Board Volume

by Rod Eagles February 27, 2017

UNDERSTANDING SURFBOARD VOLUME by Jackson Surfboards Owner- Rod Eagles

“Foam is your friend!”

In case you have missed it, Surfboards are now measured in volume or Litres of Foam. Gone are the days of guessing whether a board is the right size for you. This fantastic system has taken out the guesswork and once you understand how it works you will really appreciate its simplicity.

Several years ago I made the switch to a volume/litre measured short board. I read several articles and used about 5 different online Surfboard Volume calculators to work out what was the right litreage (not sure if that is a word!) for me. The results were confusing so I took the plunge and purchased a second hand board that I thought was my ideal size- 30 litres of foam.

My thinking was that if I get the size wrong then I haven’t done a lot of cash and I can resell it to try another size. Luckily for me I nailed it first time and the 30 litres of foam gave me enough paddling floatation but also allowed me to duckdive the board. Perfect!

Now to assist you with your next purchase here are some tables to help lift the fog and give you a solid guide:

Note:-

This guide is for shortboards or funboards- Malibu boards are another story- they will float us all and need only minor adjustments for bigger folk. We all know they are hard to roll and impossible to duckdive so small wave surfing is their main domain.
My observations in the surf are that many surfers are surfing under volumed boards- this results in ugly bogged down turns and reduced wave count- go for fun and flow everytime.
Be realistic about your surfing ability (Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced).
If you are over 45 years or below average surf fitness I would add 2 litres to the equation (that’s a milk carton extra and it really does make a difference to your enjoyment levels)

perfect volume !!!

What perfect volume looks like !!! Jackson team rider Jordan Widenstrom nailing it.

Jackson Shortboard/Funboard Volume Guide

Weight	Beginner	Intermediate	Advanced
50kg	35L	23L	21L
55kg	37.5L	24L	22L
60kg	40L	25L	23L
65kg	42.5L	27.5L	24L
70kg	45L	30L	25L
75kg	47.5L	32.5L	27.5L
80kg	50L	35L	30L
85kg	52.5L	37.5L	32.5L
90kg	55L	40L	35L
95kg	57.5L	42.5L	37.5L
100kg	60L	45L	40L
105kg	62.5L	47.5L	42.5L
110kg	65L	50L	45L
115kg	67.5L	52.5L	47.5L