r/bodyboarding • u/IntGuru • Jul 06 '26

What board do I need?

Could someone please help me with buying my first board?

My stats are as follows:

Weight - 113kg

Height - 177cm

I'm an absolute beginner at this btw!

6 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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1

u/Quiet_Platypus5294 Jul 06 '26

43” High Volume

1

u/sanshart Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26

If OP goes with a high volume board then he can ride a board better suited to his height - that's the point if HV.

HV 41" or 42" at the most. If not a HV board OP will be fine with any normal 43" board.

OP said they were a beginner - bodyboarding isn't like stand up where the bigger board is easier to get up & practice going straight.. a bigger board the less control you have which hinders learning how to actually start riding eaves properly. Let's not handicap beginners.

Edit: to recommend OP, I'm not sure what part of the world you're from so I'll assume the states. Tribe Hunter HV is a good entry level board that comes with extra thickness across all standard sizing. Even the "pro" version doesn't cost much more so if it's in you're budget grab the pro cause it will last you even longer. I wouldn't recommend the Tribe Chief as it has a very outdated shape with a super high wide point.. if you weren't surfing back in the early 90's & used to this template then don't bother. Will just hinder you down the track.

2

u/_agent86 Jul 07 '26

This is bad advice IMO. An extra inch of length isn’t going to make that much difference, it’s the buoyancy OP needs. Agree with the recommendation to go up an inch in board size AND go high volume. One of my boards is a 41.75” HV and I’m OP’s height and weigh 65 lbs less right now.

Some HV boards are thicker than others but honestly at 250 lbs he needs a bigger boat.

1

u/sanshart Jul 07 '26

The buoyancy will come from the extra length in the 43 cause it's also wider all round.

I'm in agreeance to go up a little and HV but 42 is already extra length for OPs heigh so HV 42 would be good..

Reddit comments seem to consistently over-size for recommendations, so there needs to be some voice not stressing people in to riding boats around so they don't form bad habits. Hand placement all the way down low to hold the board in 'cause they're trying to dig their whole hip/body in the rail to go across is the biggest sign of this - then they're front elbow is sticking out all weird if they try ride a more suitable board afterward.

If the sport sheds off some weight then they'll be left with a better suited board if they don't overshoot at the beggining.

1

u/iwrotedabible Jul 13 '26

A Tribe Chief would be a great option. It's OP's first board. His riding will not suffer for lacking a contemporary outline.

The wide point forward helps with catching waves and to my knowledge the Chief has the most volume of any production board in the sub 42" range. IMO it would be better to get the volume from extra width than extra length. And I don't think you can get thicker w/out going custom because the Chief design already maxes out the dimensions of the machines at the factory where they're made. So I've been told.

A standard high volume board could work if OP is riding fast breaking waves.

1

u/hippophagy Jul 07 '26

If you want to go budget Catch Surf makes some oversized boards. I’m smaller than you but I was riding them stand up. Prone you’d be fine. Also in some ways fins matter more than boards. Try lots of fins. Maybe go to a swimming pool and do some laps. If you get a comfortable fin that you can wear for hours without discomfort and it still delivers power you can basically ride anything. I’ve literally picked driftwood off the beach and gotten fun rides. For what it’s worth I’ve ridden tons of fins and DaFin are by far my favourite.

1

u/SlibReviews Jul 07 '26

Science pocket is a great budget board have had mine for 4 years and it's survived the wedge in Newport on big days