Any of these 3 longboards suitable for a newbie?

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Maybe buy something 2nd hand to start, you may not use it as much as you think. You could also consider a soft board in similar dimensions, you will be less likely to hurt yourself or others and you can get something better when your skills will warrant it. Merry Christmas.

“Is there an obvious reason why #1 is cheaper than #2? Thanks! “
Construction. First one is EPS foam/epoxy resin, second one is PU foam/PE resin and has a colour tint which adds labour. For a beginner you probably couldn’t go wrong with any of them.

Anyone of them will do.

1 or 2 have a slightly better shape for learning.

I'd buy on price if I were you.

a few tips that have helped me that might help you in learning- i also ride a bodyboard aswell as fish or shortboards or mals and found trouble changing between bodyboarding to standing as in bodyboarding you take off arching your back,(pushing down the nose with one hand) when changing to a standup i sometimes arch my back as my mate pointed out to me once, this makes taking off and getting into waves much harder on a standup as you need to lower your chest to keep the nose down under the lip with hands paddling..not too much or you will nose dive.
I had no idea i was doing that after riding a bodyboard a lot it became a very bad habit when switching over to standing.
I recommend just choosing any bank with nobody around or hopefully a more experienced friend to take you and point out any bad habits you might be starting off with. this will improve your surfing a lot if friends point out mistakes, when i decided to seriously take up standups about in 2004 after many years mucking around on them a mate pointed out to me i wasnt bending my knees enough..once i started doing that my surfing especially tube riding got way better.
Surfing by yourself is good too but in my honest opinion a slower process of progress.
Hope this helps, also the best waves are usually early in the morning with offshore winds most often early in the morning in most parts of Australia (offshore wind= wind coming off the beach which equals cleaner easier to surf conditions) but dont always go for offshore conditions, sometimes the best spot might be onshore and handling like a rip bowl, which is a rip with a shallow bank next to it, more dangerous for beginners (with the rip moving you around out to sea)but after you have made progress a desirable place to surf good waves.(If stuck in the rip paddle sideways towards the shallow bank and catch a white wash)
i could go on for hours but hope these few tips help you out a bit.
any of those boards will do and most importantly dont go out in dangerous surf that looks smaller than it really is, well not untill you can surf sufficiently, ie know your limits.

My advice. Don't overthink it. Get a board - or not. Soft / Hard / Bodyboard / Body bash / Longboard.. Whatever. Get in the water. Do it often. Make sure you are safe. Talk to people. Have fun. Experience wins out. If you love it - you'll keep doing it. To quote a Swellnet legend. Surf just surf.

icandig wrote:

My advice. Don't overthink it. Get a board - or not. Soft / Hard / Bodyboard / Body bash / Longboard.. Whatever. Get in the water. Do it often. Make sure you are safe. Talk to people. Have fun. Experience wins out. If you love it - you'll keep doing it. To quote a Swellnet legend. Surf just surf.

Edit....if you're set on one of the three, go with the cheapest. Difference in price is probably the construction. Difference in shape would likely be negligible for a beginner.

CaptainKook wrote:

I've been looking at a 4th option:

Torq TET 9' (https://www.akewatu.com.au/surf/surfboards/torq-long-9-0/S-46354)

This one is a bit more expensive than the other 3 at $799 but it appears it has some good reviews.

Would it be worth the extra $300 compared to #1?

No, not worth the extra money at all mate. Go with either 1 or 2, which ever is the cheapest.

Does number 1 have a wooden stringer ?
Maybe the reason why it is so cheap.

Sideways are known to find and sell cheap poor quality products.

Sideways sells Asian made boards.
For the price they are fine.

I've seen mates with pu/pe shortboards get regular durability out of them.

freeride76 wrote:

Sideways sells Asian made boards.
For the price they are fine.

I've seen mates with pu/pe shortboards get regular durability out of them.

Helped a mate pick one out for his weight and age . Had a good talk to the sales guy and 100% made in Indonesia , glass job was 6 & 4 on the deck 4 on the bottom. Last board he got from them lasted 3 years. cost $460 and they threw in a deckpad . It was sideways branded.

Enjoy it
If your not aware - When you get a Ding in an Epoxy they suck up water like a Sponge so any Dings or even minor cracks get them seen to ASAP.

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