Riding A Shortboard Will Improve Your Longboarding
I'm so passionate about this topic that I even wrote the inverse article, which you can read here: Riding a Longboard Will Improve Your Shortboarding.
The way you feel and experience waves is translated through the board beneath your feet. Which means, the equipment you elect to employ radically impacts every bit of your surfing. This is one of the things that makes riding waves so much dang fun.
Take for example: An 11' glider and an inflatable surf mat... these two wave-riding crafts couldn't be more different. Two drastically different tools designed for the same job... to carry you joyfully across the surface of a wave.
Surfing a 5'2 Rover is an entirely different experience than surfing a 9'4 Walks on Water. One of the great joys of surfing is that you have the ability to switch back and forth—sometimes even in the same surf session.
If you are a committed longboarder, you have gotten accustomed to a certain level of glide, stability, and forward inertia. While your wave-count might be incredible, one downside is you are missing out some rad little moments and feelings of surfing.
For one, you are likely missing out on really having to work the wave to generate speed. Riding a smaller board requires you to find the power pocket of the wave, to use the rail line to pump and generate speed, and really plan your approach for maximum speed generation.
Second, there are parts of the wave that are likely going entirely unridden. One of my weird surfing quirks is that I think I actually surf better when a friend drops in on me. Please don't take this as an invitation to burn me next time, but hear me out... When I have the wave all to myself, my eyes are down the line, focused on where I'm trying to get to; but when I call my friend into a wave, the down-the-line option is taken away, forcing more of my attention on the breaking portion of the wave. This requires a more top to bottom surfing approach—which is only really possible when riding a smaller board. There is something so fun about climbing up the face of the wave, reaching the top, and then dropping back down with tremendous speed.
Longboarding allows for smaller versions of this—like a roller coaster re-entry on a close-out; but to truly feel the freedom of exploration to be able to point your board to a spot and know that you can get there, you need to be riding something smaller. (Personally, I'm really into the 6'4 Pleasant Pheasant at the moment... it has a surprising amount of maneuverability while maintaining great speed).
Lastly, tight turns. You simply can't replace the lively feeling of a small board under your feet when it comes to doing tight turns. A fish, shortboard, or smaller mid-length gives you—as the rider—an incredible amount of control over the board. The quick response of a smaller board will push your surfing in ways you never thought possible.
So, how do all of these things make you a better LONGBOARDER? (After all, that is the title of the article)
Spending time on a small board, and experiencing the wave beneath your feet in a new way will give you added skills, perspective, and abilities when you go back to riding your trusted log. You will see things differently, explore the wave with more confidence, and let's be honest... absolutely treasure the paddling power and wave-count of your favorite longboard.
If for no other reason, periodically paddling out your 5'6 fish will remind you why you love your longboard so much. But please, take my advice, mix up your equipment and you will become a more prepared, better all around surfer—regardless of the equipment you choose to employ.
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