As a beginner especially, it can be tough knowing where to start on knowing how to choose a surfboard. To help you out, I’ve put collated three great videos that do a great job of comparing pros and cons of some potential first surfboards.

Most people have a strong favourite and will stick with it to the death but these do a good job of showing off when certain boards outperform the rest. Importantly, they also show when they are next to useless – whether that’s due to your experience or to the wave conditions. It would be nice to buy a handful of boards to choose from, but most of us don’t want to spend that sort of money or have the space to hoard them. The videos point out a few versatile boards that can do it all with limited compromise – so you don’t need a surfboard library!

1. This video gives an excellent overview of what to look out for when you choose a surfboard – it’s not all about length but size does matter.

2. Check out this guy’s video for more of a positive comparison of longboards and shortboards.

The video has a funny start, with a bit of beer for Dutch courage and to loosen the tongue. The video does a good job of detailing the character of longboards and shortboards, focusing on their positives. An interesting take that the slower manoeuvrability of longboards is actually a good thing for beginners before testing out an agile short board. You will have to excuse the few bits of audio feedback for the nuggets of information.

3. This video gives another take on how to choose a surfboard and looks at hybrids as well as long and short boards.

This guy knows his stuff and takes you through a handful of board types, linking them to the wave power, ability level and body type they are most suitable for. If you are looking for even more detail on board recommendations then this is the video for you.

Next Steps…

So you know what board to get but have no idea how to surf yet. Not to worry! Check out: Top 5 surf tutorials: Learning to Surf for Beginners