For beginners looking to buy their first surfboard, the document recommends starting with a longboard that is at least 24 to 36 inches taller than your height, at least 19 inches wide, and at least 2.5 inches thick. Longboards provide more stability for paddling and catching waves as a beginner. The document also recommends soft top boards made of softer, spongy materials for added safety, as beginners are likely to get hit by their boards. Once surf skills have improved, the document suggests upgrading to a higher performance hard top board.

1. How to Choose Your Your First Surfboard
If you're new to surfing and you've decided to take the plunge and buy a surfboard, the following will
help guide your way through this fun and exciting process. First, you have to be honest with your skill
level. If you've only been a spectator and have never surfed before, it may look easy when you're
watching other surfers out in the lineup catching waves with such ease and grace. It may look really cool
ripping the waves up on a shortboard. Don't buy into it just yet because it wouldn't look cool if you're
out there on a shortboard not catching any waves and falling all over the place. Yes, you may be an
expert snowboarder, you may spend summers wake boarding at the lake or you have humongous lat
muscles. It does not translate. Not yet at least. Learning to paddle a surfboard is like learning to walk for
the first time. You have to build those muscles that your body rarely uses and until you do, it can be a
long and painful struggle. For this reason, your best bet is to go with one of the following surfboards.
www.boogieboard.org provides all the information about boogieboard, boogie board.
Learning to paddle and the basic mechanics of surfing is your first priority. For that, you need as much
stability and float as you can get. A good rule of thumb is to go with a longboard that is at least 24 to 36
inches taller than your height, at least 19 inches in width and at least 2 1/2 inch thick. We recommend
going with a board at least 3 feet taller but if you're looking for something less cumbersome, a minimum
of 2 feet taller could suffice. Children are also lighter so a board with smaller dimensions of around 12 to
18 inches taller is recommended. Longboards are great for paddling with ease and gliding. It will allow
you to catch waves earlier and standing up with much more stability than its shortboard counterpart.
We recommend going with a longboard that has 3 fins or a 2 plus 1 fin setup.
A soft top board is usually in the shape of a longboard or a mini-mal that consist of a softer spongier
material rather than a hard fiberglass. It is very common for beginners to learn on a soft top surfboard.
It's only a matter of time before you get hit with your board. Although they lack the performance
characteristic of traditional fiberglass boards, they are the safest surfboards for a beginner. The spongy
tops are similar to those of a boogie board. Often times the fins are soft and flexible to prevent you from
getting sliced up. If you're not worried about a few bumps and bruises, then I would recommend buying
a hard top surfboard for better performance. Once your surf skills have advanced, you'll want to
upgrade your soft top. www.boogieboard.org provides all the information about boogieboards, boogie
boards.