To Rent A Surfboard Or Not To Rent A Surfboard?

Now that you know the who, the why and the where of surfboard rentals, it is time to make that final decision as to whether or not you should rent a surfboard.

The easiest way to make any decision, whether it is a surfing decision or not, is to look at the advantages and disadvantages of the decision at hand.

So here is a quick list of the advantages and disadvantages of renting a surfboard.

Reasons To Rent A Surfboard

• Stress Free Air Travel – You do not have to worry about your precious surfboard being decimated by an airline, or having to pay ridiculous extra baggage fines.  This is one of the main concerns of many travelling surfers today.

• Keep Your Friends – If you smash your mate’s rental surfboard he’ll still talk to you and buy you a beer, as opposed to the consequences of smashing a friend’s brand new stick.

• The Ideal Surfboard – Whenever you go on a surf trip you will never be a 100% sure of what the surf conditions will be like. By leaving your board at home and choosing to rent a surfboard you will be able to ride a board that suits the local surfing conditions

• Socialize With The Local Crew – By renting a surfboard from a surf shop in a new remote surf destination you should be able to pick up some local insider knowledge on the best places to surf in the area.

• Test Drive Many Boards – You may well be able to try out more than one style of surfboard, experiencing what suits you best before you rush out and buy one yourself.

• Switch It Up – By choosing a long term surfboard rental you may well be able to ride a better style of surfboard by the end of a surf trip or surf vacation, instead of being stuck on the one surfboard your brought for the duration.

Reason You May Not Want To Rent A Surfboard

• Damage – You really need to read the fine print and see how badly you will be penalised if you should happen to damage a rental surfboard. If you are relatively inexperienced there is a good likelihood of this happening. How steep is the fine going to be? How much of a deposit are you required to leave?

• Dodgy Boards – Rental surfboards do get dinged and damaged. If the surfboard is really yellow, or feels extremely heavy, it may well be waterlogged. This means that the board will not float so well, and will ultimately affect the performance. However, if you are relatively inexperienced you may not notice the difference in surfing performance anyway. A really waterlogged surfboard will also be quite heavy to carry to and from the beach.

• Pre-existing Damage – Much like a car rental, it is pretty important to check out the surfboard before you sign the paperwork. Mark all the dings, dents, marks, and cracks before you leave the rental place. Much like a car rental, if you don’t you will be liable for the pre-existing damage. Rental surfboards are highly likely to be damaged, it goes with the territory, so ignore this piece of advice at your own credit card deposit peril.

• Dodgy Dealers – Again, much like car rental companies, you may or may not encounter a dodgy dealer. If the deal seems too good to be true, perhaps you might like to look around a bit more first. If the place appears to be up renting you past your experience level, you should be leery. There is no point hiring a board suited to Kelly Slater if you are a beginner. You will not be able to catch any small waves for beginners.

• Board Transportation – Are you staying near the ocean? Are you renting the surfboard for more than a few hours? Longer term rentals can often have the surfboard delivered to your door. This can be extremely beneficial if the rental place is miles from where you are based. Have you got a hire car with racks or a convertible to fit the surfboard in? Are you fit enough to carry the board to the surf every day? Of course if you are just renting the surfboard for a session straight off the beach then you won’t need to worry about this particular issue.

• Board Storage – If you are keeping the surfboard rental in your holiday accommodation you will need to make sure that there is a space somewhere for it, and that it will fit in the elevator. Leaving a rental surfboard out on the balcony overnight may well result in a costly theft.

So remember that even though renting a surfboard can be a convenience be sure to think through the decision before you hand over your money to any surfboard rental company or surf shop.

Now get out there are get wet!

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