Surfboards: Which size surfboard should a beginner use? Why?

Is it harder to surf on a shortboard?

Beginners’ guide to surfing’

Reading Time – 5 Minutes

In previous articles, we’ve touched briefly on what size surfboard a beginner should be using to best enable them to progress. As you might’ve picked up, as a general rule the bigger the better, but in this piece we’ll go into a little more depth with regards to the reasons behind that, and how you can settle on a size that works for you.

A lot of people who are new to surfing want to push the limit on how short a board they can surf. Many seem to think it’s a direct sign of your ability, as though the shorter the board you surf the better you are. Even ignoring the fact that many accomplished surfers choose to surf longer boards and that longboarding well requires very different skills to shortboarding well, this simply isn’t true.

I was an example of this kind of person. While my first board was an appropriate board for a beginner, I began trying to work my way down to a shorter board too quickly and it did nothing but slow my progress. I figured, I’d been practicing for a few months on my beginner board and had been making some inroads, so I didn’t need it anymore – I could get a much shorter one like the ‘real surfers’.

I quickly realised this was an error. Paddling out on a board that was too short for me, I immediately felt as though it was the first time I’d ever been in the water. I was poorly positioned on the board, I was wobbly, and I fell on my take-off a majority of the time. I lost my confidence and soon realised that I needed a lot more time on my longer, more stable board.

So what’s the moral of the story? Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Shortboards are fun once you’re a consistent surfer, but if you try to jump on one before you’re ready it just won’t work.

This doesn’t mean you should go out to your local surf shop and buy the longest board there. The exact size which will be best suited to you depends on a number of things, not least your own body type. If you’re 5’2” and 50kg you probably don’t want to be lugging around a board that’s nearly twice your size and too heavy for you to carry. In contrast, if you’re a little taller or heavier, you’ll want your board to reflect that. Different boards will respond differently in the water to different body types, so make sure you factor this in. This is another reason why renting out boards a couple of times before you dive in and buy one can be a good option – you’ll be able to get a feel for what kind of board is stable enough for you in the water, but not so big that you can’t move it.  

As we’ve mentioned previously, getting advice from people in the know is also key before making your first purchase. Surf shop employees can be a great resource, while if you get lessons before you buy a board you’ll also be able to glean some pretty handy information from the instructor. To summarise what they’ll tell you – if you’ve never surfed before or have only tried a handful of times, your main concern should be with stability, and what’s the simplest way to get that? Length.

The reality is you won’t be able to pop up very smoothly initially, but the added stability means your board will be much more forgiving. On a shortboard, you need to be up and in that athletic, stable surfing stance almost immediately or you’ll just fall off, but on a board with more volume you’ll find that you have a lot more margin for error.

So why doesn’t everyone just surf longer boards if it’s so much easier, you might be wondering. To put it simply, there are conditions where longboards are more appropriate and conditions where shortboards are more appropriate, and often more experienced surfers will be going out in the latter conditions. As a beginner, you want to be surfing smaller, mellow waves to give you a chance to practice your technique, and – even if you surf like Mick Fanning – shortboards just aren’t made for those conditions. Longer boards will glide on the top of the water and go a hell of a lot faster when you’re paddling, and if you’ve surfed on boards of different lengths you’ll be aware of just how much more easily a longboard will get picked up by a wave than a shortboard. In small, soft conditions, you need size in your board to get into the waves – from there, the stability is an added bonus.

What’s more, long, heavy boards are a whole lot harder to get through a significant amount of whitewater. On a shortboard, you can duck-dive your way through the teeth of a set without too much problem, but on a longboard you’ll more likely find yourself getting washed back towards shore. In the small, mellow conditions that you want to learn in, this isn’t much of a problem – you probably won’t be learning somewhere with heavy whitewater pummelling you every few seconds, so the fact that you can’t duck-dive on a longer board won’t be a problem. 

In summary – if you’re a beginner, get a board with enough size to make the process as easy as possible. Don’t make it harder on yourself by trying to surf a board that’s too short for you. If you think it will make you look better or like a more accomplished surfer, remember this: firstly, no one cares what kind of board you surf, and secondly, you’ll look a whole lot better surfing a longer board well than constantly falling on a shortboard. 

In the last few articles we’ve covered in pretty good detail the type of boards different surfers should be looking at and why, so in the next piece we’ll get into the specifics. If you’re still feeling lost and a little confused, read on, because we’re going to talk about the best brands and some of the better boards for beginners to give you some idea as to what you should be looking for.