The History of Longboards in Surfing

The ancient Polynesians were the first to use wooden surfboards (predecessor to longboards) to ride waves which began the evolution of wave riding. One of the fathers of surfing, Duke Kahanamoku, single handedly spread surfing outside of Hawaii while becoming one of the most influential surfers in the process. Duke was famous for riding 10 foot plus hardwood boards weighing over 100 pounds, some approaching close to 175 pounds.

With technology and surfboard design improving, vintage surfboards have evolved into classic noseriders, fish surfboards, stingers, guns, thruster shortboards, and the contemporary radical shortboard surfboards most pro's use today. However, longboard surfboards will always hold a place in surfing no matter how much technology and surfboard design advance. The longboard is still the easiest board for beginners to learn on and provide better surfers the ability to feel the wave beneath their feet and learn to "work" the wave. There is nothing more relaxing than a 10 second hang-ten at your favorite point break on a classic noserider.

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