“I don’t want to be a longboarder, can I go straight to a short board?”

This is for the surfer that wants go short, fast.

This was me. This still is me.

Everyone will tell you “just get a longboard”. But you know in your little shredding heart, riding a smaller board is possible. And after trying 20 boards over the last 2 years, and droppign volume fast, I’m here to tell you it is possible, AND, they’re right. But “just get a longboard”, as advice, isn’t complete enough to be helpful. So I’ll share the hypothetical discussion that would have helped me progress faster, and then we’ll talk about specific board types to drop down to.

So first we have to talk about…

Two bad reasons for not wanting a longboard

You’re nosediving

It’s fine if you don’t want to end up as a long boarder, but it should be a red flag if you don’t want a longboard because you think it’s the board length causing you to nosedive.

You don’t want to look like a beginner anymore

I won’t belabor this - just look at experienced surfers on longboards and foamies. They look good. If you look bad on a foamie, you’re going to look worse on a shortboard. Doesn’t mean don’t get one, just saying it’s not the board…

So what’s the right reason? Because it’s fun, and you wanna try it. But…

Are you actually ready to drop volume?

There’s a point in your skills progression, that before which, it’s just going to waste time to drop size. So before you drop volume/length aggressively, make sure you’re learned to read and catch green waves, are comfortable taking off near the peak of a 2-3’ wave, and can angle down the line. A larger board is going to get you to these milestones much faster and at this level, there’s nothing a small board is going to actually help you with.

As for going down the line, if you’re still going straight, you should break that habit on an easy board first otherwise you’ll just end up in the flats with rides that don’t allow you to learn anything or worse, constantly caught inside.

If you want more detail about what level surfer you should be, if you look at what surf simply has to say, you’re right at the end of level 2 surfing and you’re comfortable in waist and maybe chest high surf. I agree with their time estimation that you can achive this in a few weeks to a few months depending on how often you paddle out.

In addition to technical skills, you also know how to navigate the lineup. Surf ettiquite isn’t hard, but it takes a little bit of time to learn, and it’s just easier to learn while sitting on a longboard because you can get out of the way faster.

So now that you know when you’re ready, we have to discuss…

Do I really have to get a longboard?

You really should. Not every wave, and not every day is a small board day. Board to wave selection is a skill you’re going to be working on, so for now, just trust that everyone says get a longboard for a reason. So when I say you can drop volume fast, basically what we’re doing now is adding in shortboard days, when the conditions are right. As an advanced beginner, heavy waves, crowds, long paddle and current all mean bring more volume but be patient with yourself as you figure this all out. You’re going to feel like a kook on the wrong board some days.

As for what board, you don’t need to go larger than ~9’. There are a few types of longboard, and this article from Hawaiian South Shore sums up the difference. I got the 9’1” Harley Ingelby HIHP.

If you want to go shorter, you can also get something like an 8’ Ova. The volume is almost the same as my longboard, and the reviews say it turns like a dream. I have a similar shape (Josh Hall Panacea), and I love it.

I wouldn’t over think this, just don’t go too long (since you don’t wanna to be a long boarder). You can always sell this board later. But most importantly…

Resist the urge to get a 7’ mini-mal/funboard as your easy board.

This board shape won’t scratch your ‘I want to shortboard’ itch and it’s actually going to be challenging to ride on small or weak waves. At this stage, this shape is going to be the worst of all worlds.

So having discussed a few things that I would have beneffited from knowing sooner, here are the boards I used to drop length quickly.

Step 1: Master the shortboard pop-up on super easy, but small, board.

If you only ride a longboard, it’s hard to know for sure, if you can do a shortboard pop-up. The only way to know, is to take away a few feet of length.

For this, I wanted to drop length, but not too much volume. So I got a 6’6” Odysea. At 55L it was only 6L lighter than my longboard so it was still very easy to paddle. The rails on this board are fat so don’t think you have to master short board turns on this board, but in addition to dailing in your pop-up, you can work on trimming turns and kicking off the wave.

You’re going to have start moving more inside to catch waves, but not critically so.

This board is a confidence booster for sure.

Step 2: Remove volume, learn to paddle

This step, is a much bigger skills jump than the last, but as long as you’re expecting it, and are willing to get out of your comfort zone, it’s fine. For your first session, you may even feel like you’re relearning how to surf here. You’ll have to move further inside and paddle harder.

It’s nearly impossible to know without trying a few boards what size to get, but for me 42L was the sweet spot (however I only learned this after going too small). With this much volume removed, you’ll be forced to learn proper paddle technique, but still have enough volume to catch some waves.

As for board shape, I like a performance midlength, on the smaller side of the range.

The board that really worked for me as my first ‘short’ board was the 6’10” Pyzel Mid Length Crisis. The Hayden Shapes Glider is another good choice. You want a board that has a flatter rocker, and work wells in small surf. As an advanced beginner who wasn’t totally comfortable in head high waves, I loved this board on 2-4’ days, and my longboard on heavier days.

As I said, this will be a skills jump, so I highly recommend getting one (or more) private lessons to be coached on your paddle, wave positioning and board positioning. There are plenty of videos out there on this, but sometimes it helps to have someone see what you’re doing and correct you in the moment. I took this board to a SWA camp, and the instructors got my weak paddle sorted out.

How often you take this board out vs your easy board really depends on the conditions and what you’re looking to get out of each session.

Step 3: Remove more volume

At this stage, your confidence is going to be high, and you’re going to be tempted to get a small, high performance shortboard. I’m not going to tell you not to…but I’ll just say, if you’re still 1-2 years into surfing, you really don’t want to remove so much foam from the front of your board yet.

I dropped ~4 liters here because my breaks usually come with a long paddle, but you could definitely drop more if you’re surfing shore break. My 38L boards range from 5’9 to 6’3” and I have a hydra, a puddle jumper pro and a hypto krypto.

In this stage, there’s a point, where you’re struggling so much, it’s not even worth it. A few people told me this guideline - if you can’t get out back, for whatever reason, you need more volume. If you can get out back, but just can’t catch a wave, it’s up to you to decide if you want to size up, or work on your technique.

So, that’s that. I’ve tried about 20 boards in all kinds of conditions, and I learned there were actually only a few key sizes I needed. So, as long as you have both an achievable board and an aspirational board in your quiver, you don’t need to wait 2 years to get off of the longboard. Just pick some sessions to grab your small(er) board and play!