I am a novice and thought I might save by buying online but can't find any brand comparisons or independent ratings. I have been told to get something around 10 ft 3. I weigh 70 kilos and want to use it in bay and small surf. Any help would be appreciated.

Where are you BecG? There are often demo days advertised in the events section of this site where you can try out boards and see what you like.

I wouldn't buy online in Oz unless you're in a remote location. Not much to be saved and you really need to try your board to see if you like it. Regular freight couriers here have a nasty habit of using forklifts on the boxes even though they are marked fragile and your new board has a good chance of arriving with a big hole in it. A good shop with a variety of brands stocked will give you good service, hopefully ask the right questions to fit you to the board, and you can keep in touch with the shop afterwards for feedback and to see what boards are coming in. We rarely are happy with just one board as there are different boards for different uses - different types of surfing, flat water cruising, different types of racing, carrying the dog or kids - the list goes on.

Try searching this site for 10 ft or 10' boards and have a look in the for sale section for a few pics and to get an idea of brands then search the site for the brands to see what comments they get.

It's a lot of fun - enjoy!