Hey all
I'm pretty keen to have a crack at surfing for the no-wind days, but was wondering if there is any particular size that I can use both for surfing, as well as for kitesurfing down the track (started kiting in winter on the twinnie).
Any recommendations? as for surfing, I'm 63kg, 175cm tall, and will not be riding anything big as i'm only just starting out (e.g. middleton in SA)
for kiting: I ride a 2012 9m north rebel and 2008 7m north evo, average wind 15-25 knots in adelaide.
I was thinking maybe getting a 6'1 board, 3-fin set up?
any helpful advice welcome!
cheers, elise
hey elise, you're much better off learning to surf on a longboard. you will progress much faster than if you jump straight on a high performance board. if you are starting out and riding small surf then it will be difficult to even catch a wave on a 6'1" thruster. i'd say go for a cheap second hand longboard around the 7'2-7'6 range.
I agree with Stamp, if you have no surfing experience then the mini mal around 7 ft is the way to learn. Otherwise you are going to struggle just to paddle into a wave let alone get to your feet.
The catch is you will outgrow it quicker with a kite (it will be hard to turn,l bounce around a lot and not have the performance you want) so buy a second hand one and as you progress get something shorter.
If you want something shorter now look at a Fish style board, but you will learn to surf quicker on the mini mal than a Fish and quicker on a Fish than a higher performance board.
I fully agree with Flying High and Stamp. A single board will not adequately cater for both sports. My daughter (about 65kg) kites with a 5'7"x17"x2" quad (17-30 knots) and she learned to surf with a 7'10"x22"x2.75" minimal. She initially tried to surf with a 6'6" hybrid (20.5" wide and 2.25" thick), but it was really a bit small to catch "beginner/ankle-slapper" waves.
Hey elise,
1. there are some great boards out there (kite brands) that you can both surf on and kite on. They have foot strap holes and are stronger, but are for more advanced surfers.
2. head into ONBOARD. Soggy and Tommy are both kiters and surfers.
there is some good tuff options that will suit you as a new surfer and also for kiting.
Ive kited the GSI Surf Series Fish board, its floaty for a beginner surfer and also fun for cruising around henley.
best thing to do is talk to the guys who own kite/surfboards and try some.
good luck
I'll take it one step further and say that you won't progress at all with a 6'1". Why? Cause you'll get the poops with it and walk away from the sport. I've got no idea what middletons like but at you size I'd grab an 8'0", nice round shape, and spend the next year or two on it. Learn to trim, walk it, throw 5 over. It might not be the style of surfing you want to do now but the skills from surfing a bigger board, particularly a single fin (maybe get a 2+1) setup for now) will provide a fantastic base once you decide to change things up.
Get something separate for kiting and then begin an unspoken competition with every other kiter/surfer over whose got the most number if toys
thanks all. that is very helpful.
I think ill probably hunt around for a second hand long board as the waves aren't massive around here, and from what I gather those conditions are more fun on a longer board around the 7ft mark as you all suggested anyway.
JBFletch, I have had a chat to the guys at onboard now as well, and they told me that using a normal surfboard for kiting destroys it, so maybe ill end up getting a different board for kiting, any idea what size would suit me best for that?
So I can't afford to buy two boards now, but I can get one soonish, and another one later down the track, but do I correctly assume that it will help to learn how to surf first if I wanted to kite with a surfboard? or not? any thoughts?
Thanks again!
As RUDE said.
Get a cheap second hand mini mal for surfing and nail that separately to your kiting.
NAISH, NORTH and CABRINHA are going to be in toen this coming weekend.
Get down and try some boards.
Theres so many options out there so try as many as you can.
! Now just hoping for some wind 
Such a shame to grab a big board to learn to surf if you are already up and kiteing - why not get the 6'2" or even a 5'8" and just kite it??
I've never surfed but am in the waves now with my 5'8" and 6'2" boards and loving it!
Hey Lambie
Just interested to know, are you saying you can surf (not kite surf) on a 5'8 just from kiting with it?
No - you right , I'm not into surfing and so i wasnt saying you would be able to surf on a small board as a beginner - I agree with the previous posts in that respect - but why - just get out there with the kite in the lower end of the wind range and just do it!
If your question is specifically about learning to surf ?? - I'll bow out now.
hahaha I asked cause I would have been very impressed if you picked up surfing from kitesurfing!! some people do just have that natural talent so i thought u may be one of them
As for why: well, for the non-wind days!
I would love to pick up kite 'surfing' but for now Im pretty happy trying to master the basics of my twinnie. I'm only just starting to stay upwind so lots to learn still before I would progress into waveriding. I just thought since I'm hunting for a surfboard, I may as well ask the question if there was a hybrid, which -down the track- could be suitable for kiting as well .
So as you said, a 5'8 would prob be the go, not one around the 7' mark, so 2 boards it is
Hello.
To some extent I am repeating the other posts but with a few differences. I don't think the mini-mal/longboard route is the way to go for a learner in the surf. While agreeing length is useful, I think keeping a shortboard shape is pretty important. There are lots of hybrids out there in the 6'6" to 7' range that don't have the massive nose and tail widths of longboards. These widths do have profound impacts on how boards go.
My recommendation - and I am a very experienced surfer (surf up to 15 foot, 28 board quiver, and 30 something years experience) - would be to get a semi-gun from 6'6" to 7" rather than a longboard. You will be able to turn off the tail properly, still have lots of paddle power, and learn to pump for speed rather than glide (while still having significantly more glide than hi-perform shorty). Don't be shy of thickness, but lots of tail and nose width will not help you.
By the way, I am a useless kiter at about the same standard as you by the sounds. I am planning on using my tow board for kitesurfing when I stop getting dragged into dunes and learn to stay upwind and ride toeside/fakey.
Thanks for the advice thedrip! I will definitely incorporate your suggestions next time I head out.
I have actually found myself a nice second hand 6'9 shortboard shaped surfboard, see photo!
That board belongs on a nice bowly indo reef, probably not the best for learning on a small little beachie.
I fully agree with the advice Thedrip is giving you.
I used to surf shortboards years ago then went to a mal for a long time and now I'm back on a shorty, Mainly because I plan to surf it with a kite this summer.
Longboards and shortboards really are 2 different disciplines of surfing. You could learn on a mal but you would still need to learn a shortboard as well. You would at least build up an understanding on how waves work.
The CI in the picture looks good. you don't want a small board in SA like they use on the east coast.
If I could offer you a tip, it would be to practice your pop-up or standing up technique at home before you hit the surf. Draw an outline on the floor or use a board cover and practice the pop-up heaps until you can get up with your feet apart and on the centre line. There's lots of utube vids showing the best way.
Thanks for the tip Gwendy, I will practice on land again for sure.
I had a crack at surfing a few years back when I was travelling and during that time I ended up just borrowing boards from people I met, and because I didnt have a board of my own I actually learned on a smaller board than this.
However, I didnt have one to practice with when I got home, got distracted and 3 years later kitesurfing has stolen my heart. Since I am now spending more time in the ocean, I felt like taking up surfing again too (when there is no wind of course)..
so while I posted my question here on sb, I also spoke to quite a few people locally, who told me that a board around the 7' mark would do for me, for the same reasons as thedrip listed :-)
Now it is just finding the time and some swell! yeeeoow!!
keep the advice coming! always wanna learn more
Yup. That board is exactly what I was talking about. Ignore the naysayers - as you improve you will be able to throw buckets as you hack the crap out of the bowl in waist to shoulder high waves.
Then when it gets bigger you will still be able to have fun. To quote an old shaper of mine: "Don't get in the race, find your own place, paddle down the face."
Have fun.
Hey Elise,
Definitely a nice board you have there, but as someone said, it belongs 9ft deep in a heaving double overhead, foam spitting, sunlit, bluewater cavern.
All of us here have our own opinions and mine goes with most here in that I recommend getting a board with A LOT OF VOLUME just so you can easily catch the damn things.
The hardest bit about learning to surf is actually clocking up wave time.
A two hour sesh surfing can leave you stoked and it's common that your actual wave time would add up to a whole 2minutes if you're lucky! That would be 24 x 5 second waves - highly unlikely for a beginner on a short board. You can learn to kite upwind and be on the water for hours in a couple of weeks if you have wind and flat water every day, you can't learn surfing that fast unless Greg Webbers wave park is going to be built on your neighbours property.
Your board is not the best for learning but will be awesome for when you are ready to charge heaving kegs.
Save some coin or trade it on a high volume (ie wide and thick- 20"+ wide & 2 1/2" minimum thick) fish or hybrid or egg from 6' - 7' and you will triple your wave time compared to what you'll have on that beast slayer you scored!
The Fat shorties will glide you over the 'flats' on to the next section where you simply won't have a chance of being with your beast slaying excalibur there. Mushy days will be your bread and butter whilst learning and your Fish/hybrid/eggs are the right board for these waves - flat rocker - lots of volume. Good luck
Hey pattiecannon
I appreciate your comment. I agree with some that it may not be the most superior beginner board, but I have tried to incorporate advice given here in my search, while also looking for a board I like and a style I want to grow into.
In what was available with the amount of money I could spend on it, I did not get a long board, but still got a board as suggested around the 7' mark (mine is 6'9), it actually has a thickness of 2' 9/16 (making it quite floaty), and the rocker on the bottom is quite minimal (tiny lift on the nose, but not much, still making it glide pretty fast in the mushy stuff).
I really like the board and am looking forward on getting better. I am not expecting miracles, but just wanna have fun with it on the no wind days, even if that means I have to work a little harder.
Down the track I will probably get a much shorter kiteboard e.g. in the 5'6-5'9 range.
Bring on the wind, the swell and the summer Yeeeeooow!!
Coolio, & cheers to that, bring that stuff on have fun - it's howling SSE now - cya!
