year I've gained weight and haven't surfed much. I'm looking at 7'2" Addvance to get back into shape whilst actually catching waves and getting paddle back. I'll surf at minimum 1x a week, usually Huntington Beach, CA. After reading these posts, I'm thinking 6'10" Addvance, but don't want too similar a board to my Dom. As a sidenote - my buddy's 6'10" Dom is still too small right now for me. I also rode this morning my buddy's 7'0" McCoy and it was a bit wobbly, but paddle was pretty good.

Also - I assume I can just use my Dom fin setup in the Addvance?

And - anyone know a place in Orange County that rents Firewires?

First post - thanks for your input - and please keep my 235 lbs. in consideration when recommending.....no, I will not be looking at the 5'8" potato! :)

Go for the 6'10".
When I was thinking about a 6'4" dominator a few years ago I demoed one in 1-1 &1/2' waves and went back to the Firewire HQ and picked out a 6'6" Addvance which for me was brilliant.
A few months later I demoed a 6'6" dominator and found in 3' super sucky beacbreaks, bordering on close-outs that the Addvance let me get into the waves a little earlier and flew down the line with as much manouvreability as I wanted.
The 6'6" dominator didn't feel better so I left it at that.
You'll have enough foam in the 6'10" to catch waves easily and once up and riding throw it around whereas the 7'2" will slow down the reaction speed on the wave a bit too much since you're used to a 6'8" dom.
You may find the 7'2" better if you don't have a longboard but have thinking about getting one but aren't into longboarding per se.

After I'd been out of the water for 2 years with illness and reached around 97kg I started back on a 7'4" Miller Powerglide. So I know where you're at! I found my 6'6" McCoy nugget small, and my first FireWire, a 6'8" Alt, felt like a submerged stick. Based on my own experience the 7'2" Addvance will give you all the stability you need, and be perfect. Sure, in 9 months you'll probably start to find the board too big. And in 12-18 months you'll probably have moved on to something smaller. But for right now at 235lbs and with your headspace I'd say go for it.

Thanks buzzy and cuttlefish - I'm thinking the 7'2" may be better for my wave-catching confidence. This board is meant to be temporary to get me back to my 6'8" Dom, which has been the overall best board I've ever owned (when in shape). With that said, it seems the 7'2" Addvance will be a good back-up for times I might need more paddle. I guess I'll just spend the extra cash to get its own fin setup. I'm definitely feeling better about my decision to spend $$$. It'd be nice if there was such a thing as 'used' Addvances - but I haven't seen any of those on the market. Thanks again.

Enjoy...btw must be the first time I've recommended a board with less volume than anyone else on this forum, hey Buzzy!
Must spend less time on here...it's getting to me.
Says me with a new 49 litre baked potato...Lol.

So - looking through Craigslist and a 7'2" Addvance shows up - used $550 with pad and 5 fins - what?? We'll see what wrong with it...I never see worthy Firewires on Craigslist.

Good stuff!

Cuttlefish, yeah, I almost made comment on the fact I'd gone over your recommendation, but forgot and never got back to amend it. I think in this case I was really guided by my own return following a lot of weight gain, which also came with reduced confidence, reduced fitness (derr I guess) and a considerable reduction in flexibility. That Powerglide was a godsend. I wish I'd hung on to it actually for those tiny days when I couldn't be bothered with putting the longboard on roof racks. I HATE stuffing around with roof racks!

I used to have a beautiful custom 7' powerglide which I put on Ebay in some wacked out moment and it was in pristine condition and sold for a measely $350.
After that I had Grant shape me a custom 7'2" egg with artwork by Martyn Worthington. My mate has it now.
He was always riding Jim Banks Indo style pintails and we were at the Pass at Byron together and I let him have a surf on it.
He didn't want to give it back so I sold it to him.
He'd watched me ride all kinds of alternative boards for years but I could never get him to try one so I was stoked.
He now has his second Dominator 6'er in FST and he loves it.

Bought it for $550 with a little scuff on the nose - water tight! Wow, with fins and tail pad. Out here in California, new without fins/pad is $740 + tax ($55+-) add $90 fins + tax and pad $30 + tax and we're getting close to Austrailia prices!

Surfed this morning in 2-3 foot clean waves and the paddle was excellent. I don't think it'll take me much time with this flotation device to get me back in the game.

Thanks for your input and advice.