Our Guide to the Best Surfboards for Beginners
Whether you’re interested in surfing or have taken a few lessons and got the itch, figuring out how to choose the right beginner surfboard is tough. There are countless board options out there. Surfboards come in different shapes, sizes, volumes, materials, and are meant for different waves and riders.
So here we are going to get into a few things to consider when buying your first surfboard, along with our recommendations for the best beginner boards. Surfing is super personal, and what works for someone else may not be best for you.
Types of Beginner Surfboards
There are several things to consider in a beginner surfboard. Depending on your level, height and weight, where you’ll be surfing, and what your goals are, you may want a different board. Let’s get into it!
Foam vs Hard Top
One of the first things to consider when purchasing a new surfboard is the construction. The most common option for beginners, and the one we recommend, are foamies. Foam surfboards are super bouyant, giving the rider a few benefits.
First, it will paddle much easier than a hard board. Whether you’re paddling out to the waves or paddling to catch a wave, a foamie will simply be easier. As you are likely just beginning to learn how to paddle a surfboard, this extra bouyancy will help you catch more waves and last longer in the water.
Second, a foamie is more durable. Getting your board down to the beach will result in less dings, and if you hit some rocks your board won’t take damage that requires repairs. It’s also safer for both you and other surfers, as beginner surfers tend to lose their boards more often or lack control on the wave.
On the other hand, we have poly or epoxy boards. These boards are harder, and much more sensitive. They turn better, are more responsive, and come in much smaller sizes. The upside is that you will have more responsiveness, but the downside is that you’ll lose quite a bit of float.
For beginners, a hard board may make it hard to catch as many waves. Generally speaking, the best thing for a beginner surfer is time on the waves. With a foamie, you’re likely to get more time on the waves. It will be harder to catch waves, and harder to retain speed on a hard top board.
There are also soft top epoxy boards available now to bridge the gap a bit. These boards are generally tailored toward beginners, so have a lot of float. The soft top keeps you a bit safer with falls, and a lot of people like it either as a beginner surfboard or a transitional board.
Budget
Next, you have to consider your budget. In my experience, beginners and advanced surfers tend to trash boards. The advanced surfers surf in places with more rock, reef, and big waves. The beginners pearl, haven’t quite learned to care for a board, and are still learning to control the board underneath them.
Because of this, we generally recommend keeping your budget relatively low for the first board. The good news is that there are many beginner surfboards for low budgets, and a few nicer ones that come in at a few more dollars. In general, a beginner surfboard should be ideally a stepping stone and not a forever board anyway.
Board Shape
Buying your first surfboard, the shape is definitely key. You don’t want a short and thin board that is hard to balance on but turns well. You want something stable to get more of that time on the waves. In general, longboard shapes are preferred for beginner surfers.
Longboards are one of the easiest ways to catch waves, especially small waves and whitewater. They’re common at surf camps and surf schools for a reason. When you do catch a wave, they’re relatively stable, helping you with your popup and balance.
A longer board may not work super well on really big days, but most beginner surfers aren’t going for the overhead waves anyway! For catching whitewater or even learning to trim down the line on waist-high waves, a longboard shape is the way to go to learn to surf.
Board Volume
Volume seems to always be debated among surfers. My experience is that you learn on what you learn on, and adjust as needed. For your first surfboard, you want something with a lot of volume, as this will provide the float needed to catch and ride waves with ease. Again, all about that time on the waves.
For a grown adult, you will want something in 80 liter range. Many foamies come in volumes of 75-100 liters, and this is probably ideal. The less liters you have, the less waves you will likely catch. Higher volume boards will also be easier on smaller days or in whitewash.
Surf Style and Goals
The last thing I encourage people to consider when choosing a beginner surfboard is their surf style and goals. Do you want to learn some sleek moves on a longboard? Or maybe you want to carve a shortboard eventually. It’s okay to not entirely know, but if you do it can help you orient yourself toward a better choice.
Especially if you’re transitioning from a foamie to your next board, this is a question you’ll want to ask yourself. If you have mostly mushy waves (like we do here where I live), a longer board or groveler might be right. If you have solid hollow waves, you might consider working toward a shortboard.
Best Foam Boards for Beginners
There are a lot of different foamies out there. You may recognize a few of these. Here are our top recommendations, in no particular order (other than the first).
Wavestorm
Probably the most popular foamie, at least in North America. They are super reasonable, and last a good while. Sure, it’s not necessarily a forever board, but it’s our favorite beginner surfboard, period. Go to any surf spot with beginners, and you’re likely to see quite a few of these boards. They are great beginner boards, and the go-to for many surf schools and surf camps around the world. They also sometimes have them at Costco for a decent price, and are available on Amazon.
Gerry Lopez
A close second is the Gerry Lopez foam surfboard. I could be wrong, but I think Costco has replaced the Wavestorms with these cheaper boards. I’ve ridden them here in Mexico, and they’re essentially a Wavestorm in my opinion. The lower price might mean the construction is a bit cheaper, and I have seen one break in half. But the local surf school uses these and they seem to be solid. They roughly have the same dimensions and volume as the Wavestorms, and are a bit cheaper. You can check with your local Costco or order them online!
Catch Surf Boards
Catch Surf is a relatively new brand started by George Arsenate back in 2007. I’ve only tried one of the boards a few times, but loved it. It wasn’t quite as floaty as the Wavestorm or Gerry Lopez, but a bit more responsive. From what I’ve read, a lot of beginner surfers really love their boards. They make foam boards in all shapes and sizes. I recommend checking out their longboards as they will likely be the most beginner-friendly. As you do transition to smaller boards, keep them in mind as they have a lot of awesome foam shortboards and fishes as well.
Best Hard Boards for Beginners
If you want to go the route of a hard board, we have a few recommendations as well. We have to note that we definitely recommend starting with foamies, but if you’re past that, check out these options.
Froth Boardworks
Froth Boardworks makes a solid hard surfboard with a foam top. Unlike a foamie, their boards have a real maple stringer and fiberglass construction. From the rails up through the top, it’s covered in foam to be more beginner friendly. These boards have surprising float, with the 8 foot board coming in at 96 liters. They will be a bit more responsive than a full foamie, and a bit harder to stay balanced on. They come in at under $500. A bit more costly than the foamies, they are probably also going to last a bit longer.
Isle Coronado
First off, let me admit I’ve never even seen one of these boards, let alone tried one. However, it has popped up on my radar many times. Both on the internet and with people I know who recently learned to surf, the Coronado seems to be a favorite. Coming from San Diego, Isle makes this board that really aims to mimic a hard longboard or funsize while retaining the foam top. The 8 foot board is only 65 liters, so it will be a bit harder to learn on if it is your first time surfing. However, with that many liters it is still a great board for a beginner who has already learned to pop up and catch whitewater.
My Personal Journey with Beginner Surfboards
Nobody asked, but I’m going to share anyway. I first learned to surf on an old foamie someone let me use. It was the equivalent of a 8 foot Wavestorm, and I was much smaller than I am today as I was a teenager. As I got better with catching waves and paddling, I was gifted an old Lost Puddlejumper from a friend and switched straight to it. I don’t necessarily recommend this route, but it did end up working out for me as I was young and the board had almost 50 liters.
Fast forward about 10 years. I hadn’t surfed in a while, and decided to get back into it. I picked up a Gerry Lopez foamie to re-start my journey with surfing. I spent about 3 months on that thing before I wanted something different, back to a hard top.
I found a used Tim Stamps 7’ board with 55L, and that did the trick for me. It worked wonderfully on the 3-5 foot waves in the area, especially when they had some force. It was a great transitional board from the beginner foamie to a hard top, especially as I had some experience surfing.
My next purchase was the Firewire Sweet Potato, one of my favorite boards I own. A short and fat groveler, the Sweet Potato can catch the most mushy 2-5 foot waves. I can truly take it out instead of a longboard, and in my opinion made for a great beginner/intermediate board to begin transitioning to a shortboard.
Since then, I now have my favorite board, a 5’8” fish from a local shaper, Edgar Salgado. It still has about 36L, so it isn’t too small or advanced. However, it can handle the bigger waves and perform when I need it.