Mix Up Your Quiver, Have More Fun

Just as I’d never recommend just one surf fitness workout routine, or one fitness tool, I’d never recommend surfing just one surf board. “Variety is the spice of life,” or so they say, and the same goes with your surf craft. There are three key reasons you should surf a variety of boards:

1. Different surf conditions really do call for different boards. You can have a ton of fun on a knee high, peeling point wave if you are trimming it out on the right board. Most surfers would really struggle on a short board in these conditions. You could argue that surfing small waves on your standard short board can improve your short board surfing. Probably true. But I’ve found it to be so much more fun surfing longer boards in waves smaller than waist high. There is nothing quite like the feeling of trimming down a glassy wave.

2. Surfing different boards will help you discover what kind of board you really like. If you only surf one board how will you ever know if that is the best board for you? Try a fish, a quad, a longboard, a single fin … try it all and figure out what goes best.

3. Riding different shapes and style boards can really refine your surfing. I remember one winter at Ocean Beach where I surfed primarily a heavier single fin short board. The board went amazing in the thick, tubey, fast conditions of the Beach. After a few months of that I jumped back on my standard thruster and was amazed at the difference and with how much easier certain turns were. It gave me a totally different perspective on my surfing.

My advice — find a board that really works for you and master it. Then branch out and try some different shapes and sizes. It’s a big, beautiful world of surf boards and waves out there — mix it up and have some fun.

Stay healthy, and we’ll see you in the water.