Beginner Needing Help

[Mikey]

Hey guys, i'm very new to the surf community, but my dilemma is finding the right size surfboard and the right surfboard itself. Now ive only surfed once in my life. idk if this is relevant or not but ive been skateboarding and longboarding for about 9 years. Again idk if this means anything but I have amazing balance and coordination I've always wanted to surf, but I never lived in a location that was close to decent swells. So I dont mind spending money for a quality board. However I dont want to buy a monster sized beginner board and then be ready for something smaller in a matter of months. Any help/advice is appreciated.

Oh ya! my height is 5'9 and my weight is 169

[iggy]

Well definitely the long boarding part will help you.
I would point you to a fish first, since is a wide stable platform in which you don't have to go too big. Fishes tend to give a more down the line feeling than anything.
quadfish_boards.jpg
My second option if you want something a bit more performant will be an oversized Dominator, tons of flotation and a very user friendly board.Maybe a 6'0"-6'2"
dominator_boards.jpg

The trick of surfing will be the stand up part, cause once on I think you'll progress in no time given your background

[prjwebb]

6'6" Addvance has to be worth a look too.

[iggy]

Agreed but given his background and the fact he's 5'9", the 6'6" might feel more like a longboard @169Lbs. Although is a great board, long boarders tend to have lots of core to pump the boards, as soon as he figures out the pop up he could be looking for something smaller. But definitely a board to consider as well

[Chris]

yeah you know I think an Addvance is a better option for getting started as well. look at a 606 or 610. My thoughts are that you have to start big and move down. The reasons being a bigger board gets you to your feet fast. nothing is more frustrating than investing in a new board that you can't catch waves on. if you go with a board like the advance, you are guaranteed to be able to catch waves and spend time actually surfing. Then if you develop so quickly that you need a smaller board, you can make the move downward. But trust me, growing quickly and downsizing sooner is better than being on an undersized board and taking a long time to develop because the board is so hard to catch waves on.

Cheers and hope this helps!