Is it time to move on from your foamie?
One of the most common questions we get asked at Elemental Surf Lodge is simple: I have been on a foamie for a while now, when do I move on, and what do I move on to? To answer it properly, we asked a shaper who has ridden just about everything.
We asked someone who has ridden it all.
To give you a proper answer, we asked Max Colvin, surf coach turned surfboard shaper and founder of Hand Laid Eggs in Cornwall, to break it down. Max has spent years coaching surfers on Cornish beaches and has ridden pretty much every size, shape and design of soft board available to the new and aspiring surfer.
I have known Max since 2014, when we spent a season teaching windsurfing together in Greece. Even back then he was always the one repairing everyone's boards, and anyone who has handled a windsurf board knows just how intricate those constructions are. He is a true waterman and a boardrider in every form, equally at home on a windsurfer, a longboard or a shortboard, a skateboard or a snowboard, so there are few people I would rather trust on the question of what to ride next.
Your local Newquay advisor for the next level.
We have partnered with Max and Hand Laid Eggs as Elemental’s local Newquay board advisor for the intermediate surfer: the surfer who can stand up, ride along the wave and is ready to leave the foamie behind. It is the trickiest, most confusing moment in anyone’s progression, and the point where the right board makes the biggest difference.
So when you are ready to take that next step, Max is on hand to talk it through and shape something built around you, your weight and the waves you actually surf.
“I started Hand Laid Eggs because I kept watching surfers stall, not because they had stopped improving, but because their board had stopped letting them. Put the right shape under someone at the right moment and they fly. That is the whole reason I shape.
Max Colvin, Hand Laid Eggs
About Max Colvin
Max Colvin is a surf coach and shaper based in Cornwall. He founded Hand Laid Eggs to make custom handmade surfboards specifically for improver and intermediate surfers in the UK, after watching friends and customers struggle on outdated equipment.
Every board is shaped to order from traditional materials, sized and spec'd around the surfer who will ride it. Approachable, empathetic and genuinely expert: exactly the person to ask when a foamie is no longer holding you back, but holding you up.
Here is what he says.
What makes a foamie a foamie?
Before you can understand when to leave one behind, it helps to understand what you are actually riding. Foam surfboards, soft boards, swellys, whatever you call them, are all built around the same three things.
A stringerless foam core
Think high-density packaging foam. Light, buoyant and forgiving, with no timber stringer running down the middle to stiffen it up.
A tough outer skin
A hard-wearing soft skin is glued around that core to take the knocks of everyday learning without dinging.
Plastic plug-in fins
Soft plastic fins push through the deck. Cheap and safe, but they flex and lose grip just when you need them to hold.
There is also a hybrid option: a hard epoxy board wrapped in a thin foam layer. Think of it as a standard hardboard in a yoga mat. These are a little more responsive than a true foamie and can be a great stepping stone for improver surfers bridging the gap between soft board and hardboard.
Brilliant at first, limiting later.
Everything that makes a foamie perfect for your first session is the same thing that holds you back once you can actually surf.
Stability over manoeuvrability
Surf-school foamies are thick, wide and flat, with volume spread across the whole board. That gives you the balance to stand up, but lean into a turn and it is like steering a barge.
The flat rocker
The flat tip-to-tail curve makes paddling easy in small waves. But put it in anything with real power and that same flat rocker is exactly why you keep nosediving.
Wide, square tails
A wide tail stops beginners sinking the back and pulling a wheelie on every wave. Once you want to turn, though, you need to sink that tail and engage the rails, and you cannot.
The construction ceiling
Cheap and robust is right when you are learning, but soft build means a soft ride. The fins bend when they should grip, and the uniform sharp rails either track straight or dig in.
In short, the very features that help you stand up and make your first basic turns are the same features that make the board progressively harder to improve on.
So, when is it time to move on?
If you can stand up more often than not, ride white water and small green waves, and steer left and right without losing control, you are ready.
You do not need to be surfing perfectly or turning properly. Once the board itself is the limiting factor rather than your ability, switching to a hardboard will feel like an immediate improvement, and most people are surprised by how quickly it clicks.
What to move on to.
This is where most surfers get lost. Search what surfboard should I buy and you will spend hours wading through jargon, generalised advice and recommendations from people who were paid to say something worked for them in Bali.
The honest answer is that it depends on your weight, how often you surf and the conditions you surf most. For most improvers moving on from a foamie, a mini-mal or a high-volume mid-length is the sweet spot: enough volume to keep your paddle power and stability, but with shaped rails, proper fins and a design that actually lets you improve your turns.
Want advice for your surfing, not a generic size chart?
Max at Hand Laid Eggs shapes boards specifically for improver and intermediate surfers, and is happy to talk through the right option for you. Every board is handmade to order in Cornwall, fully custom to your dimensions, weight and local waves.
Talk to Max about your next board.
Browse the well-tested models and use the sizes and descriptions as a starting point, then speak directly to the designer and shaper. No jargon, no stupid questions, just the right board for you.
