Upgrading my board

[sarahdaniels]

Hey Im Sarah, Ive been surfing for just over a year now and feel I have grown out of my NSP 7.6 mini mal. Im happily getting up and caving and want something easier to turn on and that isn’t such a hassle to duck dive with, any ideas?

[patches]

check out link ,
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=24914
hope this helps i have seen the demo board looks spot on

[skimmer2]

Hey Im Sarah, Ive been surfing for just over a year now and feel I have grown out of my NSP 7.6 mini mal. Im happily getting up and caving and want something easier to turn on and that isn’t such a hassle to duck dive with, any ideas?

a 7ft egg sounds a good choice for you...or something around that size and shape. Forgiving but versatile and duck diveable...depending on your weight.

[sarahdaniels]

Hey guys, thanks for your advice, this weekend I went to my surf shop and the guys in there recommended me a Bilbo 6.2 flying fish, I really liked the board but was worried it would take me forever to get the hang of such a smaller board, Im not sure whether on not to step down in size that much? Btw my height is 5.10 and my weight is 10st if that helps.

[Black]

Wouldn't say going from a 7'6" NSP to a 6'2" fish is going to serve you best. Try something similar first, you'll find out almost straight away.

[sweetclive]

Hi Sarah, if you have a surf shop near your local spot/spots you frequent then see if they rent out boards (other than just foamies), try a few out see what feels best.

[sarahdaniels]

Thanks for the advise guys, I'll definitely see if I can rent a few boards from the surf shop, but when looking for a board I'll go a bit bigger, maybe 6.6 or 6.8 and want it fat and floaty!
Not sure I can brave the waves at the moment, we've just had a thunderstorm and its freezing!

[sarahdaniels]

I'll definitely rent a few boards from the surf shop, thanks for the tip! When looking for a board I'll go a bit bigger maybe 6.6 or 6.8 and look for fat and floaty!

Not sure I can brave the waves at the moment though, we've just had a thunderstorm and its freezing!

[bombie]

If you can get to a firewire demo centre I recommend you check their range - I've recently bought a dominator after surfing PU boards (shortboards and mals) for 20 years and the dominator is by far the nicest board I've had (it's light, fast, stronger). The reason I suggest getting to a demo centre is that you can try the boards for free and see what sort of length you feel comfortable on (rather than spending a wedge each time - most rental shops seem overflow with BICs and fairly shoddy old clunker shortboards that they couldn't sell). I'd also suggest that you get a hybrid fish shape rather than a fish - these are boards that are a blend of a shortboard shape and fish-like volume (the dominator is one example, others include the CI biscuit, JS Nitro, Simon Anderson mollusc).

Sounds like you are competent at paddling and catching waves - if so, don't be scared by getting a shorter board (assuming you surf regularly enough to get used to it and progress on it), Shorter boards are easier to manage (duckdiving, getting out when the shorebreak gets a bit hairy) and the difference in paddling speed is negligible (other than compared to a mal) given that for the most part you only need a good 5-10 second burst to get into a wave. I reckon the worst thing you can do is get a board that is both too long and has too much volume - it may paddle slightly faster and be a little more stable but will make your life difficult if conditions aren't optimum (if you can't duck dive it easily the difference in paddling speed will be offset by the time you'll spend going backwards in the washing machine).

If you want a book to read on the way - Nick Carroll's "Complete Guide to Surfing Your Best" is good (costs about £18 if you hunt around) and the 110% surfing videos are ok (though the first volume is mainly comprised of very basic information and both volumes are plagued by terrible music that can't be switched off - I reckon skip the first and get the second volume).

Good luck, and enjoy getting a shorter board - much more fun than a "fun" shape/length.