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Surfing is an amazing way to bring a new level of adventure in your life, but if you don’t have any experience as a surfer, you must choose your first board wisely.
The foam surfboards are great for those learning because they are more gentle than a hard surfboard, but there are still a lot of foamie surfboard options available on the market and it can be frustrating trying to find the best one for you. There are both long and shortboards available in a variety of styles. If you are brand new to surfing, you will want a larger and longer foam surfboard for stability.
Besides being easier, these boards are simply fun. Even an expert can have a great time catching some waves on a foam soft surfboard.
In order to help you choose the most suitable option for you, we have prepared you a complete buying guide to lead you along with the purchasing procedure. In addition, with our list of the best foam surfboard options, you’ll be off to catching waves in no time.
OUR TOP PICK
South Bay Board Soft Top Surfboard
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- Fingerprint textured top deck for stability
- No wax needed before using the board
- Rubber tail bumper for protection
- Rigid and durable with a fiberglass rod center
- Rounded thruster nose for extra stability
Product Dimensions: 7 feet x 22 inches x 2.85 inches
Experience level: Beginners and advanced surfers
Colors Available: Blue, Green, Orange
EDITORS CHOICE
Rock-It 5’8” Albert Surfboard
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- Perfectly stable and gentle board, excellent for beginners
- Strong materials for an enhanced durability
- Twin fin design with a wide surface
- Robust enough to support up to 175 pounds
- Most buoyant option on the market
Product Dimensions: 5’8” x 20.5 inches x 2.5 inches
Weight: 12.9 pounds
Color available: Yellow
BEST VALUE
Giantex 6′ Surfing Surf Beach Surfboard
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- Free leash and traction pad for convenience
- A bright color scheme to choose from
- Durable construction with an HDPE high-speed bottom
- Can be transported and assembled easily
- Further guidelines over the assembly provided in the package
Product Dimensions: 72 x 20 x 3 inches
Weight: 10 pounds
Colors: white and blue, yellow and blue, red and blue
South Bay Board Co. 8’8” Premium Beginner Surfboard
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- Crafted to support up to 230 pounds
- Custom molded to be long-lasting and lightweight
- Stable construction made with a high-quality structure
- Wax free design that is rigid enough to be used by amateurs
- Satisfaction guarantee provided by the company
Product Dimensions: 8’8” x 23 inches x 3.25 inches
Suitable for: Beginners
Colors available: Blue, Orange, Aqua
Wave Bandit EZ Rider 8’ Surfboard
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- Egg shape for improved stability
- Safe design that is made concerning the kid's safety
- Maximum performance guaranteed
- Double maple-wood stringers to easily catch the waves
- Can be used safely immediately once waxed
Product Dimensions: 8’0” x 23 x 3.375 inches
Weight: 21.6 pounds
Color: Pink, Aqua
Wavestorm 7ft Classic Pinline Surfboard
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- Water barrier skin
- Traction pad for maximized safety
- Easy to handle and perfect for beginners
- HDPE slick bottom for a faster speed
- Traction pad for a longer durability
Product Dimensions: 84 x 22 x 3.2 inches
Weight: 8.8 pounds
Colors: White and blue
Best Choice Products 6’ Foamie Surfboard
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- Free leash included in the package
- Durable and strong with a soft top and high-speed bottom
- Best performance and quality
- Suitable for both children and adults with safety guaranteed
- Removable fins for easy transport and storage
Product Dimensions: 72 x 20.5 x 2 inches
Weight: 12 pounds
Color: Blue and White
A Alpenflow 7’ Soft Top Surfboard
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- Scratch-resistant design made to be very long-lasting
- Pointed nose and pintail to help you achieve high-speed
- Extra stability served thanks to the long surface
- Additional leash and fins delivered with the package
- HDPE reinforced plastic bottom and fiberglass top
Product Dimensions: 7 feet x 22 inches x 3.3 inches
Weight: 21.1 pounds
Colors: Green, yellow, orange
How To Choose A Foam Surfboard – Buying Guide
Choosing a board as a beginner
When it comes to choosing a foam surfboard for beginners, you want the highest quality. When you’re learning how to dive through the waves or fall after catching a wave, a hit from a foam soft surfboard will be a lot less painful than a hard surfboard design. Foamie surfboards are also easy to use, which makes them a great first board for anyone wanting to try surfing. You can also check foam surfboard reviews to see how a board has served for other surfers.
Length of the Board
In general, the length of your board will correlate to your skill level. Longboards are meant for beginners because they are more stable. Their long length will allow the new rider to easily catch waves and learn how to balance the board.
- Longboards can be hard to maneuver because of their larger size, but they will have you up on your feet faster if you are a beginner.
- Shortboards are usually used by experienced or pro surfers. These boards will be drastically shorter than a longboard and will be easier to maneuver. Shortboards can be used for quick turns and flips, because of their smaller size. However, because of their smaller size, they will also be harder for beginners to learn the balance of the board in the water. Their quick response to movement can be frustrating for those who are just trying to get on their feet.
There will be a large variety of boards available with sizes ranging from 5 feet to 10 feet. If you are a beginner, we highly suggest that you use a long foamie surfboard. This will give you the stability you need to learn how to balance and get up on your feet.
You may also want to check the width of the board. Generally, longer boards are wider, but there are wide boards that are short too. The width of the board can also give you the stability to make it easier for beginners.
It is important that you match the length of the board to your skill level of surfing. Expert surfers can easily use any length of surfboards, but beginners can’t. A foam surfboard for beginners will be longer in length and would be best until the surfer has learned how to balance and maneuver the board. Once they have learned to surf, a beginner can move down in board lengths and learn how to surf faster.
Type of the Board
There are lots of different types of designs. Different types may come in both long and short designs but will differ in the overall design of the body. Some popular foam surfboard for beginners types include fish, egg, hybrid, and gun.
- Fish surfboards: It’s likely that your surfboard as a beginner won’t be of this kind, but it is popular for intermediate and expert surfers. The tail of this surfboard will be split in two.
- Egg surfboards: The soft top for beginners may be an egg-shaped board. This means that both the nose and tail of the board are rounded like an egg.
- Hybrid: Hybrid foam surfboards can be great for intermediate surfers and they have foam designs. These surfboards may have a fishtail but are still large and wide like an egg-shaped board.
- Gun: A gun-shaped one will have a pointed nose and tail. These may be less common with the soft boards but can be used by intermediate and expert surfers.
In general, the type of surfboard can also appeal to the level of the surfer. Beginner surfers should look for a surfboard foamie that has a rounded nose and tail. The rounded foam soft surfboard designs will make it easier for them to learn, as well as safer. If the board should hit you, a blunt end can leave a bruise, but it won’t leave a cut like a pointed nose or tail design could.
Also, soft surf designs that have a pointed nose and tail will cut through the water easier and faster. For beginners, this can make it hard to learn how to control the foam soft surfboard because it will be very sensitive to any surf shift in motion.
Materials Used
However, there are also three specific types of beginner surfboards that are based on the materials used. Polyurethane, Polystyrene, and Expanded Polystyrene are all used for surfboard foamie designs.
- Polyurethane foam surfboard for beginners is the most popular choice. It is lightweight and will allow the rider to have a sense of control over the board. The downside is that manufacturing polyurethane isn’t as safe, so this board isn’t as widely, or mass-produced.
- Polystyrene is a common material used, but it has a longer manufacturing process, which makes it more expensive. Polystyrene in itself is not as strong, but many of these boards are covered in an epoxy resin, which gives them remarkable durability.
- Expanded polystyrene is the most popular choice of these designs. It is lightweight, more so than Polyurethane and Polystyrene, which makes it the ideal one.
You will want to ensure you have the soft top surfboards type that suits your experience level of surfing. Choosing a board with a type that is best for another skill level will leave you frustrated with your surfing adventure. When choosing the type of material used, consider how long you want to use your board for and where. The most durable material would best suit your needs for a foam surfboard.
Design
Most of the foam soft surfboard will have the same design. There will be a core that is made of foam or sometimes, rarely, wood. This core is shaped to ensure that it can support weight, but still be buoyant in the waves. The soft top surfboard options will be heavy because of their design.
Over the core, the top and rails of a foam soft surfboard will be covered and delivered as soft top surfboards. This material will ensure that your foam surfboards have traction, padding, and float easily on the water.
A top-rated soft-top surfboard will ensure that it is rigid enough to still glide through the waves and support the rider. With the foam covering, you won’t have to worry about applying as much wax as a hard surfboard design. There may be a grip or traction soft top added on top of the foam, but the foam itself should offer traction.
Next, all foamie surfboard designs will use fins and a leash. The fins will be larger for a longboard, than for a shortboard. For beginners, it is best to use a longer leash for safety. If the board gets picked up by the waves, you can push it a safe distance away from you by using a longer leash.
Durability
The best soft top surfboard will be extremely durable. Foam has come a long way and the current foam surfboards designs are heavy-duty, reliable, and strong. The core of the soft top surfboards will be rigid and stable, but the foam outside will cushion against any falls and hits.
A top-rated soft-top surfboard will use a high-quality foam covering for the board and rails, which will also ensure it is durable. The foam shouldn’t be easily damaged or punctured to ensure you can use your foamie surfboard again and again. Look for an option that has ding resistance and has performance durability.
To find a durable foam soft surfboard, you may want to refer to foam surfboard reviews. They can help you determine how well a foamie surfboard has resisted and lasted through multiple surf trips, in the words of other surfers. The best soft top surfboard should have multiple reviews that give the design high praise.
Overall, durability is extremely important for the surf top surfboards. You want to ensure it won’t snap in hand on the first trip. A foam board should allow you to learn the basics of the sport but last you throughout the years to gain more experience surfing.
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Volume
When we talk about the volume of foam soft surfboard designs, we are referring to the amount of space that it takes up. You can estimate the volume of it by multiplying together the length, width, and thickness. Length x width x thickness will tell you the volume of the board.
In general, the larger the waves you want to surf, the smaller you want the volume to be. If you are using a top surfboard as a beginner, you will likely be riding in smaller and flatter waves. Beginner surfers should use a top surfboard with more volume.
If you need to know the volume exactly, check out any product specifications before making a purchase. The volume of the board should be indicated by the brand. Or you can always estimate the volume yourself by using the formula listed above.
FAQs
Q: What is a foam surfboard?
A foam surfboard is a type of that is massively popular. Most surfers have owned or used one at a certain point in their life. Almost every single surfer will have learned how to surf using a foamie surfboard.
It will have a foam core, which makes it more buoyant than hard surfboards. They are easier to control and stand upon, which makes them an excellent choice for beginner and intermediate surfers.
Its deck is covered by a layer of foam to ensure fewer injuries when you fall off the board or while you are learning to dive beneath the waves. Rather than have a hardboard to impact your body, the soft top surfboards will provide some cushioning.
However, many expert surfers will still use a foamie surfboard. If the waves are smaller and they still want to catch them, a soft can ensure they are surfing every day of the year. It could potentially catch more waves. A top-rated soft-top surfboard will be long-lasting and even if you are a beginner looking to upgrade your skills, it can still be used throughout a variety of surf adventures.
Q: Are foam surfboards safe?
Yes. Most surfers would even argue that foam soft surfboards are the safest of all the designs and this is why they are often used to teach beginners how to surf. Foamie surfboards are excellent and safe for beginners due to their design and may help you survive a surfing wipeout. Specifically, a beginner surfer would want a foam longboard design. But it may be helpful to check a surfing safety guide too.
The foam on a foamie surfboard is what makes it the safest design. The soft covering will protect surfers and soften the impact with the board. For beginners, surfing can be intimidating but using a soft surf can help you be sure that an injury is less likely to happen and may prevent surf injuries. With an ease of mind and determination to learn, a beginner surfer can soon master the waves using a softer one.
Q: How to care for a foam surfboard?
Many beginners are often curious over the waxing procedure when it comes to the softer types of surfing equipment. But the answer here is yes, you are encouraged to follow such procedure. By using wax, you will be able to add a super grippy deck, which Is rare when it comes to the softest options available on the market. You can simply use one layer and follow specific instructions when applying it.
Q: What is the difference between a regular and a foam surfboard?
As with any of your surfing equipment, like caring for your wetsuit, your soft top will do best with proper maintenance and care. The more you care and maintain it, the longer it will last while consistently giving its best performance. There are guides on how to care for it that can help you get started, but they may not cover the specifics of soft top surfboard.
In general, you will want to ensure that your surfboard is always rinsed with fresh water after every use. Salt is an abrasive material and it can leave a visible residue on a surfboard as it dries. A quick rinse will rid any salt and ensure your soft board stays clean. You should also remember to store it completely dry and in a protected area.
You may want to invest in some additional accessories like racks for cars and a travel bag to ensure it is always protected, even when traveling. A travel bag can ensure your foam soft surfboard is not dinged or scratched and using a car rack can ensure your safety while driving, as well as ensure that no damage will occur.
You will also want to apply the best surf wax and learn how to wax a surfboard, even on a surf soft boards. You will likely be using traction pads, but the rest of the board still needs wax for your body and feet. A great wax will ensure that you don’t slip off your foam soft surfboard. Just be sure to keep your board in the shade.
Q: What is the difference between a regular and a foam surfboard?
The main difference between a regular and a foam surfboard is the material used in the body of the board. A regular one will likely have a foam core but be covered in hard and durable fiberglass and epoxy resin mixture. These boards are the traditional boards that are easily recognizable and called hard ones. It will have foam, or rarely, a wood core. The outside will then be soft and covered in foam too.
Both a regular and the soft top surfboard can come in a variety of types, styles, and lengths. You should be able to find a board that you love to use and suits your needs. However, the best surfboard for beginners will likely be a foamie surfboard. Once you have experience with surfing, you can easily move onto a regular one.
Globo Surf Overview
Surfing is a fun water sport activity that anyone of any skill level and age can try. It’s easy to prepare for a surf trip when you have all the information you need. A top-rated soft top surfboard can have any surfer easily catching waves.
If you are just getting started, you can feel secure with the most excellent foam surfboard. Even if you’re experienced, a relaxed day with a surfboard foamie can be fun.
It is important that you find foam surfboards that suit your level of skill and abilities. You don’t want to be left frustrated or injured because you choose a board too difficult for you. If you know exactly what you need, you can save time and money by investing in the best soft-top surfboard.
More Surp Sport Surfing Reviews:
- Surf Gear And Gadgets
- Surfboard For Beginners
- Surfboard Traction Pads
- Surfboard Racks For Cars
- Surf Wax
- Surfboard Travel Bag
- Surfboards
Do you own one of the foam surfboards that made it onto our list? Let us know how it has worked for your surfing needs in the comments section below.