Say it out loud... Everything. In. Surfboard. Design. Is. Give. And. Take.

In order to gain one advantage you likely give up another.

By definition there can be no perfect surfboard; only a perfect surfboard for a particular circumstance or purpose.

Don’t worry, this is actually good news and this does not mean that you must have a different surfboard for every different beach. (Feel free to omit this last sentence when discussing your quiver with your significant other.). We just need well-considered equipment that is designed to cover the widest array of needs that you are most-likely to encounter.

So, how do you decide what the perfect surfboard is to match your needs? That’s the very question we’re here to add clarity to.

If you walked into Almond Surfboards tomorrow and said: “I just moved to California, and I want to get into surfing”

The Joy is a versatile workhorse.

A jack-of-all-trades.

A perfect place to start building confidence in the ocean—which is why we offer it in both our traditional fiberglass construction, and our user-friendly foam R-Series construction.

Whether the waves are big or small, good or bad, you can surf the JOY in most conditions that you are apt to face at this stage in your surfing career.

Going back to our mantra that everything in surfboard design is a give and take, that means the board with the most versatile uses is going to be the middle of the road. And for us, an 8 foot long JOY is just about the middle of the road as it gets.
Because of its length, outline and low rocker profile, the JOY catches waves with relative ease.

The Joy is a board that will not only serve you well on session number 1, but sessions 2 through 600 as well. The aim is to find a surfboard that will serve your needs both now and in the future—which means it needs to be stable enough to build confidence on but lively enough to hang with you, as your surfing progresses.

If you are looking for the most versatile place to start building your surfboard quiver, and laying the foundation of your surfing experience, start with our 8'0 R-Series Joy.

If you are further along in your surf journey, and are looking to hone in your equipment for year-round enjoyment, check out this article: Building Your Surfboard Quiver

The above is an excerpt from our eBook "Almond's Introduction to Surfboards"