We're big fans of matching your equipment to your intended outcome.
Just like a driver is a great tool for hitting a golf ball far and a putter is good for hitting with maximum control, every surfboard is designed with a specific outcome in mind—different ways of engaging with the wave, different styles of surfing, different ideal conditions.
The question I want you to ask before your next board purchase is "what do I want to do more of?"
Over the years, we've gotten a lot of emails that say something like, "My name is Dave, I'm 40 years old, I'm 6'0 tall and weigh 165 lbs... which longboard should I get?"
All of that context is helpful for sizing, but the missing part of the equation is the desired outcome. Do you want to improve your noseriding, or are you looking for an easy, gliding cruiser? Where do you surf most often? Is it a punchy beach break or a soft, rolling wave?
I honestly think one of the things we've gotten really good at over the years is listening to the goals of our customers and matching them with the right board for the kind of surfing they want to do. We know our models really well, so when we hear certain words or phrases, the field starts to narrow pretty quickly.
Over time, you start to hear certain phrases and immediately narrow the field:
"I want to catch waves earlier."
We're thinking about more paddle power, glide, volume and generally more board.
"I want to get better at noseriding."
Now we're thinking about a completely different set of design characteristics.
"I love my longboard, but I want something shorter that won't kill my wave count."
That's a very different question than simply asking which midlength fits a 165-pound surfer.
"I mostly surf soft, waist-high waves."
Great. Let's optimize for those waves instead of designing around the three best days of your year.
"I want something I can leave in the truck and surf whenever I get the chance."
Again, that tells us something.
A few years ago, we built a surfboard matching quiz that takes the questions we ask most often and uses what we know about our boards to make a recommendation.
Take that quiz, try different answers and see how the recommendation changes, but then take it a step further... quiz us.
Tell us what you're riding now, where you surf most often, and—most importantly—what you want to do more of.
We know these boards really well. Give us a clear picture of what you're trying to accomplish, and we'll point you in the right direction.
Your height and weight can help determine how big the board should be. What you want to do more of helps determine which board it should be.
So before you buy another surfboard, start there.
