Mid Length Surfboards

A mid length surfboard is a surfboard that sits between a long board and short board. It takes the best features of both these boards and blends them into a surfboard that features great paddling and wave catching but with a greater ability to get the board turning than you would normally associate with a longer board.

This seems like a relatively new concept but they have been around for years, they’ve just been called different names. Without wanting to pigeon hole the idea of a mid length the general guide is that they go from 6’ 6 to about 8’ 0. This isn’t a definitive size ratio, it just gives an rough idea of what to expect.

Boards under 6’ 6 are invariably hybrids, grovelers, or shortboards and they don’t have the same design ethos as a mid-length, anything longer is a long board! The concept of the mid length is to maximise wave count whilst not losing all ability to turn. Lots of surfers don’t get in the water as often as they would like to due to spouses, kids, work, hangovers and many other factors so when you do get in you want to make the most of it and enjoy your precious water time. Surfing a Groveler or Hyrbid board requires a certain level of fitness that you can get away with not having on a slightly longer egg surfboard. The other supreme joy of a Mid Length is the wave range they’ll work in, knee to a bit overhead is a fair representation and it doesn’t matter whether its offshore and groomed or howling on shore a longer surfboard will get you up and riding and smiling.

Some boards will have a thrusters fin set up but most will have some kind of fin box and side bites arrangement often referred to as a 2 + 1 or a 4+ 1. This fin arrangement adds stability and drive whilst still allowing the board to turn. Longboarders who no longer want to cart around a 9’ board or shortboarders getting older or surfing less than they used to love these boards, but for anyone looking to up their wave count, out paddle packs of frothing groms and have fun a Mid Length might well be the answer. Leading lights are the Mark Phipps shaped One Bad Egg, the FORM surfboards Flow Stik and Firewire Greedy Beaver, get hunting.