Board for a 119lb 5'7" newbie?

[Tumbles]

Hey,

I'm looking to try and get into surfing Properly having dabbled in it every summer as a kid.
I'm skint so second hand board is a certainty and, well, I don't really know what size board I'm likely to need, nor what makes are worth buying.
I've heard bad noises against NSP and Bic for example, but will I notice any difference as a beginner?
I would love to be able to go into a proper store and chat to someone but it's not going to happen for a while and it'd be nice to be able to keep an eye out on here/ebay etc for any good deals in the meantime

Any advice would be great

Cheers
Jemma

[bombie]

Given you will have no idea what you are doing at this stage you are best off going into a store and paying more for the privilege of being steered in the right direction - or at least picking their brains until you've worked out what you need. If you can't get into a store then ring them. Too risky to punt it on ebay.

If you buy it from a store you will get a discount on a wetsuit, board bag and leash, all of which you'll need - you'll probably need to get fins too - and buying all that stuff at full retail will take your budget to bits. I can't remember the exact numbers but Northshore in Newquay gave me about 100 quid off when I bought a board and the rest from them, which is fairly reasonable. Bilbo in Newquay have also always been reasonable to deal with. Get your wetsuit at the end of the season and you'll get a decent discount on it. They may still have last winter's stock so worth checking out now. I like the ripcurl E and F bomb suits; chest zips are warmer. Get a travel cover and not a board sock - board socks are pointless. That all sounds expensive but it's a relatively cheap sport once you've got the gear.

The problem with NSP and BIC is that they are farking heavy and aren't as nice to surf as other expoxy technology or polyurethane boards. If you could pick one up really cheap then it would be ok for starters, but you'd have to assume that you'd want to get something nicer fairly soon after getting the basics down and you'd also have to assume that you wouldn't be able to sell it on. They are pretty crap surfboards.

See if you can find store with demo models that you can try for free.

My thoughts: don't get a longboard or a minimal but get a modern hybrid shape with sufficient volume and length to float you. You could use the volume calculator on the firewire site to workout what sort of volume you need and then shop around to see what boards meet the requirements. Lots of manufacturers are making hybrid shapes and these are perfect for learning on - they are wider and have more volume. The Hayden Shapes boards look pretty nice - not sure if you can get them in the UK.

[ESTEEB]

Can't go wrong on an 8' foamie. If you can't pop up on that, take up something... dry-er