How to Decide What Surfboard to Buy (Honest Guide)
Buying the wrong surfboard is one of the most common and expensive mistakes new surfers make. Here's how to actually get it right.
Why this decision trips people up
Walk into any surf shop and you'll face a wall of boards in every length, width, and color imaginable. The staff may or may not be helpful depending on whether they're trying to shift inventory. Online it's worse: forums argue endlessly, brands use specs that mean nothing to most buyers, and Reddit threads spiral into tribalism about single fins versus thrusters. No wonder people freeze.
The good news is that the decision isn't actually that complicated once you understand the four variables that matter: shape, length, volume, and fins. Get those right for your body and your surfing level, and almost any board in the right zone will work. Get them wrong and you'll be fighting your equipment every session.
Start with your honest ability level
This is the step most people skip or fudge. Be truthful with yourself here, because every other decision follows from it.
Beginner means you can't yet pop up consistently, or you've been surfing less than six months. Intermediate means you can ride unbroken waves, control your direction, and complete turns. Advanced means you're carving, doing cutbacks, and riding hollow waves with intention. If you're not sure which category you're in, you're probably a beginner or early intermediate.
The reason ability matters so much: a board that's too high-performance for your level will actively make you worse. You'll catch fewer waves, fall more, and progress more slowly. Ego boards are real, and surf shops sell a lot of them to people who aren't ready for them.
If you're genuinely just starting out, read through this honest guide on how to start surfing as a beginner before even worrying about which board to buy. The board question is secondary to understanding what you're actually trying to learn.
Shape: the foundation of the decision
Longboards
A longboard is typically 9 feet or longer, with a wide, round nose. It catches waves easily, is very stable, and paddles fast. For beginners, this is almost always the right answer. For experienced surfers who enjoy a mellow, flowing style of surfing, longboards remain a genuine choice rather than a beginner concession.
The trade-off is that longboards are hard to carry, don't fit in most vehicles without a roof rack, and are less maneuverable. They're not great for steep, fast, powerful waves.
Funboards and mid-lengths
These boards sit between 7 and 8.5 feet. They're the practical middle ground: easier to transport than a longboard, more stable than a shortboard, and genuinely versatile. A mid-length or funboard is often the smartest first purchase for someone who's past the absolute beginner stage but still working on consistency. These boards are also having a serious cultural moment right now, with experienced surfers choosing them for small, mushy waves.
Fish and hybrid shapes
Fish boards are short (often 5'6" to 6'4"), wide, thick, and have a swallow tail. They work well in small, weak surf because the extra volume and width help them plane. Hybrids borrow volume from longboards and put it in a shortboard outline. Both are good choices for intermediate surfers looking for a second board.
Shortboards
The classic performance shape: narrow, thin, with a pointed nose and lots of rocker. These boards are designed for experienced surfers riding powerful, steep waves. They're unforgiving. If you're a beginner who buys a shortboard because your favorite surfer uses one, you will struggle, catch fewer waves than anyone else in the water, and potentially give up surfing altogether. Don't do it.
How to know what length surfboard to get
Length affects how fast a board paddles and how stable it feels. Longer boards paddle faster and are more stable. Shorter boards turn more quickly but require more skill to generate speed.
A rough starting rule: beginners should look at boards that are at least 2 to 3 feet taller than they are. A 5'10" person who's new to surfing should start around an 8'0" to 9'0" board. As ability improves and wave conditions become more varied, that length comes down. Intermediate surfers of average height typically settle between 6'4" and 7'6" depending on their preferred conditions.
Don't obsess over exact inches. A board that's the right shape and volume but 2 inches longer than "ideal" will still work well. Volume is actually a more reliable spec to target, especially as boards vary a lot in how they're shaped.
How to know what volume surfboard to get
Volume is measured in liters and gives you a sense of how buoyant a board is. More volume means easier paddling, more stability, and more wave-catching ability. Less volume means the board sits lower in the water and responds more quickly to input from your feet.
Volume recommendations vary by weight and ability. A loose but useful framework:
- Beginners: aim for a volume-to-bodyweight ratio around 100% or higher (so if you weigh 70kg, look for boards around 70+ liters)
- Intermediate surfers: roughly 40 to 60% of body weight in liters
- Advanced surfers: 30 to 45% depending on wave type and preference
These aren't hard rules, but they give you a sensible range to shop within. Many brands now publish volume on their board specs, and some have online calculators. Surfline's board finder tool is one of the more practical free resources for cross-referencing your weight, ability, and preferred wave type against recommended volume ranges.
A common mistake is buying a board with too little volume for your weight. You end up sinking slightly on every paddle stroke and catching waves late or not at all. For context, the article on what a good surfboard should cost also breaks down what you're actually paying for at different price points, which affects construction and therefore effective volume.
Width and thickness: the specs people overlook
Width affects stability. A board under 20 inches wide requires good balance. Beginners should look for 21 to 23 inches or wider. Thickness (measured at the thickest point, usually the middle) contributes to float. A board that's 2.5 inches thick will feel very different from one that's 3.25 inches thick at the same length.
These specs matter when you're comparing boards of similar length. Two 7'0" boards can surf completely differently if one is 21" x 2.75" and the other is 23" x 3.25". Always look at the full dimensions, not just length.
How to know what surfboard fins to get
Fins affect how a board tracks, turns, and releases. The main configurations are:
- Single fin: one large center fin. Gives a smooth, tracky, traditional feel. Common on longboards and retro shapes.
- Twin fin: two side fins, no center. Very loose and fast, great for small waves, hard to control in bigger surf.
- Thruster (2+1 or three fin): the most common setup. Balanced between drive and maneuverability. Works in most conditions.
- Quad: four fins. Fast down the line, good hold in hollow waves, doesn't pivot as easily as a thruster.
For a first board, don't overthink fins. Buy a board with a standard thruster setup and FCS or Futures boxes (the two main fin systems), and then learn from there. The difference between fin setups matters a lot more once you're riding at an intermediate level. At that point, experimenting with different fins in the same boxes is cheap and instructive.
The Surfer Today guide on surfboard fins is one of the more thorough breakdowns of fin templates, materials, and how each characteristic affects feel on the wave. Worth reading before you spend money on performance fins.
New vs. used: the honest take
For a first board, used is almost always smarter. Most beginners will ding the board, outgrow it, or realize they bought the wrong shape within the first year. Buying secondhand at 50 to 70% of retail price means losing much less when you sell it on.
The surfing subreddit has solid threads on what to look for when inspecting a used board: check for delamination (bubbling or soft spots in the foam), cracks around the fins, and waterlogged sections (weigh it if you can, or tap the rails to listen for a hollow sound). A few cosmetic dings are fine. Structural damage is not.
New boards make more sense if you've reached a stable ability level, know the exact shape you want, and plan to keep the board for years. At that point, paying retail for a board you genuinely love is reasonable.
What to consider based on where you're surfing
The waves you'll actually surf should heavily influence your choice. If you're heading somewhere with small, soft beach break waves, a high-volume fish or funboard will serve you far better than a performance shortboard. If you're traveling to Bali and plan to spend time at beginner-friendly spots, the breakdown of which Bali beaches actually suit beginners is worth reading before you decide whether to bring a board or rent one there.
Renting on location is often smarter for a surf trip than traveling with your board. Airline board bag fees add up fast, and local rental shops often know which shapes work best for their specific break. The exception is if you've found a board that genuinely suits you and you want consistency across your sessions.
Thinking about the broader costs of a surf trip will help you frame this decision too. For anyone planning ahead, there's a broader guide to surf travel planning at this general travel resource hub covering trip structure, destinations, and budgeting across different types of surf travel.
The most common buying mistakes (and how to skip them)
Buying for aspirational ability rather than current ability is the biggest one. You want to surf like Kelly Slater; you buy a board Kelly Slater would ride. You then go out and catch almost no waves because the board requires expert technique to generate any paddle speed at all. Buy for where you are, not where you want to be in five years.
Trusting only brand reputation is another trap. Some brands make excellent boards across a range of shapes; others are heavily marketed but inconsistent in quality. According to the Surfer's Magazine board review archive, some of the best value boards have come from smaller regional shapers rather than the globally recognized labels. A locally shaped board from a good shaper in your region will often suit your local waves better than a board mass-produced for generic conditions.
Buying too many boards too quickly is also common. Get one board, surf it a lot, understand what it does well and what it doesn't, and then make your next purchase based on that concrete experience. The surfers with seventeen boards in their garage still mostly grab the same two or three. One board that fits you well beats a quiver of boards you're still figuring out.
A practical decision checklist
Before you buy anything, run through these questions:
- What is my honest ability level right now?
- What type of waves will I be surfing most often (small beach break, reef, point break, overhead)?
- What is my weight, and what volume range does that suggest?
- Am I buying new or used, and does the price reflect that choice?
- Does this board have a standard fin system I can experiment with later?
- Would I be better off renting at my destination before committing to a purchase?
If you can answer those six questions clearly, you have enough information to make a solid decision. The perfect board doesn't exist. But the right board for where you are right now, in the waves you actually surf, absolutely does. Go find that one first.