The right board for me?

[robmcn]

Hi,

I am a 30 year old long boarder looking for something to get me into surfing a shorter board and to be able to handle the bigger days. My current board is a high performance longboard, I live and surf in northern portugal, generally quite powerful steep beach breaks, roughly 4 or 5 times a week and weigh around 180lbs, I'd say I'm an intermediate on the longboard and don't want to abandon long boarding. I posted on the old forum regarding a dominator in the bigger sizes but was pointed in the direction of an Addvance, and was thinking a 6"6 might be the right board, any thoughts?

many thanks
Rob

[STC67]

Hi Rob,

I'm 45, 95 kgs with double shoulder reconstructions. I was on LB's for a few years and thought my short board days were over. I went for a 702 ADDvance and It has been fantastic. Paddles like my LB but surfs like a 7fter. I don't think it has ever let me down on a steep drop. I think it is the narrower tail that i like. I am however wishing I was now on a 610 as it can feel a bit corky in the big stuff and hard to "set a rail"' i am not sure if that is the large volume or the bevels on the bottom causing that feeling. Now contemplating my next board purchase as either a smaller ADDvance or others have recommended a Spitfire/Hellfire. Im also going to try a set of larger Pancho Sullivan fins,

If your concerned about going back to a short board again due to paddle ability, then the ADDvance is the way to go. Note, it may take a couple of surfs to get used to the shorter length.

Cheers

[iggy]

6'10" would be my recomendation and for STC, I think you would enjoy tremendously the qualities of the dominator under your circumstances

[surferireland]

Rob, I've surfed shortboards since I was 10, I got into longboarding later in life for a bit of fun and its great, I enter the national contests now. I ride a 5'10 Dom and a performance lb - Ive surfed Estoril in Portugal and loved it, Ive also surf Lacanua / Biarritz in France, if you are managing these heavy beach breaks on the lb you wont have a problem on a 6'10 Dom - the dom is a very loose board and because of this its alot of fun - its easy to paddle and can handle big surf with a little practice.

[Chris]

yeah rob thats a great option. i think you are in a great spot to ride either the 606 or 610. both will be enough volume to use and have fun on, it just depends whether you want the benefits of a longer and floatier board, or a shorter more maneuverable board.

Cheers and hope this helps!

[robmcn]

Thanks for the advice guys, Chris, I just spoke to a shop in the uk and they suggested a dominator 6"4 seeing as I surf quite regularly, I'm a little confused now, would a dominator be too big a jump or just take a little more adjustment time?

[iggy]

It will be a matter of adjustmen, a drastic one. Do you ride your longboard old school or with a modern approach??? (do you pump the board down the line or just cruise and logg more than anything?,cutbacks?floaters etc??)
The board will feel extremely light under your feet and nervous at the beginning. You'll be able to find the sweet spot faster on the addvance than the Dom.
The Addvance, although bigger and with a wider planning surface, is still very maneuvarble, given the tail and rail configuration.
Domiator will work but will require a longer adaptation period

[Chris]

I think if you have only ever long boarded, then the straight jump to a Dominator is a big one, but not impossible. Making a transition is all about how aggressively you want to pursue it. if you are surfing 4-5 times a week and are committed to join g shorter, then yeah you could go the dominator route, just be realize that, up from, it will be a bigger step back and will require more work.

There aren't many people with the luxury to surf that often so I say if you are feeling lucky, why not take the bigger challenge. If you want a more measured approach, then the Addvance is there.

hope this helps.

[robmcn]

I'm struggling to source a 6"6 or 6"10 Addvance in either portugal where i live or the UK where i am from and so I have been back looking at the other options and was wondering if the activator would be a better option than a dominator as it seems to generally come in slightly longer lengths? any thoughts

[iggy]

Have you tried contact Myles?
[email protected]