Down The Line Surf

Down The Line

At Down The Line, we sell a huge range of performance surfboards and body boards from some of the top shapers and manufacturers in the world including surf boards by Simon Anderson, Murray Bourton, Darren Handley, Jim Banks, Donald Takayama, Chilli, Greg Webber, and our own Down the Line surfboards to name but a few.

You'll find this online store has the most extensive range of surf boards to be found anywhere on the web. All our Australian surfboards are imported directly from the guys in Oz and are not mass produced copies from elsewhere.

We're off to Oz shortly to meet Jim Banks, Simon Anderson, Greg Webber, Chilli, Geoff McCoy to name a few and if you want to custom order a new surfboard from one of them, sign up to the email list and we'll notify you when we'll be placing orders, so you can get yourself your dream board. Why not get in touch in the meantime, and we can advise you on what's possible.

Advice on buying a surfboard

boardsThis advice applies no matter who you're buying your surfboard from, and if this all seems too obvious and simplistic then this page isn't aimed at you. Should you decide to order a custom surfboard, here's a few tips on the process and dont forget you can also ask for surfboard advise online here.

Unless your hugely experienced, don't go in with a list of tail and nose widths, rail shapes, concaves, blah blah blah. You're paying for your shapers experience and expertise so use it. Decide what length and type of surfboard you want in general terms and be brutally honest about your abilities and weight! Leave the details to the shaper.

You will no doubt end up engaged in a conversation about where you intend to use your surfboard most of the time and what if anything you want the surfboard's performance to be biased towards, manoeuvrability, ease of paddling, down the line speed, whatever. It's up to you, it's your board. Obviously it helps if you have at least a rough idea of what you want but if you have any doubts, always ask rather than pick a surfboard based on what you've seen in the latest mags or on what your mate reckons will work. Remember, your shaper doesn't want to sell you this surfboard, he wants to sell you this one and the next, and the next and the next. In other words, he has a vested interest in giving you a board that suits and helps you so you'll be back for that next surfboard when you're ready for it.

Come and visit Down the Line and we'll help with our experience and knowledge so you buy the best surfboard for your abilities and preferences.

The way experienced and competition surfers get surfboards that work best for them is by building up a relationship with their shaper. When they order a new board, they can explain what they did and didn't like about the last board and this feedback can be built upon when the next surfboard is shaped. People use this approach for one simple reason, it works. It'll work just as well for you as it does for any of the pros.

After your first surfboard?

The general shapes to look out for when buying a surfboard as a beginner to the sport are:-

* Mals / Longboards - If you have no previous board riding experience (e.g. skating, snowboarding etc.) and are of quite big build.
* Mini Mal - If you have no previous board riding experience and are of medium build/weight.
* Funboard - If you think you'll progress quickly and are quite light.
* The Fish Surfboard - If you skate, snowboard etc. and you are of medium/small build then this may be the board for you to learn on.

Overall, in my experience, a buoyant surfboard is best for learning on.