Buy a surfboard: Find the right surfboard for you

The choice of surfboard determines whether you will have fun in the water and improve your surfing or whether you will be frustrated! If the surfboard is too small, you will make a good figure on the beach, but in the water you will get too few waves. If the board is too big or the shape of the board does not fit your riding style, your surfing development will not be helped.

So how to find the right surfboard among the variety of different boards, designs, sizes and shapes?

We try to help you choose a surfboard and find the perfect Surfboard for you.

With the help of the self-assessment of your surfing level, your surfing ability, your weight and our volume calculator you should get a very good selection of suitable surfboards. Just follow the instructions and you will get a good idea which surfboard suits you best!

You can find our surfboards here in our  Surfboard Selection!

Overview Surfboard Shapes

This short overview of the different surfboard shapes and surfboard categories will help you to choose your board. A detailed description of the individual surfboard shapes follows below. 

Surflevel

Essential for the selection of the surfboard shape or surfboard category is your surf level. Here you should be honest with yourself and make a healthy self-assessment:

Surf Beginner:

You've never surfed before or tried surfing on a surfboard on holiday?
You have already been to the surf camp and have already completed your first week of the surf beginner course?
You feel most comfortable in the waist-high water?

For beginners we recommend a Mini Malibu or Funshape/Funboard with enough volume or for the first days even a pure Softboard. These boards ensure that you have a good wave yield and sufficient stability on the board!

Beginner to intermediate Surfer:

Have you already had your first beginner course and have been surfing on holiday several times?
You leave the surf beginners behind in the white water and paddle out into the line up?
Takeoff and Green Waves Take Off are no problem for you? 

You already have the first surfing starts behind you and now it's finally time for the first surfboard! We recommend a slightly shorter Mini Malibu or Funshape.

Intermediate Surfer:

You feel comfortable in the line up and have fun with head-high waves?
The take off is safe and you ride the waves confidently?
Are you surfing parallel to the wave and already trying your hand at the first few turns?
The Eskimo reel with the longer Mini Malibus should finally be a thing of the past?
You finally want to do a duck dive?

Now it's time for a shorter board! As a step to the shorter board away from the Mini Malibu or Funshape we recommend a Fish Shape, Hybrid Shape oder Egg Shape. The boards combine a lot of volume in a short board! With the shorter board, you can practice duck dives and learn easy turns on the waves without losing too much stability and wave yield!

 

Advanced Surfer:

You surf safely in all conditions?
With shorter boards like Fish or Egg Shape you'll be fine?
The basic surfing maneuvers like bottom turn, cutback or top turn are your world?
Do you already have a shortboard and are looking for a second board for your Surf Qiver to choose from a selection in different surfing conditions?
You want to experiment with different shapes, tails, fins and set-ups?

Now it's time to fine-tune your next Shortboards! With the help of our volume calculator you should find a shortboard, fish or hybrid to take your surf skills to the next level!

Surfboard Volumen

A surfboard must provide enough buoyancy for you to paddle comfortably, launch waves and land safely on the board during take-off. A surfboard which is too small won't be fun if you suddenly only get two waves per surf session. Conversely, the surfboard shouldn't be too big for you. After all, you want to reach the next surf level, practice turns or learn the duck dive.

A very good indicator which board matches your surfing level, your weight, your surfing experience and your surfing fitness is the volume of the board measured in liters.

The following tables will help you to find the right volume for you:

Volumen of Surfboards at Average Fitness

You go surfing once or twice a year and spend a total of two to three weeks in the water. In general you have a good fitness and are also active in sports at home. Sport alone, however, does not completely fill your life and you enjoy spending an afternoon on the beach in the sun.

• - 1-2 times surfing per year
• - 2-3 weeks of surfing per year
• - Generally sporty and fit

Weight	Beginner	Beginner/ Intermediate	Intermediate	Advanced
50 to 55 kg	44 to 52 Liter	33 to 40 Liter	26 to 32 Liter	20 to 24 Liter
55 to 60 kg	48 to 56 Liter	37 to 44 Liter	28 to 34 Liter	22 to 26 Liter
60 to 65 kg	53 to 61 Liter	40 to 47 Liter	30 to 36 Liter	24 to 28 Liter
65 to 70 kg	58 to 66 Liter	43 to 50 Liter	33 to 39 Liter	26 to 31 Liter
70 to 75 kg	63 to 71 Liter	47 to 54 Liter	35 to 42 Liter	28 to 33 Liter
75 to 80 kg	67 to 75 Liter	51 to 58 Liter	38 to 44 Liter	30 to 35 Liter
80 to 85 kg	71 to 80 Liter	54 to 63 Liter	41 to 47 Liter	32 to 37 Liter
85 to 90 kg	75 to 84 Liter	57 to 66 Liter	44 to 50 Liter	35 to 40 Liter
90 to 95 kg	79 to 89 Liter	61 to 70 Liter	46 to 52 Liter	38 to 44 Liter

Volumen of Surfboards at Above Average Fitness

You regularly go on surf trips and spend several weeks in the water. Surfing is absolutely in the foreground on the trips. At home you do sports several times a week and the sport serves as a balance in your life. You go swimming or paddling to prepare for your next surf trip.

• - 3-4 times surfing per year
• - 4 weeks and more in water
• - High fitness level

Weight	Beginner	Beginner/ Intermediate	Intermediate	Advanced
50 to 55 kg	44 to 52 Liter	33 to 40 Liter	26 to 32 Liter	20 to 24 Liter
55 to 60 kg	48 to 56 Liter	37 to 44 Liter	28 to 34 Liter	22 to 26 Liter
60 to 65 kg	53 to 61 Liter	40 to 47 Liter	30 to 36 Liter	24 to 28 Liter
65 to 70 kg	58 to 66 Liter	43 to 50 Liter	33 to 39 Liter	26 to 31 Liter
70 to 75 kg	63 to 71 Liter	47 to 54 Liter	35 to 42 Liter	28 to 33 Liter
75 to 80 kg	67 to 75 Liter	51 to 58 Liter	38 to 44 Liter	30 to 35 Liter
80 to 85 kg	71 to 80 Liter	54 to 63 Liter	41 to 47 Liter	32 to 37 Liter
85 to 90 kg	75 to 84 Liter	57 to 66 Liter	44 to 50 Liter	35 to 40 Liter
90 to 95 kg	79 to 89 Liter	61 to 70 Liter	46 to 52 Liter	38 to 44 Liter

Volumen of Surfboards at Excellent Fitness

You live by the sea and surf regularly. Surfing is an integral part of your life. If there are no waves, you can train in the gym or swimming pool.

• - Regular surfing all year round
• - Very high fitness level
• - regular strength, speed and endurance training

Weight	Beginner	Beginner/ Intermediate	Intermediate	Advanced
50 to 55 kg	44 to 52 Liter	33 to 40 Liter	26 to 32 Liter	20 to 24 Liter
55 to 60 kg	48 to 56 Liter	37 to 44 Liter	28 to 34 Liter	22 to 26 Liter
60 to 65 kg	53 to 61 Liter	40 to 47 Liter	30 to 36 Liter	24 to 28 Liter
65 to 70 kg	58 to 66 Liter	43 to 50 Liter	33 to 39 Liter	26 to 31 Liter
70 to 75 kg	63 to 71 Liter	47 to 54 Liter	35 to 42 Liter	28 to 33 Liter
75 to 80 kg	67 to 75 Liter	51 to 58 Liter	38 to 44 Liter	30 to 35 Liter
80 to 85 kg	71 to 80 Liter	54 to 63 Liter	41 to 47 Liter	32 to 37 Liter
85 to 90 kg	75 to 84 Liter	57 to 66 Liter	44 to 50 Liter	35 to 40 Liter
90 to 95 kg	79 to 89 Liter	61 to 70 Liter	46 to 52 Liter	38 to 44 Liter

Surfboard Shapes

Mini Malibu and Funshapes/Funboards: Surfboards for beginners

For beginners the Mini Malibu and Funboards are the right choice. The surfboards are very easy to paddle and glide well when paddling a wave. The boards offer a lot of stability when taking off and surfing the first waves - perfect for beginners!

Usually the boards have a length between 6.11 and 8.11 and are made of soft, polyester or epoxy construction.

For beginners, a Mini-Malibu or Funboard offers the following advantages: 

• - More stability due to round nose
• - Easier planing due to round nose
• - Easy to paddle through high volume
• - Less effort required

Hybrid, Fish and Egg Shape: Surfboards for advanced surfers

For advanced surfers the Hybrid Surfboards, Fish or Egg Shapes fit very well! The boards with a length between 5.2 and 6.9 are much shorter than a Mini Malibu or Funshape. The shape is characterized by relatively wide boards and a nose with a lot of volume. Thus the Hybrids, Fish and Egg Shapes combine a lot of volume in a relatively short surfboard. This makes the boards very attractive for advanced surfers who want a shorter board, but don't want to forego the paddle advantages of a large board. Conversely, fish and egg shapes are a great alternative for good surfers on days with small and weak waves.

The boards are ideal as a step from the Mini Malibu to the next shorter board or as a step-up on days with smaller, weak waves. The surfboards are therefore suitable for advanced surfers as well as for professionals!

Advantages of a fish or hybrid for intermediates:

• - Ideal transition from Funboard to Shortboard
• - More volume can be paddled with less effort.
• - More manoeuvrable than Funboard
• - Reacts quickly
• - More forgiving in terms of failures and more stable than shortboards
• - Duck Dive (diving under the wave) is possible

Shortboards: Surfboards for professionals

Shortboards are the surfboards for experienced and very good surfers. The boards are relatively light and have a small volume. This makes the boards very manoeuvrable and agile - for radical turns on the wave the shortboards are the right choice!

However, the short boards require a lot of surfing experience, paddle power and fitness. No surfer gets past funboards and fish shapes during his surfing career before he can surf a shortboard.

Advanced surfers have fun with this shape:

• - A lot of speed
• - Manoeuvrability
• - Simple duck diving

Disadvantages compared to shapes with more volume:

• - More difficult to paddle
• - Unstable in take-off
• - Little buoyancy
• - Weaker waves are more difficult to surf

Longboards: Surfboards for experienced surfers

Longboards represent a different side of surfing: Smoother Surfstyle of a longboard with round movements and other manoeuvres like cross-steps or slope-fives or hang-tens!

With a length of 9 feet or more, the longboards have a lot of volume. However, this does not mean that the boards are also suitable for beginners. The boards are difficult to move because of the large mass and paddling out to the line up is a big challenge, which makes longboards not beginners friendly.

Softboards: Beginner surfboard for every age

The softboards are ideal for the first days in the water. Soft boards significantly reduce the risk of injury. Equipped with flexible fins there is a lower risk of injury to the fins.