hello, I am looking to get back into surfing and have found a possible bargain board like the one below:

http://www.circle-one.co.uk/surfboards/heritage/710-custom-mini-mal/

From what I can gather its a standard resin and blank construction (as opposed to a plastic Bic or similar). Has anyone ever seen/used/owned one? Any info they would like to share? Are they well made, relatively light to paddle etc?

The other option a keener surfing pal showed me was one of these –

http://www.shore.co.uk/hydralite-2011-minimal-lightning-edge-7ft-10.html

Which one would withstand the most mistreatment? Is one signifiantly better construction than the other? Its been a while since I have surfed so am a bit lost with all the new options available!

Thanks

Rhid

These are epoxy boards not standard shaped Clark foam blanks. I saw someone chuck one in Australia onto a concrete floor with no obvious damage. They look OK and cheap as a traditional board in mini-mal dimensions is more likely to set you back £500+. Another version of epoxy board you should look at is ‘Takeoff Boards’.

Good luck with your decision making. Incidentally, for English slop I’d go for a bigger board….easier to paddle, catch more waves.

Hmmmmm, IMO you need a mini mal of 8″.6 for the UK but that depends on your weight and height, I’m 5″.10 & 73kgs and use an 8″.6 for Witterings and a 9″.8 SUP.
Good boards though, lots of choice around £500.
Try NSP..

Nice one, thanks for the info. I did have a 9″2 longboard and would love a new one but it is massively impractical in my tiny house! I do like the look of the Cortez 8″ too and @ 300 its a good deal.

So what are the epoxy boards? My old 7″2 mal was the traditional clarks foam blank covered in fibreglass, I figured the epoxy was something along those lines? I am probably massively wrong though!

not standard shaped Clark foam blanks

clark stopped trading years ago.

i ride a 5ft10 in our UK slop, about to go 5ft6, dont have a prob catching waves.

I worked in the circle one factory for a few weekends as a teenager one summer in the 80’s.
The modern boards are tough and light. Good quality. I would happily have on.

Is that you Surfmat? Wow! Even Slater’s boards are longer than that.

Typically the cheaper epoxy boards are machine rather than hand-shaped around an EPS core.

The Circle One boards are fine and really popular with surf schools as they are so tough – they’ll probably be slightly heavier than an equivalent “traditionally” shaped board though, but not so much you’d notice and they generally surf a lot better than the old style plastic pop-outs. They also look more like a “proper” board than the BICs.

i ride a 5ft10 in our UK slop, about to go 5ft6, dont have a prob catching waves.

Presumably you’re a pretty experienced surfer though? The OP is coming down off a longboard and has been out of the game for a while so I’d guess that he’s probably not quite ready for a shortboard yet.

In terms of size of board – general rule of thumb is to start off with something at least a foot longer than you are tall with plenty of volume and not too much rocker.

If you’d previously reached a reasonable level of surfing with your longboard and want something with a similar feel but a bit more manageable in size, then look at Magic Carpet type shapes. These are typically (but not always) single fin and have a bit more volume in the nose than a minimal – basically think a longboard with 2-3ft cut out of the middle. They ride very similar to a traditional longboard – you can even get up on the nose, but are a fair bit more manouvrable and a bit easier to handle and get out back in bigger stuff.

FWIW I’m 6’1″ and 15 stone and ride a 7’2 Magic Mat shaped by Roger Cooper which I’m really happy with.

Presumably you’re a pretty experienced surfer though?

its not always the length that counts.

thickness and width are the way forward…

As jam bo says boards are getting shorter and fatter, if anything Curren Slater et al along with Al Merrick got the world fixated on thrusters. Some of the fish shapes and their mutant cousins are making surfing much more fun again. Ride anything you like as long as you are having fun.

We have one – my son uses it. They seem good – but not exactly my area of expertise.

jam bo – Member
Presumably you’re a pretty experienced surfer though?
its not always the length that counts.

thickness and width are the way forward…

True, but I’d suggest that someone who hasn’t surfed for a while and is used to a minimal or longboard is still probably going to struggle on a sub 6 foot board.

My first board in 83 was a circle one pop out about 6ft IIRC, soon traded it in for 5ft 8 quad fin thing. I’m also not surf Matt that was just the fashion back then.

Talking of fashion, back then Circle One were never in vogue in Exeter, Underground was the in brand followed by Hot Moves (both now defunct)

FWIW I’m 6’1″ and 15 stone and ride a 7’2 Magic Mat shaped by Roger Cooper which I’m really happy with.

I wonder if that’s the same Roger Cooper that had HyJumpers (manufacturers of pretty good windsurfing gear) back in the late 80’s?
He was very into surfing but based in Barnstaple.

Not sure. This one is based in South Wales, but he seems to stock a lot of shops in North Devon too.

Roger Cooper shapes in Abergavenny, he did/does have a bit of a shonky reputation but a mate just had a custom board made by him and it is a beauty.

Well a lot of the conditions surfed in here ( UK, Sarf Carst ) are onshore short crumbly wumbly brown shoulders with not a lot of power behind them ( think wind blown chop rather than swell ) so when we talk surfing, we talk 8″.6 mal/ mini mal floaters.
It’s true a lot of boards are getting shorter and wider, it’s had a great success in the windsurfing world, the width allowing the shoulders of the board to tail catch waves betterer like. That being more float put in the mid through tails section of boards. Some SUP’s are going down the 6″ x 4″ route for short crumbly chop and they’ve had a lot of success, yet they look stupid and we’ve got to get used to the look of the shape…
So it’s true width plays its part, but you’ve given us no idea where you wanna surf, so it’s difficult to advise truthfully.

One piece of advice, serious advice, is that you need to go to your break, check out what other guys are using, check out guys of similar ability, watch them, take note, then be brave and go on over and say Hi, ask to see what board they use and how they find it. Don’t believe the hype that all surfers are anal grumpy shits who spout vitriol at newbies, it’s soooo not true. Most have a heart that beats water and are keen to encourage and share.

In the windsurfing/kiting world down here it’s common for folks to chat to each other, take note of what folks are using and we all ask questions. In fact, once a question is asked it’s invariably the case that no windypuffing/kiting takes place, more a chattathon.

£500 for a board is not a lot of moolah, but moolah it is, so take your time..