Ultimate Guide to Buying a Longboard

Choosing a longboard should be easy, right? After all, it's just a ‘long’ surfboard with lots of volume for small waves. This is a typical mindset towards longboards, and it couldn’t be further from the truth. Your board choice will be influenced by factors such as your skill level, style of surfing, height and weight. In this guide we will provide you with more insight and knowledge to help you with your next board purchase. 

A Brief History of Longboards

Longboards come in all types of shape; however there are three fundamental designs that have founded the pillars of longboard shaping today. These are: the California style ‘classic’/‘traditional log’ boards with a wide nose, wide tail and wide point in the middle; the Australian style 'involvement surfing’ boards with wide tail, narrower nose and wide point further back of centre; and the Hawaiian style ‘speed shape’ with a more pointed nose and much narrower pulled in tail.

We will be talking a lot about the ‘wide point’ of a surfboard. This is exactly what it sounds like - the widest part of the board. From this widest point, a board will gradually become narrower towards the tail and nose of the board. The position of the wide point greatly affects the overall outline of a surfboard.

California Classic

Think classic California point breaks and endless time on the nose. The Californian classic log was developed in the early 60’s and designed to suit the perfect peeling small waves of Californian points such as Malibu. The design was very flat, wide and soft 50/50 railed, which provided them with excellent flow and stable noseriding (specifics of rails and rocker etc explained later on in this guide). The wide point in the centre presents a board that is fairly straight from tail to nose, providing for lots of width across the whole board. This provides excellent lift in the front half of the board to help with nose riding, and the straight rails really lock the board into the wave. Due to the parallel/straight rails, the downside of this design is that the board can be hard to disengage from the wave face and turn. The flatter rocker also makes these boards less suited to bigger hollower waves, and so they are better for smaller waves. People often opt for a heavier glass job to help the board connect more with the wave in small conditions. 

Our ‘Resolution’ model is influenced by the Californian design and is our go to classic nose riding machine.

Australian Involvement

Following the Californian classic log, in the mid to late 1960s, the Australian-influenced involvement surfboards came to life. These boards were designed with the punchier and hollowever pointbreaks of Australia in mind. The main difference here was the wide point being moved back of center, resulting in a wider tail and narrower nose. The wider tail creates an improved turning arc to allow for more responsive turns, and less weight/width up in the nose improves the swing weight of the board, once again aiding with easier turning. Pairing this with a rolled bottom and thinner rails made for a board that turned much more responsively than the classic log design. The narrower nose fits better in the critical curl of the wave, and is less likely to catch and compromise noseriding. The trade off here is that a narrower nose means less stability for noseriding and less speed when on the nose. This forces the surfer into noseriding only in the most critical, steeper section of the wave. This design does not noseride as well in flatter smaller waves like the classic Californian log, however will turn much better.

Our ‘Fluid Drive’ model is a super foiled involvement influenced surfboard.

Hawaiian Speed Shape

First designed with the big and hollow waves of the North Shore in mind, the Hawaiian speed shape incorporated a pulled in tail, harder rails and a pointy nose. In fact, these characteristics were first used to develop the big wave gun surfboard, however later in the 1980’s and 1990’s this was translated to the longboard shape to create a more performance driven longboard. Due to the narrower tail and harder rails, the Hawaiian speed shape is much easier to turn, and in-fact is so progressive that many experienced surfers can turn these boards like a shortboard. People often opt for lighter materials such as epoxy, paired with a thruster fin setup to further increase the higher performance of these boards. It comes as no surprise that the Hawaiian speed shape is more suited to bigger and hollower waves than the classic log and even the Autralian-involvement boards. The trade off of the Hawaiian design is that you lose the classic nose riding abilities and overall feeling of a more traditional longboard.

Check out our ‘Easy Rider’ which is a longboard that turns on a dime. 

Now we know the three pillar shapes of longboard design, we have a better idea of what board will suit us. For example, if your primary goal is to noseride, and your local waves are usually small, then a Californian inspired classic log would be the go. For a more critical noseriding experience with more turning ability, the Australian involvement design is a great option. But be wary that this design requires a high level of skill and a more sucky wave. Thirdly, if higher performance is your main focus, then of course a Hawaiian speed shape would be the best bet, as you will be able to perform big powerful turns and surf more like a shortboard. 

Rail Shape

Rail shape is a major factor to consider when choosing your longboard. There are essentially two types of rail to look at - ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ rails. Soft rails such as 50/50 rails are a lot fuller and softer curved than hard rails. 50/50 rails mean the volume distribution between the top and bottom of the rail is exactly equal and the curvature placed right in the center. This is good for small waves and slowing the board down for nose rides as water is sucked around the rails causing the board to slow down. Soft rails will definitely make you feel more stable when noseriding, however you may struggle to turn. 

Hard rails, also known as downturned rails, result in much easier turns than soft rails. Hard rails in a longboard are usually at a ratio of 60/40. Hard rails allow for the board to disengage easily from the wave, and also cut into the wave with ease when putting weight on a rail. This allows for excellent responsiveness in turns, and aids in what we call ‘rail to rail’ surfing, where you are pushing the rail into the water to turn as opposed to making a pivot turn on a more classic softer rail board.

Rail design is definitely a confusing aspect, however it's easier to think soft rails are ‘classic’ and hard rails more ‘performance’. Our Californian inspired Resolution model has soft 50/50 rails for excellent nose riding in small waves, and our Easy Rider has hard edges and the low rails for improved turning capabilities. 

Tail Shape

Tail shapes come in all different varieties such as the squashtail, squaretail, roundtail and pintail. The general rule of thumb is wider tails are better for noseriding, whereas narrower tails are better for turns and hold in bigger waves. The most common tail you will see on a longboard is the squaretail or squashtail. The two defined edges of the tail provide points where the board can release from the wave and aid with responsive turning. Pairing the squaretail with a correct amount of tail lift proves to be a great all round option for longboard tail choice, as it performs well with both noseriding and turning. 

Roundtails allow for easier and more fluid turns due to having less surface area and a smooth continuous shape. A well balanced rountail can also provide a good balance between noseriding and turning, however usually leans more towards the turning side of things. The pintail is an even narrower and refined version of the roundtail, as is excellent to provide hold and control in bigger hollower waves. The downside of a pintail is it can be hard to turn in slower weaker waves, and also the tail can easily release from the wave when noseriding, resulting in an unsuccessful noseride. 

On the left is the pintail of the Fluid Drive, and on the right the squarertail of the Resolution.

We recommend trying out a few different boards with different tail shapes. Most people will be happy with the all round features of the squash tail, however you may wish to opt for a roundtail if smoother, more responsive turns are your thing. If you want to charge with a longboard in big hollow waves, of course the pintail is the choice here. 

Nose Shape

The shape of the nose, along with the tail shape, is heavily influenced by the position of the wide point, and the width of the nose will have different effects on your surfing. A wider nose creates excellent lift and speed in the front half of the board, which allows for stable and easy noseriding. A wide nose will perform well in small and weak waves, and will allow you to noseride further out on the shoulder as opposed to in the critical section. Therefore it is a good option for beginners / those wanting to practice their noseriding. The downfall of a very wide nose is that it doesn’t fit well into the tight curl of the pocket, which is where more critical noseriding happens. The wide nose catches on the wave and often results in an unsuccessful noseride. 

A narrow nose on the other hand will be less stable to noseride and provide less speed up the front of the board, however will perform perfectly when noseriding in the critical section of the wave. This type of nose is more suited to proficient surfers who already know how to noseride well and read waves well. Trying to noseride a narrow nose out on the flatter shoulder of the waves will usually result in the board nose diving. 

In our opinion, a nice balanced blend between nose width and tail width will suit most people looking to improve their noseriding, such as our Resolution model. If turns are more your priority, or you are a proficient noserider looking for a more challenging board, than a narrower nose with a wider tail could be the go.

Both round noses, but one is wider than the other……can you tell?

Rocker and Concave

You are likely to be familiar with the word rocker, especially when people talk about shortboards and having lots of rocker for big waves. The term ‘rocker’ refers to the curve of the board when viewed on from the side. A board with low rocker means a flatter board, which results in greater speed but reduced maneuverability. A board with more rocker means a curvier board that is easier to maneuver but has less speed. Traditional longboards often have a flatter overall rocker to help speed in small waves, whereas more performance longboards tend to have more overall rocker to aid in hollower waves. A big characteristic in a longboard to improve noseriding is to actually increase the tail rocker / tail lift of the board, which is the rocker specifically in the tail. This results in the tail holding better in the wave and thus more locked in and stable noseriding. 

The rocker is the curve of the board when viewed from the side.

The concave of a board refers to the characteristics of the bottom of the board, as if viewed in a cross section. A concave shape (think the curved inward surface of a spoon) improves drive and lift, but reduces control, whereas a convex shape (think the outward curved surface of a spoon) improves maneuverability but reduces speed. Most longboards have a relatively flat bottom with added concave under the nose to create lift for noseriding. Concave is often also added in the tail behind the fin to improve with hold in the pocket. 

The foil of the board is also another factor that works alongside the rocker and concave. ‘Foil’ refers to the distribution of thickness in the longboard from tail to nose, viewed from the side. It’s common for the thickest point to be just forward of center to aid with paddle power under the chest. From this thickest point, the board becomes gradually thinner towards the tail and nose of the board. A well foiled board will result in a board that paddles well, is not too heavy, and easier to turn. 

Material (PU vs Epoxy)

Here we have two main options for surfboards in regard to materials: Polyurethane (PU) and Epoxy. 

Epoxy is a more lightweight option suited to high performance boards. PU is the industry standard for longboards and very well suited to classic traditional surfboards. 

PU foam is used with a wooden stringer to add strength, and the overall feel of PU when surfing is more flex and responsiveness. PU boards are glassed with fibreglass resin, which allows for varying weights whilst retaining the flex of the board.

Fin Choice

Fin choice is often overlooked, but is a major factor that can change the whole feel of your longboard. When looking at fins, there are two main design aspects to consider - the base length and the rake. A longer base provides more drive and speed, whereas a shorter base is easier to turn responsively. A fin with a large rake (think the long sweep of the fin) feels smooth whilst performing turns due to a large pivot area, whilst a shorter and more upright rake results in a more focused pivot point and thus quicker responding turns. 

How you position your fin in the fin box also affects the way it works. Placing it further forward results in looser turns, while further back is stiffer and provides hold for noseriding. 

A good rule of thumb is to opt for a bigger fin if you are looking to noseride, and a smaller fin if you are looking to turn more easily. Wider tail widths work well with bigger fins, and narrower tail shapes work better with smaller fins.

Conclusion

So there we have it! A pretty comprehensive dive into the design aspects of a longboard and how they will affect your surfing and choice of longboard. We advise you to now have a think about what you want from your surfing, your skill level and the waves you often surf. Whether you want to improve your noseriding, concentrate on turns or make the most of certain conditions in your local area, there's a board for you out there. Take a look here at our full range and soak in the different characteristics of each board. If you have any specific questions, don't hesitate to reach out via our contact form. See you in the lineup!