Get the Gear You Need to Hit the Waves ie you need the right Surf Equipment
If your going surfing all you need is a board and some boardies (board shorts) but having extra surf equipment is always a good idea. Other surfing gear you will ideally have depending on the type of ‘surfing’ you are doing includes surfboard, bodyboard, wave ski, kneeboards or a kite-surfing rig.
Originally surfboards used to be made of solid wood, were very long and usually very heavy (eg up to 12 feet long and sometimes over 50 kilograms). Then came a much lighter style of board in the 1950’s which was made of balsa wood covered with fiberglass resin. These new boards offered much easier handling, were much lighter and provided surfers with much greater maneuverability when surfing breaks.
These days there have been many breakthroughs in board technology with a broad range of materials being used to make them. Today’s surfboards are generally created of polyurethane foam and may have a wooden stringers embedded in the middle for strength, fiberglass cloth is then laid over the shape and finally several coats of polyester resin are added to give a finished board which is strong, lightweight and offers great action. Many shapers are also using new materials like carbon boards and epoxy surfboards.
You will also need a leg rope or ‘surfboard leash’ which tethers your board to your leg to make sure your board doesn’t float away when you fall off. You’ll also require surf wax which makes your footing firmer on the board and you can opt for traction pads for surfers who are doing lots of different maneuvers. Finally you will need different types of skegs or fins. These are either an integral part of the board or detachable so you can use different skegs for varying conditions.
Again depending on the types of conditions you are surfing in you will need boardshorts and or a rashy (a top to protect against the sun and chaffing of your body against the board whilst paddling out to your break.
If your surfing in colder climes you’ll need a wetsuit (either a full length one called a steamer or a spring suit which has short legs and shorts arms. For really cold surfing conditions you might also wear wet suit boots, hoods, and gloves. Whilst these restrict your ability to maneuver they will keep your body temperature warm which is critical if you are out in the waves for long periods of time There are so many different sizes of surfboard, different shaped boards and radically designed ones around today that it’s worth knowing a little bit about the difference between them Longboards are up to 10 feet long and have their origins in the earliest surfboards ever made but nowadays come with the bonus of modern technology which has made them lighter and more maneuverable. New techniques in surfboard shaping, board composition and fin design have made this possible. The shortboard came into being in the late 1960s and is now called a "thruster" which usually has 3 fins and is approximately 6 feet long. Midsize boards which are referred to as funboards generally fit somewhere between the shortboard and the longboard and come in different shapes and sizes includfing the Egg which is kind of like a longboard styled thruster, the Fish which is a short and wide board with a split fantail and up to four fins as well as the Gun which is a long, pointy board custom made for big waves.
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