CHOOSING THE

RIGHT SURFBOARD
FOR YOU
Almond Surfboards Guide to:

Choosing the Right Surfboard for You

(Part 2: LONGBOARDS)

This is part 2 of our guide to the thought process that goes into surfboard design, with the
intention of helping​ you​ make more informed decisions about ​your​ surfboard quiver.
(Part 1 is available ​here​.)

After browsing the next several pages, our hope is that you will have a better
understanding of:
● Surfing
● Surfboards
● the nuances between different models
● which board(s) are best suited for your needs

So, you have chosen the path of the LONGBOARD.

Typically, longboards refer to anything over 9 feet in length. We are going to round up and
include anything over 8’8” in our breakdown.

The benefit of a longboard...

The earlier the wave starts doing the pushing—rather than your arms—the more
time you have to get to your feet and get situated. Which is why catching waves early
is such a focus of ours when building surfboards.

If you talk to longboard-enthusiasts about what they love about riding bigger boards, many
times they will use the terms “glide” and “trim”. Both of these are simply ways of talking
about the effortless maintaining of speed that is possible when you get the board in the
right part of a wave, and all that is required of you ​is to go along for the effortless ride​.

It’s a thing of beauty to release control, and let the board do the work for you, all you have
to do, is get it to the right spot…

Whether it’s​ trim​ you seek, or the art of ​noseriding​, longboarding is about getting the
board to the optimal portion of the wave. Getting to the optimal part of a wave requires a
couple things:

Longboarding, although generally considered to be easier than riding a small board,

actually has an added dimension.
Riding a surfboard relies heavily on where you are on a wave to maximize the wave’s
energy. Because of the nature of a small board, you are able to impose your will on the
surfboard from essentially one stance.

A longer board, however, requires you to consider not only where you are on the wave, but
also where you are on the surfboard. (​Because it typically takes a little bit of extra footwork
to impose your weight, and your will on the direction of the longboard.​)

There are plenty of great resources on surfing and how surfboards work, so we won’t
attempt to cover everything, but I do want to shed some light on our surfboard models, and
their intended strengths. (​Let’s find the place where your needs and interests intersect with
our board models.)

If you want a real quick way to differentiate between surfboard models, glance down at the
tails, because that will give you a pretty great indication of the intention behind the board.

With very few exceptions, these rules will hold to be true:

Narrow, pointy tails with lots of curve to them are done with turning and maneuverability
in mind, and are intended for waves with steeper faces and more power.

Wide, square tails with plenty of surface-area are done with planing and noseriding in
mind—using that bigger surface area to harness as much of the wave’s energy as possible.

Narrow tails fit better on steeper waves, which is great because steeper waves have more
power, so you need less help from the tail in capturing wave-energy.
Wider tails help generate more speed in smaller, softer waves, because they provide more
planing surface.

Remember when we said earlier that the surfboard models were related to each other like
branches of a tree? Going back to that analogy, you can break our longboard models up
into two major categories based on tail shape—remember tail shape speaks volumes about
intended purpose.

Full, Square Tails:

● Lumberjack
● Walks on Water
● Logistic

Pulled-in, Curvy Tails:

● Surf Thump
● Sano Special
● Cash-Yew II
● Pinwheel

Generally speaking, the boards on the first list are all built with noseriding, planing ability,
and overall stability in mind—but will require more footwork by the rider to redirect the
board. For surfers who are comfortable getting back to the tail to turn their longboard—or
who wish to practice getting way back there—these boards offer glide in spades.

The boards on the second list are a bit more versatile, and capable of handling a wider
variety of wave types, due to the added curve in the outline of the tail.

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The Square Tails:

All three of the square tail models listed above (Lumberjack, Walks on Water, Logistic) are
cousins with slightly different specific goals in mind. The Lumberjack was the original
model in this category for us, the other two are evolutions of that concept to suit specific
objectives.

We designed ​the Lumberjack

as a classically-inspired beach
break noserider—specifically
with Blackies in mind (a surf
spot in our hometown). The
Lumberjack is designed for
maximizing the wave’s energy
when the waves are smaller or
softer, while offering the rider
control of the board from the
tail and noseriding stability in
average beach break
conditions. It’s a proven board that we have been building for over a decade, which is one
of the reasons the Lumberjack is among our most popular longboard models.

The ​Walks on Water​ was an

evolution of the Lumberjack
that we developed with our
team rider, Andy Nieblas.
Andy surfs waves like San
Onofre and Doheny far more
often than waves like
Blackies. San Onofre and
Doheny are different waves,
so the board reflects that.
Those waves are softer than
Blackies, breaking less top to
bottom, but having more push
to them. They also tend to offer much longer rides than the beach break we know from
home. To provide maximum stability for Andy’s noseriding, we beefed up the Walks on
Water. It is wider, thicker, and fuller in the rails than the Lumberjack is. All of this makes
the board more stable, but requires more footwork—active footwork is something Andy is
immensely comfortable with.

If your home break is a soft-ish wave and noseriding ranks very highly on your priority list,
the Walks on Water is the equivalent of pushing all of your chips to the middle of the table.
You’re all in on everything that a square-tailed longboard can be.
The ​Logistic​, on the other hand, is a slightly more progressive take on the Lumberjack
family. The nose is pulled in a touch, it has a little more rocker, and will feel more lively
under your feet. This is the board for people who want to noseride, but want to maintain
versatility at all times. If your home break is a little more punchy than Blackies, and you
want to navigate slightly more critical sections on the nose, the Logistic is the way to go.

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The Curvy-tailed boards:

In the introduction of this Longboard Guide, we talked about surfers’ eternal affection for
glide. After all, noseriding is a very small portion of the benefits of riding a longboard, and
while each of the boards in this section will allow you to hang your piggies over the bow,
these boards are built with a more all encompassing approach to the beauty of surfing
longer boards.
Similar to the way we talked about the JOY in the previous Guide, the elliptical nature of the
outlines in this section assist in making these boards both easier to turn and capable of
handling a wider variety of wave types.

The ​Surf Thump​ is a

personal favorite of the
author’s, so there are
inherent biases coming... The
Surf Thump has the length
and thickness to catch waves
exceptionally well, and
adequate curve in the outline
to make it feel lively under
the rider’s feet. For most
surf circumstances, having a
board that will glide with
ease, but redirect at will is a
win-win.

As you’ll notice in the photo above, the outline of the Surf Thump is a continuous curve,
while holding its width through the middle third of the length of the board. That
combination of curves is what allows the blend of glide and turning.

The ​Sano Special ​is an

evolution of the Surf Thump
in the same way that the
Walks on Water​ was an
evolution of the
Lumberjack​—and it has a
similar intent. The Sano Special was designed with softer waves in mind, where maximum
paddle-ability is required. If you look only at the back third of the outlines, the Sano and
the Thump look fairly similar. However, when you look up toward the nose, you’ll see how
full, wide, and flat the nose of the Sano Special is. This is to give the Sano Special as much
planing surface as possible—to help the board catch extra soft waves with ease. The
downside to a big, wide nose is that it does not fit very well into the pocket of a steep,
hollow wave.

If gliding into waves the earliest

appeals to you, there are a whole
category of boards with glide
built into the name. Ours is
called the ​Cash-Yew II​, and it’s
our take on a glider. Technically,
a glider is supposed to be 11 feet
or bigger, but we have been
pretty happy with the feeling you
get paddling them regardless of
the rule book. The most common lengths we have been building are: 10’6”, 10’2”, and the
mini glider at 8’8”. As you can see, the outline of this board is one long, continuous curve.
This board relies on its length, and ability to soar across the surface of the water, for its
speed. All of that curve is what allows you to have directional control over something so
long and fast.

So, Which Surfboard is Right for You?

If you scroll back up and look through the longboard outlines quickly, you can begin to see
the intended purposes in the way they are designed and built. Use the basic principles
we’ve discussed here when looking at any surfboard
you encounter. Every surfboard shaper is looking to
combine curves in an effort to accomplish several
desired outcomes—the priorities of the rider will
determine the priorities of the design. At Almond,
we have been taking the feedback of our own
personal experiences, adding the input of our team
riders, and developing shapes and models that we
know very well. We know what the intended
outcome of each model is, which makes it easier for
us to engage in dialogue with the customers. When
you come in and describe your surf experience,
where you surf, and what you are hoping to get out of your next board, we are already
running your input through a mental checklist of filters based on the things we know to be
true about our models. Our aim is to match you up with the board model that is going to
best suit your needs.

Use the principles laid out above to make more informed decisions about your surfboard
quiver. If you have specific questions, or want to see if our recommendations line up with
your line of thinking—​shoot us a note​. Or if you want to see all of our surfboard models in
one place, and read reviews from your fellow surfers, ​here are all the current board models
we are building​.

Bonus Section: Longboard Fins

In the same way that the tail of a surfboard should be a clue about the intentions of the
shaper, the shape of a fin says a lot about the way the board is to be ridden. The fin on a
longboard has to match the shape of the tail, otherwise you will have a fin and a surfboard
that are working in opposition to each other.

We broke up our longboard models into two categories: Square-Tails and Curvy-Tails. We
will do the same to discuss fin design, because each category of tail shape turns differently,
and therefore has a different appropriately matching fin.
Fins for square-tailed boards:
You will commonly see fins that stand nearly straight up and down on boards with square
tails. The reason for this is two-fold:
1. To provide enough surface area for holding the tail in the wave.
2. To provide a defined vertical axis for pivoting turns.

A ​pivot turn​ is when you step back on the tail of the board—​slowing it down​—and proceed
to swing the board as though the fin were the hinge on a door. (See the “Huck” fin template
on the image above.) By slowing the board down and pivoting off the tail, the board is
more easily set up to prepare for a noseride.

Here is Kameron Brown demonstrating a pivot-style turn—utilizing a drop-knee approach

to get his back foot as far back on that tail as possible:

The tail is buried and the nose is lifted as Kam

slows that ​9’8 Walks on Water​ down for a
proper pivot turn.

Once you are comfortable getting back to the

tail of a board, the pivot fin is surprisingly
effective. And the length of the board allows
the surfer to regain speed in a new direction
once the turn is complete.

Appropriate fins for square tails would be the

“Huck” fin or the “Log Rhythm” fin.

Fins for curvy-tailed boards:

You will commonly see fins with more of a sweeping shape on round-tailed surfboards.
That sweep is called “rake”. The reason you want a fin with​ rake​ on a surfboard with a
curvier outline, is they work in tandem
with the outline. As you lay the board
over to one side, the curve of the
outline allows the board to change
direction while maintaining speed.
The rake of the fin acts like the rudder
of a ship, banking through an arcing
turn.

Pictured to the right is Nathan Adams

demonstrating a rail-initiated turn on
his ​9’7 Sano Special​.

Compared to the photo of Kameron,

Nate’s nose isn’t lifting out of the water
to stall, he is laying the board on rail using that fin and outline to make the turn possible.

We have a recommended fin that accompanies each of our longboard models, so you don’t
need to try to match the correct fin and board together, but when considering a new fin for
an old board, or when chatting surfing in the parking lot, these basics should come in
handy.

Conclusion:
This concludes our primer on longboards. Use the principles laid out above to make more
informed decisions about your surfboard quiver.

If you have specific questions, or want to see if our recommendations line up with your line
of thinking—​shoot us a note​. If you want to see all of our ​surfboard models​ in one place
and ​read reviews​ from your fellow surfers, we have both available on the website.