Hi there, I am a beginner (never surfed before) and am looking at a short board which can handle those close shore dumps on messy days (just for a bit of fun). I'm not looking to gradually upgrade to a more sophisticated board but am looking to buy one board and hopefully get better on it and just stick with that one.

I'm 30 years old and 80 to 85kg.

I'm currently looking at mini Simmons or Odysea Stump.

Thoughts? Feedback?

Cheers!

neither of those are going to be any good to learn on...get youself a second hand epoxy NSP or an epoxy Al merrick M13 7'6 ...it will be easier to paddle and you will catch more waves...the more waves you catch the faster you'll learn....the Merrick will probably cost more but you will be able to use it for longer

+ 1 Well said Tux.

Wise men those two. 7'6" sounds good. It's the size a mate bought this year to learn on.

More waves equals more fun.

Mini-simmons' aren't learners boards at all.

Thanks gents! I was told that as the mini Simmons was very short and wide it was great for beginners?

In regards to al Merrick, how much do these retail for and where is the best place to buy? Thanks!

Go to your local surfshop that sells Channel Islands and they can get you one...or hunt around Ebay and gumtree there are usually a few floating around for $300ish

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Agent009 said..
Thanks gents! I was told that as the mini Simmons was very short and wide it was great for beginners?

In regards to al Merrick, how much do these retail for and where is the best place to buy? Thanks!

Long and wide is good. Long helps get you in early. Wide helps with stability. That's a gross simplification, other things influence those attributes but that's a good starting point.. The Simmons is actually a weird little performance board that has a whole lot of of other characteristics not suited to a beginner - fast and loose. You have enough to deal with learning to surf at your age without throwing crazy horse into the mix.

Thanks gents! Been searching on eBay and Gumtree but havent seen an al merrick m13 in the 7'6" size (longest I have seen is 6'6")

I'll keep looking. Cheers

Go here : www.angleseasurfcentre.com.au/

There is a Rusty that might be OK in the mini mal section
One of the modern blackbirds would probably be OK and they are in the new section

Thanks Tux!

Other than Gumtree and eBay, is the online site the best place to search online?

And in regards to that rusty and blackbird, how do they compare to a 7'6" al merrick m13? The channel island al merrick seems to be the number one pick so I'd rather wait and find one of those if that's the best option.

It dosent need to be that specific board, the Merrick is not any more special than other boards of similar size. Anything around the same dimensions is going to work for a beginner.

What most people are trying to steer you away from is a little short 5 foot someting board that only works in specific conditions.

Agent009 I'm not sure where you are located but if you can get your hands on a Trigger Stubby 7' - 7'6, I'm pretty sure it'll get you up and going much quicker than the boards that you suggested initially. I don't think you find them much outside of VIC though, but I could be wrong.

They seem to hold there value really well too so you won't lose anything on the resale. I bought my first one, a 7'6 brand new for $750 and then 2 years later sold it for $550. The are bullet proof too.

Theres a heap of boards in teh for sale section...try and get something between 7'4 and 8'0 shortboard shape and no less than 20inches wide

Sparki shared a link to these in the other thread. A mate has a couple and likes them. I reckon they look good:

www.softechsoftboards.com/collections/boards

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bene313 said..
Sparki shared a link to these in the other thread. A mate has a couple and likes them. I reckon they look good:

www.softechsoftboards.com/collections/boards

there's a few guys out at Cove that surf these and catch all the waves.....

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bene313 said...
Sparki shared a link to these in the other thread. A mate has a couple and likes them. I reckon they look good:

www.softechsoftboards.com/collections/boards

Thanks mate. I like the look of those.

So many different options though...signature, learner or hybrid. I know the learner sounds like the best option but is there any particular one on that website that would suit a beginner and catch waves easily.

Get one of the Learner models.

Sizing, hmm. Maybe the 7'0?