Damned your not being foolish, mid lengths are great to ride especially when it's bigger.
Mid 90s I got a great board shapped for me, polyester but glassed in S glass a 7'6".
Early 2000 I got a 8'4" and that became my go to and still in the garage. I'm too heavy for that board now.
These days there is so much choice and even get a high volume 8' board like Walden mega majic. But plenty of options if you work with a local shapper to get you quiver fully dialed

Greeney, you're like a poet.

The idea of maybe, one day, being able to surf a decent board as 'short' as 7'6"-8", does spark joy.
The idea of said board being something I'm proud to have in my quiver, also sparks joy. Even if it's something just to look at.

Speaking of nice to look at, I do have a nice 6' fish downstairs, it's a Kona Brewing Big Wave board, never waxed, that I got ridiculously cheap as a wall hanger for over the bar.... when I have one. Interestingly, it was so cheap on Gumtree that I assume everyone thought it was a scam.

Thanks for that - I've already spent countless hours on google, trying to research 'mid-lengths' and read up on the Outlier. I'm currently leading towards a 2+1 fin set-up, as that's what I prefer on most of my longboards.

Right now, I'm kinda leaning towards the Creative Army Huevo. Somewhat thinking that if a mid-length is somewhat of a reward for my weight loss, then maybe I should splurge on a custom? Josh has built two longboards for me, and was excellent to work with. Both CA Customs have a matching theme, in terms of colour, so thought it might be cool to have a third that 'matches'?
It then aligns with Greeney's proposal of 'does it spark joy?', and even if it doesn't get ridden much, it's a pleasure to look at.
Plus, there's that extra 'joy' from having a custom that was made for me, as opposed to either an 'off the shelf' or used board. So, all about the 'joy'.

But I'm clearly still undecided - mostly around 'will I even be able to ride it?' That's my real hesitation. I know how stoked I was to get to my feet on that 7'6" foamie, something I didn't really consider possible. It really did bring me 'joy'. So I know I'd be smiling for months if I managed to surf a mid-length..... but then there's the fear of failure. What if I drop the coin on a decent mid-length board, and am still too fat (and unskilled) to surf it?

And I certainly don't need any more boards.....

Macaha said..
Long story but , get the custom CA mate and go the same colour ways. You will be stoked, don't waist your money on anything less. Looking forward to the build thread.

I'm pretty much convinced that this is the way to go - I've even decided what I want to do with the color! Was even planning on calling Josh over the last couple of days, but with the Noosa Festival now running, I'll give it a couple of weeks.

I've got to think about size. Like I said above, while I've lost 20kgs, I'm still heavy. Weight has plateaued for the last few months, but determined to try and drop another 5kgs over then next couple of months. That'll put me at 90kgs. So, yeah, doing the math, I started at 115kg. Certainly explains my love for boards over 10'! FYI - even getting down to 95kg has been amazing. So much more energy, my previously somewhat uncontrolled blood pressure (despite meds) is now entirely normal, and my total cholesterol has dropped from 5.7 to 4.6. And I've dropped from a 36" waist (where shorts/pants were getting tight) to a comfy 34". Even if I don't drop from 95kg, all of this is still a massive win!

Right, so let's assume I get down to 90kg. Josh makes the CA Huevo up to 8'8".
Should I just play it safe and go for the 8'8"?
I kinda feel that at 8'8", its really just a 'short' longboard, but my confidence that I'll be able to surf it is higher.

I'm really keen on some input re: length.
From the replies above, I'm seeing some love for a 8'4", a 8'1" and an 8'3" - so maybe an 8'6", isn't such a bad idea?
As I've been thinking through this, while writing this post (and editing, over and over), I'm liking the idea of something around 8'3" or 8'4" - what are peoples thoughts on this for someone sitting around 90-95kg? or should I just suck it up and go for the 8'8"?
I can get Josh to leave some extra volume in it, which ever way I go, if the Brains Trust recommend that approach.

Cheers!

Board is ordered and deposit is paid.
But it's not a mid-length.
As with my other two customs from Josh, we were on the phone for close to an hour, sorting it out. And as with the past two customs where I called about something I thought I wanted, he sent me in a different direction.
He's such a great builder to work with. I don't know if he has a file on me, or an exceptional memory, but he dug into the archives with some info re how, when, where I surf (and live). Great chat about goals and constraints etc. He was psyched that I've lost a bunch of weight, and given that he's also lost a bunch himself, could certainly understand where I was coming from.

As an aside, last weekend I pulled out my 9'6" Noosa Longboards Tea Tree (that Josh had a hand in the design of) that I haven't surfed in probably 7 years (due to ever expanding weight), and had a fun session in 1ft waves.

Long story short, for a variety of reasons the mid-length wasn't the right choice for 'right now' - So we settled on a 9'6" Jive. Will be lower volume than the Tea Tree, more versatile, covers a bunch of the features I enjoy in my other boards etc.
Despite not being the mid-length I was originally hoping for, I'm super psyched for it to arrive..... in 6-8 weeks.

I'm excited.

My Mrs has implemented the one in one out policy ??

My mid length 7'4, goes unreal

Nozza said..

I know nothing about surfboard design but I love all the channels!

I bet the sander didn't!

I've been on a new board ..new dress policy..for the wife that is

justaddwater said..
I've been on a new board ..new dress policy..for the wife that is

Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say.

Got a couple though my favourite is a 7'0 cosmic twin by Joel Fitzgerald, surfed it in 6-8 ft T land last year and it handled it like a dream and its surfs great in the small stuff as well.Ill never sell it!

I will add a mid-length to the quiver...... one day.
As per past advice, I need to be living closer to the beach and surfing more - which is on the cards to happen sometime soon(ish)