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Gear
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Basically your gear as a surfer will consist out of your board, your clothes and then some extra goodies like wax and a leash. Luckily for you surfing is not an expensive sport like, say, for instance windsurfing. Your gear will be easy to maintain and cost effective .
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The Board
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When you think of buying your gear, keep in mind that you're still a beginner, and thus to buy expensive gear could be unwise at this stage. Rather start off with a used board, because chances are good that you will ding it just carrying it around. There are three basic types of boards:
Shortboard The general size of a shortboard varies from 5'-6"-6'-11" in length.
Longboard The longboard could either be a mini log (a short longboard, 7'-0"-8'-6" in length) or the modern version which in length is 8'-6" - 11'-0" in length.
The Gun A gun is as big as a longboard but its basic difference is that it has a pin shaped nose and tail and is used to ride big waves in the range of 10 foot to 30 foot.
There are as many fin styles as there are board styles. Today a modern longboard uses a single fin. A shortboard uses what we call a tri fin setup.
If you want to start surfing, it is essential that you learn the lingo of the surfing community, so that you can not only communicate, but also understand. See our page on "the language".
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Skins
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Your body is going to need some protection from the changes in water temperature. The ultimate is to surf what we call "bareback," which is only wearing some board shorts, or for the girls, a full swimsuit. This is only recommended for water temperatures of 68 degrees and above. If that is still a little chilly for you, use a rash guard. A rash guard's main use is to be worn and to fit snug under your wetsuit to prevent rashes from your wetsuit. For water temperatures below 68 degrees to 64 degrees, you are going to need a spring wetsuit. Spring suits are sleeveless and go to the top of the knee and are made out of neoprene. If you're still cold there is the winter suit. They have full-length sleeves and legs. They are designed to protect you for water temperatures of 64 degrees and below.
There are three more areas that need to be protected:
Your head In cold water you can wear a neoprene hood that will do a good deal at keeping you're head warm. Helmets are generally used when surfing breaks that have coral reef or rocks on the ocean floor.
Your hands For cold water protection you can use neoprene gloves. You can also buy neoprene-webbed gloves that will not only keep your hands warm, but will improve your propulsion in paddling.
Your feet Your feet are in the water 95% of the time in a surfing session and will get cold easily thus wearing a pair of booties will help keep them warm. They will have the added advantage of saving you're feet from cutting in coral reef or rocky bottoms. They come in 2 types, namely round toe or split toe.
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The Wax, Track Pad and Leash
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Before you go for a surf, there are some preparations involving your board which are necessary. Firstly you need the combination of a track pad and surfboard wax to keep your feet firmly in place once you're up and surfing, and helps you to carve ripping turns. Wax is to be applied from where your track pad left off to about 2/3 up the board towards the nose. The next thing you are going to need is a leash. The leash is used to keep the board near you when you wipe out so you do not have to swim around chasing it. It is recommended that you buy a leash that is as long as your board is.
That's about it. If you've done this you're ready for you're first surfing session. Remember these preparations, as they are necessary to keep your gear in pristine condition so as to keep you going for as long as possible.
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