Volume calculator
How to choose the size and volume of your surfboard?
To find the appropriate volume for your profile, there are several factors to consider:
- Your age
- Your weight
- Your surfing level
- Your physical condition
- The type of waves surfed
The Volume Calculator gives you an indication of the ideal volume of your board. It does not take into account the outline and rocker of the board model.
Volume, dimensions and outline
The calculation of the volume of a surfboard is calculated from its length, width and thickness but not only, in fact each board has a different shape, a nose and a more or less thick tail, rocker and concave or convex. Two surfboards with the same dimensions can have a completely different volume because of these parameters that are used in the calculation of the volume.
The volume is calculated in litres, it gives a flotation index of the surfboard. Today, this volume is calculated using computer tools, but beforehand, to calculate it, the shaper had to pour the board into a large basin filled with water, the water level rising into the basin indicated the volume using markers, hence the use of the cubic litre as the unit of measurement.
More volume will bring you an easy rowing, a fast surf, you will start on more waves and with less effort.
Be careful not to take a board with too much volume, you will float too much and it will be difficult to make turns on the wave and make ducks.
On the contrary, if you don't have enough volume on your surf, you won't float enough, your surf will be slower, starting on waves will be more difficult and you will have to spend more energy for the paddle. Once standing on the board, an inexperienced surfer will have more difficulty maintaining his speed on the wave.
The different surfing shapes
There are 4 main families of shape types:
- Shortboard
- Fish
- Funboard
- Longboard
DHD manufactures shortboard and fish surfboards, you will find shortboards in 3 of our ranges and fish in the Summer Series range:
- Pro Series: Surf the surfboards of the pros!
- Core Series: More volume for more wave on high-performance boards
- Travel Series: High-performance boards for solid conditions
- Summer Series: high-performance fish and retro fish with a touch of modernity
Type of waves and surf spots
There are different types of waves and types of spots, we will talk about three main types of surf spots depending on the seabed and the typology on which the wave unfolds:
- Beachbreak: Brittle wave on a sandbank, on beachbreak spots, waves break directly on the beach edge, those are shorebreaks that can produce powerful and dangerous waves.
- Reefbreak: Reefbreak is characterized by a rocky or coral seabed, these are spots that generate powerful and dangerous waves.
- Pointbreak: : The wave always starts at the same place at the end of a rocky point or pier offering a long wave with a wide manoeuvrable shoulder. It opens only on the right or only on the left.
Wave types:
- Soft waves: This type of wave is the favorite wave of longboard or mini malibu surfers, but the fish surfboard models and shortboards with volume allow you to have fun in this type of wave, you will find them in our Core Series and Summer Series ranges.
- Hollow waves: Hollow waves offer powerful and fast tubular waves; they require a thinner surfboard with a narrower tail and a more pinched rail providing better grip in the trough of the wave.