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Tweak
03-10-2016, 09:09 AM
Ok so I never wake surfed before but I know I want to try it. So that's where you come in! What's a good surf board that I won't grow out of in a week or so? I'm 6'1" about 160 lbs and I have a 14 mojo. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!


2014 mojo 345

mmandley
03-10-2016, 09:48 AM
Your going to get a ton of answers as this is like asking whats the best car on the market.

Best advise is goto a dealer and see if they will let you demo some, most I have dealt with will let you buy it, try it, and if you dont like it return it undamaged.

Also dealers will have a Demo day were they take boats out, gear out and let you try them.

For you I would be looking at a 4'8 board to allow you to stretch your legs out a bit, you want your feet slightly wider then shoulder width.

A good tip though is the Lighter the board the faster it will be in the water, also the lighter it is the more it costs.

Generally boards under 400 are starter, or cheaper mas production boards and are good general boards but as you learn you will want something higher end.

400-600 is the average factory style high end board.
600-1K is getting into Customs and hand made boards.

All depends on your budget.

kaneboats
03-10-2016, 09:53 AM
Buy a used Hyperlite Broadcast or something similar and learn to surf. You'll be good for a couple of months. In the meantime, try every board you can and you'll figure out what you want. Then use the old board for your "boat board" for newbies and don't let them trash your new board.

trayson
03-10-2016, 12:05 PM
Your going to get a ton of answers as this is like asking whats the best car on the market.

Best advise is goto a dealer and see if they will let you demo some, most I have dealt with will let you buy it, try it, and if you dont like it return it undamaged.

Also dealers will have a Demo day were they take boats out, gear out and let you try them.

For you I would be looking at a 4'8 board to allow you to stretch your legs out a bit, you want your feet slightly wider then shoulder width.

A good tip though is the Lighter the board the faster it will be in the water, also the lighter it is the more it costs.

Generally boards under 400 are starter, or cheaper mas production boards and are good general boards but as you learn you will want something higher end.

400-600 is the average factory style high end board.
600-1K is getting into Customs and hand made boards.

All depends on your budget.

Great advice. I will add that the idea of a 4'8 or so board would be if you're looking at a EPS Foam board like a soulcraft or a doomswell or the like. For something that's compression moulded, I'd almost say that something more around 5' would be worth looking at.

I rode a zillion boards starting out, trying everything I could get my hands on. for starter boards, a lot gravitate towards the Ronix Koal, the LF Fish, or the Hyperlite broadcast. you can get a little money reselling them once you decide what you ultimately want, but you really need to keep at least one beginner "boat board" for people to try on. My first broadcast was a 4'9 and wasn't quite enough for some of the bigger riders. My first Liquid force fish was 5'6 and honestly it was way too long for a board that I'd wanna keep. I would have gotten more life out of it if it would have been the 5'0 model.

sivs1
03-10-2016, 12:35 PM
you can get a little money reselling them once you decide what you ultimately want, but you really need to keep at least one beginner "boat board" for people to try on.

This is key, we take people out all the time that have never surfed. I keep two boards on the boat just for that purpose. I picked up a Happy Pill that I can't wait to try and had a lot of fun last year on a CWB Bentley.

trayson
03-10-2016, 12:48 PM
Another thought:

My wife's board is basically our "boat board". I sold off everything else (Hyperlite broadcast, LF Fish, Ronix Koal, Ronix One Skimmer). The one we kept is a Ronix Caption (not made anymore). One of the things I really like about the compression molded boards as a boat boat is that many of them are thin enough to fit into a typical wakeboard rack. On my boat it's very common for us to have more boards than racks. I'll have 2 custom EPS foam (thicker more fragile) boards on the cargo bimini. I'll have my wakeboard and my wife's surfboard in one tower rack. then We'll often have a thinner wakesurf skim board in the other rack and that only leaves us one slot left (to be used with my buddy's wakeboard or my son's wakeboard or my son's surf board).

It's nice to have the boat board be thin and bombproof. The ronix Koal illuminati was so fragile I finally sold it after a handful of little fiberglass repairs I had to do. I was destroying it over the course of ONE season and I was honestly pretty careful with it.

Thegerman618
03-10-2016, 01:11 PM
Agreed with the above post, its kind of like asking which new shoes to buy. ;)LOL! You will get all kinds of replies, and this is honestly just another one. However, DEMO, DEMO, DEMO if you have the ability to. Different shapes, brands, styles, you will develop your own style and your own preference. The best advice I would give anyone jumping into the surf realm, don't go out and buy some crazy $800 expert pro board because that is what everyone is riding. With your weight you can ride almost any board 4' 5" and bigger (wave depending). All that said, I agree 100% with the above, I started on the Ronix KoalFish but they don't hold up well. I haven't ridden the Happy Pill but have NEVER heard a bad thing about them, if fact it I plan to add one to the quiver this year. LF, HL, CWB, all make great entry level boards that will last a long time and make great "boat boards" plus you can always flip them when looking to upgrade if you so choose. (EBay is good start for used boards if that is route you want to go as well). Good Luck!!

trayson
03-10-2016, 01:23 PM
And try to really avoid paying retail for your first board. I bought my first hyperlite broadcast used for $100. I bought my next two boards as 'closeouts' for somewhere in the $300+ range. It would have been a lot more painful to re-sell a board I paid $500+ for and realize that it's only worth $100 to $200 used.

chester
03-10-2016, 01:50 PM
Dang, 6'1" and 160? Eat a cheeseburger or two! I'm 6' 200 so my board size is limited. I'm only one season in surfing, but having progressed through wakeboarding I agree to start with a less expensive model first just to get up and get the feel for it, then start experimenting with which style you like best. I have an O'brien Nalu that was upper $200s just to get out riding and learn what I like. I originally thought I would want to skim and do more surface tricks as opposed to the air stuff while wakeboarding, but now all I wanna do is big carves so I'm looking at demoing some surf styles.


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icemanftr
03-10-2016, 02:01 PM
I been surfing for about 5 years now and I have ridden many different boards. I am 6'4 220ish and been able to ride boards from 4'3"-5' without any issues. For what you're looking for, I would HIGHLY recommend the Byerly Volt board. Comes in a 4'9". It is relatively fast, snappy, can spin, dip and dive, along with just cruise. It is one of the most underrated boards out there and can be had for under 300 all day. I have one and love it and it is my boat board. Once you get it down you can always upgrade, but the volt is fun regardless of your experience from beginning to expert. Broadcast and other brand boards leave something to be desired in a short amount of time.


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chester
03-10-2016, 02:08 PM
$193 on The-House right now for the blem. Wish I had known that last summer because yes my board leaves much to be desired. Of course I was limited on board size because I was only using stock ballast so the wave thus far is quite weak.


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Thegerman618
03-10-2016, 05:58 PM
Dang, 6'1" and 160? Eat a cheeseburger or two! I'm 6' 200 so my board size is limited. I'm only one season in surfing, but having progressed through wakeboarding I agree to start with a less expensive model first just to get up and get the feel for it, then start experimenting with which style you like best. I have an O'brien Nalu that was upper $200s just to get out riding and learn what I like. I originally thought I would want to skim and do more surface tricks as opposed to the air stuff while wakeboarding, but now all I wanna do is big carves so I'm looking at demoing some surf styles.


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I am close to your size at 6' 4" 220lbs. (I do like cheeseburgers LOL) Check out the new Ronix Blender its 4' 10" and have good it on good authority from a Ronix Rep this board is rated for 250+ riders. Would wait just a little while into spring/early summer when they dump the prices a bit, saw this board at the boat show he dropped it on concrete Rocker facing up and double foot jumped on it. Probably the most durable surfboard I have seen to date.

Tweak
03-10-2016, 06:03 PM
Thanks everyone!! I guess I'll just have to go demo some this summer!!


2014 mojo 345

Tweak
03-10-2016, 06:07 PM
And I do eat. I actually eat a lot... I just don't gain weight.


2014 mojo 345

kaneboats
03-11-2016, 10:29 AM
Hate them people. I don't eat and gain weight. Wonder if the beer has something to do with it?

Nah.