How to choose a Surfboard
How to choose your first surfboard
GSI Ambassador Richie Lovett spent 15 years on the World Tour, and these days design surfboards, so we asked him for some tips on how to choose the correct surfboard.
How surfboard length and width can help your surfing.
A longer board will offer better paddling speed, which is great for catching waves. Wider boards with a fuller outline offer greater stability, which is useful when jumping to your feet. And the thickness of the board has a direct influence on floatation, so if you’re a beginner or a slightly heavier surfer, the thicker the board needs to be.
Gnaraloo range: perfect for beginners.
The Gnaraloo range is perfect for beginners. These boards have a soft deck so they’re safe, they have extra floatation and buoyancy, and they’re super stabile which is a benefit as you get used to popping-up and riding small waves.
The Modern Double Wide: volume and stability
Next up is the Modern Double Wide, which is essentially a hard skin version of a softboard. With this one, you still get all the volume and stability, but the added benefit of a little more speed and maneuverability.
The Modern Golden Rule: more speed and response
At this point we move to a longboard like the Modern Golden Rule, that will feel faster again, and have more turning response due to some added design features, but the tradeoff is that we lose a bit of floatation and stability.
The Modern Love Child and Modern Highline: for progression
Lastly, if you’re feeling really confident and you’re progressing quickly, you could consider a shorter option like the Modern Love Child, or the Highline. These boards offer the stability of a much wider and longer board, and while they do require more effort to catch waves, they will respond fast when you want to turn, and also let you access steeper sections.
