If you are attracted to the sea and want to feel the power of catching waves and enjoying nature in this way, we can tell you that surfing can be a great option for you. So, if you are tired of going to the beach and seeing how others enjoy this sport, we encourage you to give it a try. What do you need to start? a good surfboard for beginners.
The importance of choosing your board
When you start surfing, one of the first decisions you will have to make is to buy a surfboard for beginners. In order to progress in surfing and to make surfing fun, your surfboard must be suitable for your weight, your height and the knowledge you have of surfing, in the case of beginners, very little or none at all.
Paddling a wave or standing up on the board will be mission impossible if your board is not ideal for you.
Moreover, this can cause you to learn in the wrong way and later carry these learning defects into your surfing.
Nowadays, there is a board on the market for every occasion and for every surfing level, this will help you to progress much faster in your learning process.
Parts of a surfboard, beginner’s guide
The main thing to do when buying a surfboard is to familiarise yourself with the terminology used to describe each of its parts. This is important as many of the variations often lie in some modification of these parts. These are the parts of a surfboard:
- Tail: It is the back of the board and the first part that comes into contact with the water. There are different types of tails that can offer greater stability, manoeuvrability, or grip on the waves. Tails are divided as follows:
- Square tail
- Round tail
- Swallow tail
- Pin tail
- Diamond tail
- Nose Rocker and Tail and Rocker. That is, the steepness of the tail or tip. A steeper tip provides greater ease of manoeuvrability, the greater the rocker in the tail, the greater the speed, but the slower the speed will be.
- Nose: In other words, the tip of the board can sometimes be pointed like a beak, or more rounded.
- Rails: They are the edges of the board, which you hold on to while surfing. There are different types, softer and harder edges, rounder or squarer.
- Stringer: They give the surfboard firmness, to prevent it from breaking in the waves. Sometimes visible, sometimes not. This part not only helps comfort, but can also give speed or help to turn more easily.
- Fins: These are pieces that are found under the board. They give stability and manoeuvrability to the board by directing the water that passes through them.
TYPES OF BOARDS
It is not strange that nowadays there are different types of surfboards, according to the set of characteristics we have just mentioned above. These are the most common types of surfboards on the market:
- Longboard.
- Malibu.
- Evolutionary.
- Shortboard, pintxo, retro and fish.
- Tow in.
- Gun.
- Stand-up.
The “evolutionary” board for beginners
The main thing you should look for when choosing a surfboard for beginners is that it has enough width, volume and manoeuvrability to catch as many waves as possible. It should also serve you well when your surfboarding skills improve.
For this, we recommend “evolutionary” boards, which are undoubtedly the best choice in this regard. Some of the characteristics of evolutionary boards:
- Volume and length: evolutionary boards have the volume and length needed to get speed in an easy way when you are on the paddle, they are short enough to be able to pinch the tails when you ride up to the peak of the wave or start making your first turns. When we refer to length and volume, we are talking about:
- Length is the height of the board. A higher board offers more stability, as it has more contact with the water. But it makes it more difficult to manoeuvre. They allow you to keep better balance on the board when you catch a wave.
- Volume is a measurement used in reference to the litres of a surfboard. The volume you choose will depend on your age and your level of experience.
- This is important when you are just starting out, when you want to try it out. Although the surfboard is a long-term investment, because it will last you for a long time, the price is also an important factor when you decide to buy your first board.
These characteristics make the evolutionary board the ideal choice if, for example, you have just come out of a course and want to practice independently. Evolutionary boards are an example of versatility, which have the right stability and manoeuvrability to be used both for the first steps in this sport and when you have progressed enough to surf a wall or begin to do your first manoeuvres.
Soft boards or corkopans
Within the so-called evolutionary surfboards, we can find the “soft” boards. If you are not yet in good physical shape, strong or if you don’t paddle well yet, the so-called “soft” boards or corkboards are a good choice.
Corkopanes are an excellent choice as a beginner’s board, and more and more surfers are using a softboard. And not only beginner surfers, but surfers of all levels have joined the cork fever.
In our school we have several types of surfboards. The “soft” type boards, ranging from 7’0”, 7’6” and up to 8’00’‘ and also a range of hard boards for the more advanced surfers, as well as all the necessary equipment so that you can try surfing for the first time in the best conditions.
Consulted references
- Website of the surfer Jaime Rodríguez. http://www.surf30.net
- Tabla de surf evolutiva. https://www.singlequiver.com/enelpico/mejor-tabla-surf-evolutiva-principiantes/
- Como comprar una tabla de surf. http://surfactual.com/como-comprar-una-tabla-de-surf/
