How to Buy Surfboards: Get in, get out. Get what you need.

Surfboard shopping always feels like BIG deal especially if it’s your first time . It’s a chunk of change for your gateway ticket into the world’s most unique sport and the choices are limitless. Your first instinct will be to pick out something based off the slick graphics and pretty colors.BZZZT! WRONG.Unless you’ve got the willpower and self discipline of a ninja, there’s only one path for fast reliable results in the surfing world. Short answer: epoxy surfboards. More specifically: an epoxy longboard. I’ll explain.If you want to get better quickly, you need to be able to catch as many waves as possible as consistently as possible. That said; you don’t want a dinky potato chip of a board that’ll sink like a sack of bricks whenever you sit on it—nothing is more discouraging to learn on than a board to floats worse than you do.Ideally you want something that’s…•    Floaty, so it sits high in the water and gives you less drag•    Large & Stable, so you aren’t constantly falling off before you get to a wave•    and Easy to Paddle, so your shoulders don’t die after 20 minutes in the ocean. Nearly all the technique that goes into wave catching is just matching your speed to the wave you want. If you cain’t paddle no mo, then you cain’t surf no mo.Basically, you want a longboard—the biggest,  most stable board design that most shops have to offer. You’ll never have an easier time catching waves; and on the right longboard, your ride will practically catch waves for you. All things considered, you want to buy surfboards that make sense for your level of experience—and the longboard is DEFINITELY the logical choice when starting fresh.As a beginner, you’ll be just learning how to handle your board, so naturally it’ll be getting smashed into all manner of things in and out of the water. That’s why you need epoxy.An epoxy surfboard is not only lighter and faster than its fiberglass equivalent, but much MUCH stronger. Collisions that would normally wreck your fiberglass will barely even phase your epoxy. To top it all off, the lighter board means each paddle will take you further and faster.So where do you go from there? Once you can groove and shred your epoxy surfboard, feel free to move on to more ambitious waters. In fact, if you’ve got a little extra green lying around, your best bet is to spoil yourself a little and upgrade to a NexGen board. It’s a fusion of the strength and float of epoxy with the flex and natural ride of fiberglass—one session and you’ll never look back.•    Funboard: Probably the most forgiving ride, coming off a monster longboard. The funboard will feel a lot like your longboard, except you’ll actually be able to turn. And do tricks. •    Fish Surfboard: The fish is very much a hybrid between a shortboard and a longboard. You’ll have the same width and stability but a TON of newfound snap and maneuverability. Fish are best suited for knee deep to overhead sized waves.•    Shortboard: If you’re the type that enjoys a challenge you can attempt the massive leap of faith onto a shortboard. You’ll probably be flailing around in the water for a few sessions before you actually start catching anything, but once that “trial by fire” period is over, you’ll be ripping harder than you’ve ever ripped in your life. If shredding is your ultimate goal, the shortboard is your holy grail.So there you go. Consider yourself filled in and fully prepped to become the next great surf hero.