1. Your level:

Make sure you have a good idea what kind of surf experience you have. Ask yourself a few questions:

– What type of waves do I surf?

– Can I paddle?

– Do I surf unbroken waves or do I stand in shallow water surfing whitewash?

– Do I or will I surf different beaches?

All these factors are important and narrow your search down. Be honest with yourself, we’re not all Mick Fanning or Sally Fitzgibbons. If you need assistance to find where you are with your surfing  please walk in anytime at our surf shop/school in Bondi and Maroubra or Byron Bay. 

2. How often do I surf?

You know already that surfing takes lots and lots of practice, that’s why we love it so much! Do you or will you surf everyday? Once a week or once a month?

This is a really important factor because it will affect your progression. If you are surfing every day you will improve more and can choose a board that is a bit more challenging. If you will only surf once a week or less you want a surfboard that makes it a lot of fun the few times you surf.

3. Hardboard/fiberglass or Softboard:

Now you have a good idea about your level you need to decide if you want a fiberglass or a softboard. As a surf school all the boards we sell are softboards.

These days Softlite  or Catch surf  make such good quality softboards with good shapes that we see our coaches surfing more on them than fiberglass boards!

Here is a quick rundown of Softboards. 

– Safer for beginner surfers – Better for intermediate/advanced surfer

– Not easy to ding or break – Fragile, easy to ding or break

– Can have soft or hard fins – Only hard fins

– Catch waves easy – More paddle power required

– Very buoyant – Less buoyancy, gain more maneuverability

If you are looking for a board that can take a few punches, makes you paddle easy in waves and is safer to use (definitely between a lot of other surfers) we highly recommend you to buy a soft board as a beginner/intermediate surfer.

4. How to decide the size of your surfboard

Are you an adult buying a surfboard? Or a parent buying it for your son or daughter?

Much of the size of the surfboard depends on the surfers level, weight and length. A kid who will grow a lot in the next year or 2 you want to buy a surfboard they can grow with and still surf on in a year’s time. Biggest mistake we see people make is to buy a board that is too small. Yes it fits easy in your car, public bus, under your arm…But you want to be able to surf, so buy what you need in water. All of us started there.

Things you are looking for as a beginner/intermediate surfer in a surfboard:

• – Length (easy paddling and making speed, helps catching smaller waves)
• – Buoyancy (the thicker the board the better it floats the more waves you catch)
• – Width (a wide board gives you more stability and will help you stand up consistently)

Choosing the dimensions of your board can be tricky and we would recommend you to come and see us in our shop and our team can help you choosing the right size board for you.

5. Try different boards before buying

Do you buy a car without taking it for a test drive? No. Same rule applies for buying a surfboard. At Lets Go Surfing we have a wide range of rental boards and you’re more than welcome to try them out FOR FREE for 30min or rent boards for 1hr, 2hrs, the day or week.

Renting surf boards is one of the best ways to find out what boards works for you and sometimes even better; to find out what NOT works for you.