We know beginning to surf can seem daunting. What board should I buy? What is a liter and why does it matter? How many fins do I need? Don’t worry we are here to help.
When first starting, we recommend a soft-top longboard. (Que groans about wanting to go straight to a short board.) These boards will help you understand the most basic and essential principles of surfing like how to paddle for waves, mastering the skill of standing up, and going down the line.
Let’s face it, you're going to fall - A LOT. A soft top will help reduce the risks of hurting yourself and damaging your board. The soft top got its name from its most obvious feature of padded foam covering the top of the board making it… soft. Unlike a glassed board, if you fall on your soft-top board or send it right into the rocks, the board has a much smaller risk of needing to be repaired. Making it the perfect board for the first year or so of surfing when you’ll see and feel it all. Once you're ready to move on to more advanced boards, the soft top can remain in your personal quiver ready for the friend who wants to learn and the out of town guests.
When starting out, you want a board with a lot of float aka volume (In the surf world, people use the term liters interchangeably with volume). Volume is determined by three common elements: Length, Width, and Thickness. Cubic liters are the measure of units referring to the volume of your board. Your weight and height will determine what volume will float you best on each type of board. For additional information + easy weight calculations check out: https://nulltuul.com/surfboard-volume-calculator/
Finally, let's take a look at the boards we have in stock at Blueline to get you set up for success on your surf journey.
