a friend of mine is looking to pick up surfing. he asked for my assistance in finding him the perfect board for him to get started with, and i’m not really sure what would suit him best. he’s a pretty big guy…a little over 6’ tall, and built like a football player…maybe 225 lbs.? anyhow, he’ll primarily be surfing crappy south florida beach break. to those with more experience than i…what direction should he go? dare i even say…a pop-out? (ugh…i can’t believe that thought even crossed my mind). what length is best?..can he go shorter than 9’4"?..is he better off with 9’6"+? any input you can offer would be most appreciated. thanks…
well for a beginner surfing in crappy waves
a Surftech is not all that bad an idea.
couple options for a big boy.
10’6" Munoz Glide
easy turning bully sized board dream paddler
10’ Infinity Rad Noserider
high performance bully sized board dream paddler
9’5" McTavish Stylist
higher performance bully short board
9’6" is hotdog size for a guy that big
and I’d ride any of these three anyday in anything up to DOH even being like 20 pounds lighter and 4 inches shorter than your friend because of the way these models handle… Alot of my older big boy 210-300lb friends like these Surftech models along with that aipa 10’ sting from Boardworks.
“pop-outs” are a good deal for a beginners cause they stand up to a little more damage from bumping and dropping that beginners always do and they have a higher resale value when the beginner wants to move up to something better once they get the paddle and standing up thing mastered. Easy to paddle easy to whip around to start paddling for waves are good starting points for someone new. that always seems to be what most beginners struggle with.
hey brandon-
as offensive as this might sound to some, i always thought the surftech takayama model-t was a good learning board for a big guy. i don’t remember if it’s 9’4 or 9’6. floaty and stable. you can wean him off of it to something of your tastes when he improves…
btw- is that matt armstrong in your avatar?
thanks, oneula and sidestreet, for your suggestions. i really appreciate it, and got some good info from both of you. and yes, that is matt armstrong in the pic…good call, man!
coming from a family built like a pack of trolls:
5’4/170
5’7/195
5’11/285
i would say that your friend would be best off on something around the 10’ by 23-24inch wide by 3+ thick range…give or take.
if he hasn’t surfed…or even hasn’t surfed much, he is going to need all the stability and paddling power he can get. i wouldn’t advise a surftech or anything lightweight or high performance. he’s going to have enough problems with just getting the board steady while he’s sitting on it.
if he can find an old chunk of a board cheap, that’ll do him for the first 3 months or so. then when he can’t whip that baby off the top like he wants he can move on up.
we all had to crawl before we could walk.
that’s my .02
You could also talk him into a 10’ or 11’ Softtop. The 11’ (and the 12’) are made from the same plug as the Munoz 11 & 12, so, with the rocker & thickness & outline, you know they’ll turn. The EVA foam adds a little safety & comfort (not bad things for beginners or anyone else) and a little weight which makes them slightly more stable than the Munoz models. No wax in a Florida summer means no melting mess when he leaves it deck up, and no pulling out chest hair when he paddles.
And best of all…when he decides he wants a ‘real’ board he might sell or give the ST to you. For a general, summertime, play in the crowds and screw around board, I love them. Its kind of refreshing to not have to pay any attention AT ALL to how you’re treating a board. No leash, no booties, no wax, no problem. I’ve had a 10’ for years and just picked up a 12’. Tandem with a kid? Sure. Loan it out to a relative/neighbor/friend/drunk on the beach? Sure. Prop it up behind the garage because there’s no more room in your indoor storage racks? Sure. Put a little 8" fin in it and squirt it around. Put a big 10.5" Heritage fin in, and all of a sudden it’s smooth & calmed down enough to noseride. Good stuff.
And at $400-500 brand new, its what a pop-out should be.
I’ll second Benny’s suggestion and take it one step further… if you can get one, go with the 12’ Munoz. For a 225 lb beginner you’d be hard pressed to go too big.
Along the lines of what the others are saying I have a 8’4"ish NSP that I use for visitors. It’s pretty undestructable. A used one of these - http://www.southpointepoxy.com/sp91.html - might do a beginner.
Benny’s softtop vote is good as well tho I’ve heard complaints about them rubbing your chest and thighs raw if your on them for more than the typical half hour surf lesson.
I got rug burns on my knees learning on a softtop. Very painful… Sand + saltwater + the texture on the rubber.
(insert rugburn joke here)
Boogie Board and swim fins.
Roger
a friend of mine is looking to pick up surfing. he asked for my assistance in finding him the perfect board for him to get started with, and i’m not really sure what would suit him best. he’s a pretty big guy…a little over 6’ tall, and built like a football player…maybe 225 lbs.? anyhow, he’ll primarily be surfing crappy south florida beach break. to those with more experience than i…what direction should he go? dare i even say…a pop-out? (ugh…i can’t believe that thought even crossed my mind). what length is best?..can he go shorter than 9’4"?..is he better off with 9’6"+? any input you can offer would be most appreciated. thanks…
well for a beginner surfing in crappy waves
a Surftech is not all that bad an idea.
couple options for a big boy.
10’6" Munoz Glide
easy turning bully sized board dream paddler
10’ Infinity Rad Noserider
high performance bully sized board dream paddler
9’5" McTavish Stylist
higher performance bully short board
9’6" is hotdog size for a guy that big
and I’d ride any of these three anyday in anything up to DOH even being like 20 pounds lighter and 4 inches shorter than your friend because of the way these models handle… Alot of my older big boy 210-300lb friends like these Surftech models along with that aipa 10’ sting from Boardworks.
“pop-outs” are a good deal for a beginners cause they stand up to a little more damage from bumping and dropping that beginners always do and they have a higher resale value when the beginner wants to move up to something better once they get the paddle and standing up thing mastered. Easy to paddle easy to whip around to start paddling for waves are good starting points for someone new. that always seems to be what most beginners struggle with.
hey brandon-
as offensive as this might sound to some, i always thought the surftech takayama model-t was a good learning board for a big guy. i don’t remember if it’s 9’4 or 9’6. floaty and stable. you can wean him off of it to something of your tastes when he improves…
btw- is that matt armstrong in your avatar?
thanks, oneula and sidestreet, for your suggestions. i really appreciate it, and got some good info from both of you. and yes, that is matt armstrong in the pic…good call, man!
coming from a family built like a pack of trolls:
5’4/170
5’7/195
5’11/285
i would say that your friend would be best off on something around the 10’ by 23-24inch wide by 3+ thick range…give or take.
if he hasn’t surfed…or even hasn’t surfed much, he is going to need all the stability and paddling power he can get. i wouldn’t advise a surftech or anything lightweight or high performance. he’s going to have enough problems with just getting the board steady while he’s sitting on it.
if he can find an old chunk of a board cheap, that’ll do him for the first 3 months or so. then when he can’t whip that baby off the top like he wants he can move on up.
we all had to crawl before we could walk.
that’s my .02
You could also talk him into a 10’ or 11’ Softtop. The 11’ (and the 12’) are made from the same plug as the Munoz 11 & 12, so, with the rocker & thickness & outline, you know they’ll turn. The EVA foam adds a little safety & comfort (not bad things for beginners or anyone else) and a little weight which makes them slightly more stable than the Munoz models. No wax in a Florida summer means no melting mess when he leaves it deck up, and no pulling out chest hair when he paddles.
And best of all…when he decides he wants a ‘real’ board he might sell or give the ST to you. For a general, summertime, play in the crowds and screw around board, I love them. Its kind of refreshing to not have to pay any attention AT ALL to how you’re treating a board. No leash, no booties, no wax, no problem. I’ve had a 10’ for years and just picked up a 12’. Tandem with a kid? Sure. Loan it out to a relative/neighbor/friend/drunk on the beach? Sure. Prop it up behind the garage because there’s no more room in your indoor storage racks? Sure. Put a little 8" fin in it and squirt it around. Put a big 10.5" Heritage fin in, and all of a sudden it’s smooth & calmed down enough to noseride. Good stuff.
And at $400-500 brand new, its what a pop-out should be.
I’ll second Benny’s suggestion and take it one step further… if you can get one, go with the 12’ Munoz. For a 225 lb beginner you’d be hard pressed to go too big.
Along the lines of what the others are saying I have a 8’4"ish NSP that I use for visitors. It’s pretty undestructable. A used one of these - http://www.southpointepoxy.com/sp91.html - might do a beginner.
Benny’s softtop vote is good as well tho I’ve heard complaints about them rubbing your chest and thighs raw if your on them for more than the typical half hour surf lesson.
I got rug burns on my knees learning on a softtop. Very painful… Sand + saltwater + the texture on the rubber.
(insert rugburn joke here)
Boogie Board and swim fins.
Roger