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I have been taking surfing lessons and getting in a fair bit of time on a 9ft foam board that I hire... which is not cheap.
I have been looking at buying a board of my own, I'd like to skip the total beginner boards and get something slightly more advanced that will still allow me to progress. A friend just bought a BIC which to me seems like a (very heavy) barn door....
I am 90kg. Any advice appreciated.
the alder foamies are supposed to be good.
for now, I'd say you want some volume.
Maybe give a bit of an idea of what you can do on a 9'0 foamie? Can you pop-up as you take off and trim onto open face? if not I'd consider buying a foamie.
I often use my wifes 7'8 decathalon foamie. Its a lot of fun, you can do cutback, floaters etc on it, or walk up and just about noseride; so plenty of oppurtunity to progress. I believe they have high resale values too if you look after it.
I can stand up on most waves (if I catch them correctly) am starting to learn to turn along the wave. I have found a local shaper who will make me an 8ft polyester board for what seems a reasonable price.... Epoxy boards are a lot more expensive!
A BIC is the perfect board for someone at your stage - strong, tough, easy to buy and sell (there's always hundreds about) and cheap. A beginner is sure to ding a glassed board, and if you get into surfing you don't really know whether you want your next board to be something small or not.
at 90kgs, and your level of surfing I'd suggest more length than 8' - I was 15 kg lighter than that when I learned to surf (and fit) and I found a 7'3 really held me back till I was good enough to accurately choose and surf waves
If you live any distance from a break, plan to put the board anywhere except in the back of a van, then I’d be buying a 9’+ BIC longboard.
I bought one back in the early 2000s as an interim board until I progressed and knew what kind of board I wanted from a decent shaper. It’s been on multiple trips, strapped to the roof of various cars, dropped, bashed, abused. It’s still in good condition and will sell for what I bought it for.
There are so many good S/H boards out there I wouldn’t get a custom made until you know what you want.
Loads of Facebook groups with a pretty high turnover of boards.