Getting the right kit » Gear

The surfboard: Lets face it, this is the key piece of kit if you want to rip up some blue walls. The key theme in understanding which surf board is ideal for you is a relationship between size, experience and fitness.

In general the less experience you have in the water and the less surf fit you are the larger you will want your surfboard to be. This is because bigger boards means more float or buoyancy. The more float you have the easier it will be to paddle out back and catch waves.

As a surfer gains more experience in the water and develops the muscles necessary for all the arduous paddling and duck diving that surfing requires, he will want to swap float for maneuverability and radicalness. The lighter and shorter a board is the faster it will go in the wave, and it will also allow for the sharper turns necessary to pull radical moves.

Of course there are two other factors involved. The surf itself can dictate what is required to ride it. You don’t want to be paddling out at Jaws or the North Shore on a 5 foot fish with a competition glass job. Hopefully if you are planning on paddling out at these surf spots you don’t need me to tell you what board to use. If you do, stay dry or die.

The other key factor is your own weight and size, which can generally require about a 1-3 inch modification in board length up or down depending on how much you deviate from the average size and weight.

I will now make some recommendations depending on experience:

Total Beginner:

It is vital that you are prepared to accept function over style. Surfing is a very hard very rewarding endeavor for the novice. If you choose the wrong equipment you are likely to only experience the first part of that equation and your surfing career will be a very short one. A foamy, a board at least 7foot long and made out of foam, or a pop out of about the same length are the ideal choices at this stage. A pop out is mass produced foam board with a fiberglass/plastic coating and is virtually immune to dings.

Both these boards will be easy to paddle and will catch waves at the drop of a hat. They will also survive the numerous wipe outs and miss haps you will have at this stage in your surfing development. However, don’t plan on posing with these boards, as not only do they advertise to the whole beach that you are total surf noob, but they will also not look “cool” strapped to the roof of your Volkswagen beetle.

Beginner:

So you have developed some surf fitness, caught some waves, learnt how to duckdive and can be confident of making the line up in moderately heavy conditions. Hooraaah, its time to ditch the pop out.  However at this point, a wrong choice could easily nip your burgeoning prowess in the bud. Its common for surfers at this stage to give in to temptation and jump onto a board that is to radical for their nascent surf skills. It is best to spend some time on a longer board with more float so you can keep catching waves. Go for a to radical design and your wave count will sharpley decline and your improvement rate with it. At this stage fiberglass designs such as Mini Mals or Fat Boy Fliers are your best choice. You really don’t want to drop bellow 6 foot 10 inches in length and want to make sure you still have plenty of float.

Intermediate:

Once you have reached the stage where you are confident in heavy conditions and can be sure to get your share of waves in crowded conditions then you can now choose what direction you want to go in choice of surf board. Something around the 6 foot mark give or take a couple of inches will probably be best if you want to take your surfing up-to the next level. There are numerous design features to surfboards such as rail hardness and tail shape. I can’t tell you which is best because it is a matter of personal preference and depends a lot on the style in which you surf. You will have to experiment with different boards and shapes till you find what suits you best.

Expert/Pro:

At this stage you are confident in practically all conditions. You can pull radical maneuvers and are probably in the line up pissing everyone off by catching all the waves. By now you will have discovered what fits your surfing technique and style so you don’t need me to help you.

Wetsuits:

The water in Britain can be green, it can be blue, it can be gray, it is however always cold. Whilst we wait for global warming to get its act together, the fact remains that to surf comfortably in the UK you will need a wet suit all year round.

That said, you won’t want the same wetsuit all year. Ideally you will have a suit for the winter season and the summer season. If you can only acquire one then get a winter suit. You can surf the summer in a winter suit with some discomfort but will probably die of hypothermia if you attempt to surf deepest winter in a summer suit.

The basic design features of a wet suit are flexibility and thickness. The more flexible and thin a wetsuit is the less restricting it will be. The thicker it is the warmer it will be. The flexibility of the suit will depend on the quality of the neoprene and the thickness of the neoprene, which is measured in mm.

Winter suits are generally 5/4mm. This means that they are 5mm thick on the main trunk panels but are 4mm thick on the shoulders arms and legs. Winter suits are also common in a 4/3mm configuration. Summer suits are normally 3/2mm and are also available as Shortys which have no lower arms or lower leg panels.

Neoprene comes in many different forms and the neoprene used in each suit is usually given a fancy new name such as superstretch each year by wet suit vendors. What you are looking for is the elasticity of the neoprene. This allows for greater movement in the suit and wearing the suit is generally less restrictive.

The cost of any suit will depend on its thickness, neoprene and the durability. Entry level suits will have little or no “stretchy” neoprene and will last one year at best. Top end suits will be all stretchy neoprene and should last at least two years if cared for. Mid range suits will probably have stretchy shoulders and maybe upper torso and again should last two years if cared for. Summer suit pricing will also be influenced by whether it is a full suit or a shorty. A shorty will offer more freedom in the water but you will not be able to use it in the water in the autumn, unlike a full summer suit which if in good nick you can use to the end of autumn/fall.