Hi all, I was wondering if anyone could help me out. I have a Manta Elite bodyboard (£99), is this good in colder waters eg. France and U.K.? And is it alright for both prone and drop knee because i'd like to improve on both styles?
One more question...what are channels and what do they do? Because i need to think about getting a new board, any suggestions from what i've said i do?

Thanks in advance for your help. Keep on posting!

well airboure , you have a board which is not to bad ,but not brill ,these days boards have carbon fiber rods that are put inside boards to keep them in there original shape so when your board flexs under big cut backs and soilded barrals it will retain its shape,when i started i had a morey mac 7.7 which had none of these but it was like brick ,still the best board i owned, but this became a victim of the hot car the bottom delaminated and that was the end of that ,your board will go alright in most waters in the uk and france just keep it out of the sun and never leave it in the boot of a car in summer it can be twice as hot in there as it is outside . being a mostly dk person i like a board which has no channels and a bat tail with the nose been fairly small i go though boards like theres no tomorrow, a good board with last me about four months so i have had many at the moment i ride a bz hubb its not the 300 hundred quid one but the 170, its alright not the best but your board only plays half the game it you the rider plays the other ,you will always get used to your board the more you use it which i can see from your profile is not very often . channels in you board help you board hold the edge or rail on the face of steep or sucky waves


your board will be ok for both dk or prone ,if you can surf that board well you can probably surf any board well

Thank you sooo much! That has really helped me. I think i'll stick with my board for a while from what you've said. I know how it feels to have a board left in the sun to "melt". I started off bodyboarding on a measly Slick Stick (£20). I left it on top of the cars boot (inside) and when i got back it had bubbles on the deck. It was only a foam deck and you can tell from the price that i wasn't that bothered. I've now got my Manta Elite and i've had it for a while...almost 2 years! You can tell i don't get to sponge much compared to you. (You said a new board every 4 months). Anyway thanks for the answers to my question. I don't really like to buy too expensive boards. What's your favourite board make? Don't you bodyboard in Cornwall?

Thanks for replying.

my favourite board make would have to be bz .good all round board , most of my mates ride them so it goes with out saying .but theres plenty of chose out there with new companys spring up every where and if you what a one of board theres a company in cornwall called buzzard if you give them your spec ie.rails 40/60 bat tail ....and so on there will nock one up for you for about £170 ....


yes i live in cornwall ,i go bodyboarding most days ,more now the days are getting longer . if you rember i posted some pics of porthleven a few weeks back which was one of the best days i surfed it ,well anyway if you can check out threesixty this month there are some more pics of that day or check out there website there might be on three

Great! I saw your pictures and it looks really good. I might consider buying a Bz board and yes i have heard of Buzzard before. They sound pretty good. You've reminded me, i must sign up/ subscribe to threesixty magazine. Seeing as you live in Cornwall, do you know the best time for surf in Newquay, prefferably when it's not to busy...if it is never busy!
Thanks.

its always busy in newquay these days ,but if you want to get good surf then the winter months are the best ,but if i was coming down to cornwall to surf i would stay away from newquay to many wanna bee , check out watergate bay or morgan porth,porthtowan these spots are usally a little less busyer best thing to do is check the surf forcast at A1 surf .com befopre you set out there have all the long range forcasts and webcams

Board wise, I'm a fan of the classics. I pulled off my first barrell roll on a cheap 'bucket and spade shop' polystyrene surfboard that had been snapped in half then the nose reshaped by by with a saw and some sandpaper.

I can't count the number of tubes I had on this. It lasted 15 years!!

Awesome!!

LOL! Your sooo crazy sinister! I love your avata. Anyway, thanks for the advice wez. I'd still like to visit nequay even though it's packed, but i'll look for the spots you suggested too.
Yet another question comming up...i'm full of 'em!
I have bodyboarding fins called "winston" (£20 from "the little pink shop" in Croyde, North Devon) Have you heard of these, and are they any good? If you haven't, then what fins are really good to buy at the moment?

no i have not heard of them , i use manta blades ,these are good for me because i can cut them down with a shape knife to give them the shape i what there around £30 apair but if you what the daddys of fins then vipers are the ones for you but there will set you back about £50

I used to buy diving fins and cut them to shape.
I prefered the foothold on them, especially the silicone ruber ones with hard plastic blades. These spared my toes and were dirt cheap.

nice idea mexican bandit,

fins are always hard to buy cos they are designed for diffrent feet shapes which is a problem when it comes to buying.
i had a pair of manta blades ( very nice fins) but i bought them too big and they cut my feet. i got a new pair now that are a smaller size and are a nice fit. make sure you get them to fit not cos of price or looks.
churchills are pretty good these days cheap and durable shape

I agree that churchill's are a good fin. I have now found out the real name of the fins i purchased, they aren't called "winstons" but they're called "Rheos". The "Rheos" that i have for only £20 are supposed to be the cheaper version of the churchill. Anyone heard of these?
A good thing to wear is the neoprene sox...i tried the fins without them the other day, boy did the sand get into them. You know where the ankle part on the main bodyb of the fin is, that's where the sand was rubbing against my skin! So vexing!

Hey Airborne,

If you want to wear your fins without the socks, heres a little tip. Use an old knackered pair of neoprene socks and cut them up, use the bits to "pad out"/ tie to, the nasty rubbing parts of your fins!

Great idea Thodd, i've heard that before but i just forgot about it! I'll try it next time! Cheers.

If you could give me any advice on how to get a crease out of a new wetsuit i would really appreciate it. Anyone with any advice?
It starts near the groin where it is mostly neoprene, it then works its way up to the shoulder via the chest area (shoulder and chest are made of rubber). So, it's a pretty long crease...i really hate it because i used the suit once, packed it (which i shouldn't have done) and now there's a fat crease in it!
Any help to sort it out, or will i have to stick with it?

Cheers.

Not sure about that Crease Airborne!

It should come out over time just don't do anything crazy like try and iron it .
... but remember everytime you've used your suit rinse it in fresh water to get the salt out of it. Then if your not going to be using it for a bit let it dry, and hang it up in your wardrobe.

Its a bit of a ball ache to say the least... especially if you've been awake since 6am been driving for a total of 5hours and your knackered from a hard days surfin. But try and get in the habit and your suit should last longer.

Thanks again for the advice Thodd. I always rinse my wetsuit with fresh water...oh wait, let me rephrase that...my DAD rinses my wetsuit straight after the sesion, teeheehee! (I am lazy, next time i should help him, or not because i'm still drying off)

I wasn't even thinking about doing something stupid, like ironing! What fool would do that (no offence is intended if anyone reads this who has ironed their wetsuit)

I guess i'll have to put up with it...and look a fraction less cooler in front of the girls than if i didn't have a crease! Right now though i'm just letting my suit soak in the bath in cold water, i doubt if that will work.

Cheers.