With more and more top-drawer bodyboards coming out each month, the bar has truly been raised. Beautiful curves, crisply finished tails, impossibly flat slicks and super sharp rails are now the very minimum that we expect from our sticks. Your new board will be better than your last, and it’s out there somewhere: you just have to find it!

There’s something about a new board that makes you want to surf it more. Is it going to really make you rip? What will the new core feel like? Is it going to have that zing that will take your riding to the level of a Kingy, a Player or a Rawlins? Is this your time?!

Preparation…

You wouldn’t paddle out an unknown reef without sizing it up first Р same goes for buying a board. Give yourself a shortlist of what you want the board for, and ask yourself these crucial questions before you go anywhere near a shop…

• What water temperature will I be riding in?

• What’s my style (prone, drop knee, stand up)?

• How’s my bank balance (and do any mates owe me money!)?

• What’s my height and weight these days (have you been hitting up the pasties since your last purchase…)?

Armed with this info you can make a more educated decision about the perfect board for you, and ultimately ensure you’ve got the right tool for a very important job…

So, your new board will be somewhere in the pages above: get yourself a beer, pull the phone out the wall, lock the doors and take it all in…К