9 Best Surfboards for Beginners UK 2024 Guide | Osprey, Bic and More

Foam surfboards or 'foamies' are made from a soft foam material with a hard layer of plastic glued to the bottom for more glide and speed on a wave. They're ideal for beginners as they pose little to no threat if the inevitable happens and your head or limbs get in the way of the surfboard when you're being bashed about in the waves. 

Foamies can come in all shapes and sizes these days, with even pro surfers finding enjoyment in riding the smaller, more refined foamies. When learning, however, you should be looking for a longer foamie, the specifics of which we'll get into later on. 

Price will ultimately determine the quality of a foamie, with the higher-spec surfboards being lighter and easier to manoeuvre than the cheaper foamies which will be heavier and more cumbersome to turn.

Epoxy surfboards are popular with beginners as they don't damage or 'ding' as easily as fibreglass boards. Epoxy boards also benefit from extra buoyancy making it easier for you to paddle onto waves. 

They are made using a light foam core with epoxy resin encasing the foam. This basically means if an epoxy surfboard hits you in the water, it won't be with such vigour as a fibreglass board. However, they will certainly hurt a lot more than a foamie as they are still a more solid and hardened surfboard design.

Epoxy surfboards, therefore, enable more manoeuvrability than foamies as they benefit from a more responsive and refined design which more closely resembles fibreglass boards. They're a good choice if you have surfed a few times before and know some basic surf etiquette and awareness, but are still looking for a beginner board to master the basics on.

A surfboard can have anywhere from 1-5 fins attached to it, which will ultimately determine the style of surfing a surfer is aiming to achieve with that particular board. 

The most tried-and-tested fin configuration is the thruster fin setup, which is invariably three fins of the same size in a triangular formation. It is consequently almost always recommended to learn with a thruster set of fins as it gives a good amount of stability while still allowing beginners to practice turns in small waves.

Most beginner surfboards will come with fins included, but it will pay to check before you buy just in case you need to source them separately. 

Rubber fins are the type of fin you don't mind scraping across your leg in a 'wipeout'. They are soft, flexible and forgiving fins that can enable fear-free learning as fins are usually the most dangerous part of a surfboard. 

The downside to rubber fins is they aren't as responsive as plastic or fibreglass fins meaning you won't be turning a foamie with rubber fins in a hurry. 

Overall, they're the ideal fin for someone who has never surfed before and is a little hesitant due to the risks associated with surfing. They are generally the fins that accompany foamies designed for learning to stand up in the whitewash and surfing straight toward the beach.

Plastic fins are a lot more responsive than rubber fins. They are designed for epoxy beginner surfboards or the higher end of foamie surfboards found on the market. They lend themselves to the type of surfing that is leading toward progression through turns. 

Through plastic makes for a harder fin, you will be able to start turning the surfboard with more power, finding your flow and desired style of surfing. They won't hurt or cut you in the same way a fibreglass fin will as the plastic has more give than fibreglass. 

For this reason, it is definitely not recommended to learn with a set of fibreglass fins. Fibreglass fins are very hard and sharp and they consequently have the potential to send you to A&E in need of stitches, so if you want something a bit more responsive than rubber, choose plastic.

The volume of a surfboard is measured in terms of its total litreage. When starting out, it's super important to have enough litres to float you and make it easy to paddle and catch waves. 

If not, the surfboard will be forever fighting against you with the wrong volume. And there's nothing more awkward than watching someone try to surf with a board that's too small for them – it's like witnessing Bambi trying to stand on ice. 

As a rule of thumb, total beginners should start out with a surfboard that is near enough in volume to their body weight. It can be more or a little less, but this guide will help in choosing a board you're bound to get along with. So, for a complete beginner weighing 70 kg, a foam board of 60+ litres will mean learning to stand up won't seem like an impossible task.

From their origins to the present day, surfboards have always been measured in feet and inches. A standard shortboard for an experienced surfer will measure in the vicinity of 6 ft, as this is the optimal length for advanced turning and fitting into the pocket of a way.

Beginner surfboards, however, need to be longer to gain more volume and stability for ease of learning. Adults should look within the 7-9 ft range (depending on volume and ability), while kids would benefit from a high-volume foam board of 5-7 ft. That's not to say a child can't learn on a 7-9 ft surfboard, but they'll probably need a hand controlling such a big board in the waves. 

All in all, for any surfer finding their feet in the ocean, opting for more length and volume is recommended – at least until you feel comfortable enough with the basics of paddling, standing up, and surfing the unbroken parts of a wave known as 'green waves'. 

To keep it simple, if you're landlocked and think you'll be heading down to Cornwall a few times each summer to spend beach days with the family (while mixing in a bit of surfing when it's appropriate!), then a basic longer foam board with rubber fins will be all you need to start. 

With this type of board, you'll be catching more waves each session which is more beneficial than catching fewer waves and getting frustrated with a refined surfboard. If this sounds like you, look for the boards we've marked as suitable for 'complete beginners' on our recommendation list. 

Whether it's the North East, Wales, Devon or Cornwall, if you're already living near a UK surfing coastline you have a huge learning advantage, as you'll be able to really dig the heels in and get things moving quickly. 

Or maybe you're not so geographically-gifted, but the surf world has taken you by storm. So much so that you're already pencilling in weekend after weekend of surf trips, expecting to drive hours upon hours scouring all the amazing surf potential the UK has to offer.

If you fit into one of these two categories, opting for a more progression-focused surfboard is the right choice. From the more refined foamies to epoxy boards with plastic fins, already knowing you plan to dedicate serious time to surfing means you should hopefully progress with a more refined board from the offset. We've listed these as suitable for 'dedicated beginners'.