The different types of surfboards
There are many types of surfboards to choose from depending on your level, conditions or simply your style. Shortboard, Evolutive, Mini-Malibu or even longboard, here is a summary of the different boards available. On Ola Surf Morocco.
Fish
A short and wide board, much easier to turn, your ideal partner for surfing small waves. Popular with beginners, its use is nevertheless limited to small conditions. When the waves deepen and get bigger, this board is no longer useful. An ideal second board and increasingly popular in summer.
Shortboard
The most famous of all boards, the one that Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning and all the pros use in competition! It is short, narrow and therefore allows the most radical maneuvers to be carried out. This board is reserved for surfers with a minimum of technique. To be excluded, therefore, for beginners.
Evolutive
This is a more tolerant board than the shortboard, but which still allows you to perform maneuvers. It is easier to paddle and therefore makes it easier to find the best waves. This is a board suitable for intermediate level surfers. It’s a good mix between the radicality of a shortboard and the comfort of a mini-malibu.
Mini-Malibu et Egg
Welcome to beginner’s paradise. Here, the emphasis is on stability. The mini-malibu is arguably the easiest board to surf. It of course has its limits in terms of maneuvers, but if you are an occasional surfer, who simply wants to enjoy the soft summer waves, but slightly more experienced surfers can find what they are looking for.
Longboard
It is big, it is often very beautiful and reminds us of the history of surfing. Longboards are the star boards of the 60s and the first to be built. Also called Malibu, they allow you to glide smoothly. Not recommended for beginners, these boards are heavy, difficult to maneuver and complicated to paddle. On the other hand, they allow you to take the waves before everyone else and can allow you to enjoy long periods on the same wave. It’s also a very aesthetic board.
Le Gun
Here is a board that few surfers will have the opportunity to surf. If it’s not the level that’s lacking, it will probably be the audacity that will stand in the way of a take-off committed on a Gun like these. Indeed, the Gun is the weapon of big surfers. From 6’10 to more than 10′ for some, the board is refined, and some are weighted to be able to gain maximum speed in order to escape the liquid avalanche launched in pursuit of the poor surfer who only thinks about one thing: don’t fall.
Fortunately, freedom is the essence of surfing and nothing prevents us from surfing any board in any condition, although a certain level is still required to avoid putting ourselves in danger. – yourself or other surfers, or even break your board. Like Jamie O’Brian and his gang of degenerate friends who surf the famous CatchSurf (foam boards) in an ultra-violent shore-break in Hawaii. Or the world surfing legend, Kelly Slater, having recently put the OVNI, board from his SlaterDesign brand, to the test in 5’3 in the Fijian perfection of Cloudbreak offering a big 3 meters. A big marketing coup you will say, without a doubt, but we must still admit that the images and performances achieved allow our sport to evolve. In the right direction ? Your turn to judge.