Being a short-boarder equals being the coolest guy in your area. That’s really so: having fun on the waves, picking up the girls easily, riding with speed and a lot of adrenaline – what’s life?
Just imagine, you are at the beach, the ocean beckons you to have new adventures riding waves, and you are holding the light cool shortboard that absolutely fits you.
Even the short-boarders’ speech is cute because they use many fun words about riding waves when speaking about their surfing experience like about busting the air, blowing the lip, and so on.
So, do you want to add to your coolness riding the waves professionally? Let’s shortboard!
Partly all these above-mentioned reasons to be a short-border are the jokes and true reasons should be different, however, for some surfers who are riding waves enthusiastically they are similar to those.
Actually, in this article, you won’t see the rave exclamations about shortboards. Though, you’ll see some points about the importance of the right choice of the shortboard for riding the waves according to your physical features, abilities, and weather conditions, and how all this helps you get the most from your riding.
So, get ready to find out about the advantages and disadvantages of a shortboard.
First of all, let’s see what a shortboard is. It’s usually not about the length that surfboards get their names.
A fish board is not a shortboard, even if its length is the same, and we can hardly speak about a gun board as a longboard for the same reason.
Thus, the shortboard combines not only the length characteristics but many others.
It is a surfboard with a high-quality performance on the waves with three or four flippers or the two-fin setup. The latter two variations are rare but you can see them in the stores and riding on the waves.
How to understand that the board you see is a shortboard that will perform perfectly?
The distinguishing factor is generating energy. The shortboard power depends on the rails.
With a medium or big rocker, a thick surfboard will perform well, but not in the situation when you go riding straight on the waves.
For that, you have to shake the rails or apply the extra force to put on the flex entity and fins when riding. After that, you will see the energy in the following riding turn or maneuver on the waves.
The magazines tend to publish photos of people riding shortboards.
The main reason is that this powerful surfboard has a lot of advantages. Let’s have a closer look at shortboards.
What Shortboard Offers You
- Waves: 5 feet (1.52 m) in height that are pitching are the perfect wave conditions for riding a shortboard. The waves go with power, speed, and steepness, and the shortboard should correspond to the conditions and be fast promising maneuverability, quick reaction, and responsiveness when you enter the wave and go through its critical zone while riding. The shortboard with its smaller length will help when riding in the condition when the waves are steep. However, it’s important to have enough rocker that should be big and not flat because the latter will not perform riding correctly, anyway. You’ve probably heard that not only a shortboard matters to overcome these waves, but the shortboard and its characteristics, such as curvature, rocker, and length, will be a good choice to catch mighty waves while riding.
Therefore, surfboards with bigger length yield to shortboards. That’s true that they also provide the opportunity to their owners for riding big waves.
However, they can’t make it with the steep part of the wave where the energy is considered coming from. That part of the wave is curly, and you can take its power to use it during your next maneuver.
Simply put, you take advantage of the wave height and achieve additional energy and speed from it.
Try to grab the opportunities given you by nature with the help of a special tool, the shortboard. With such a shortboard, you may go riding waves in Hawaii, for instance.
- Barrels: you can easily get into barrels with a shortboard. In spite of the fact that you can also use a fish board to run into them or a longboard to dive into them while riding the waves. But you cannot find something created in a more perfect way than the shortboard. Riding the waves on the shortboard, you’ll find yourself right into a deep water barrel.
- Maneuvers: there are numerous tricks you can do riding a shortboard. The same can be said about styles of riding, and you can try something new every day. Fast or slow movements, drawing figures and lines while riding, making pumps or snaps on the shortboard, going powerfully and with pressure, into or above waves: you are free to choose what way of riding you like more.
Everything is about functionality when riding on the waves. Different boards behave differently on the definite parts of the waves.
With a shortboard, you can be faster and have the ability to change your position on the wave looking for its best part for your trick. With the shortboard, you’ll have a wide field for experiments and experiencing the range of your riding styles.
Today, you ride the waves taking your time to explore the lines, tomorrow, with the same shortboard, you’ll do it with vigorous energy trying to catch as many waves as you can. So, this is your choice of the multifunctional surfboard that can offer you a lot to try.
- Competition is everywhere: People like to try their power and compare themselves with others. Complicated tasks for riding waves on the shortboard make us stronger. Competition is the thing that can help us to grow and gain new riding experiences and knowledge, to become more articulate than we have been before. Strong rivals motivate us to be even better and achieve more than just our goals.
Surfing, and short boarding, in particular, face you with a competition when you are on the waves. When you just float or paddle, or catch a small or a big wave you can evidence the others’ achievements.
You watch the boys and girls doing incredible things and get a lot from it. You share your knowledge with them at the beach and receive advice in answer.
A friendly atmosphere means a lot for surf lovers.
You’ve probably heard about two great short boarders, Joel Parkinson and Mick Fanning. They were competitors from childhood, riding and growing together.
That’s important to see such examples and believe in your success despite there sometimes can be a failure.
- Shape advantages: A small and light shortboard is essential for high-performance riding. To make them like this, little amounts of materials are used: you’ll not see much foam in them and glass resin on them. The concept of less weight works great and the shortboards become maneuverable on the waves.
You will be able to do many tricks easily while riding. With less foam, you can treat your board not so seriously, go into the waves with much bravery, and get off them whenever you want and in a way you like.
Just pull the surfboard and it will respond to you with joyful readiness. You’ll get so much fun and easiness that you’ll never encounter riding other surfboards that are bigger.
One more plus of the shortboard size is its convenience in storage.
Just place your board in a small corner where you can also keep some other stuff or even some more boards. With big types of surfboards, you can hardly do the same.
The price of a shortboard is also a benefit. The cost is cheaper due to many reasons.
One of them is less foam and other materials are needed to build it. So, you should pay about $900 for a longboard, while for a nice small shortboard, you’ll give much less – about $600.
To sum up, try not only to follow the trends in surfing but also to be led by your feelings when riding one or another type of surfboard. Something that might be good for one, may not be a benefit for you at all.
You may choose a longboard or a shortboard depending on what fits you better, give comfort when riding the waves and so much fun.
Moreover, you can try even all types of boards if you like it and go riding different boards in different conditions. Feel free to share your opinion with us in the comments!
