How many surfboards do you need? What 150 boards taught me
Updated 2026-09-19
As at May 2026, the log holds 150 boards. Twenty-nine are in the rack now. 121 are sold. Most surfers I know ride four to six boards for years at a time, so that number sounds excessive, and honestly, it is. The real lesson from owning that many is not "buy more," it is the opposite. The full story of the recent cut is in I Sold 25 Surfboards. These 4 Were the Hardest.
The number that matters more than 150
The number worth paying attention to is not the total, it is the direction. In one recent stretch I went from 54 boards down to 29, selling 25 in a year. None of them were bad boards. Each one lost to another board that did the same job better, more often. When a board keeps getting passed over in the rack for the same reason, session after session, it is done, whether or not there is anything wrong with it.
What actually happens when you own too many
More boards does not mean more good decisions. It means more indecision at the car park, more boards you barely remember to wax, and more money sitting in a garage instead of in your pocket. Cutting the quiver in half did not cost me good surf. It gave me a clearer answer every time I loaded the car: grab the twin fin, or grab the step-up, done.
The pattern that emerged when I compared what stayed against what went was consistent. Boards that overlapped with something else in the rack, doing a slightly worse version of the same job, were the ones that left. A board earns its spot by doing something nothing else in the rack does as well. The full breakdown of that cut from 54 to 29 is in the purge.
The real count
Four to six boards covers most surfers for most conditions: a small-wave board, an everyday all-rounder, something for when it gets good, and a travel option if you go somewhere different. Add a step-up if you regularly see bigger surf, and a longboard or mid-length if you want a change of pace on the flat days. That is six, and six is already more than most people use consistently.
I still have 29, and I think that is too many. There is a small dream quiver I keep coming back to when I picture selling everything else down, the version of this collection with everything non-essential gone.
The boards that earned their place were the ones actually ridden
Looking at how often each board actually gets used makes the pattern obvious. A small core of boards does most of the surfing, while plenty of others in the same 29-board collection barely get touched. That gap is the real argument against owning a large quiver: most of the surfing happens on a small number of boards, and everything else is mostly taking up rack space between the rare days it gets picked.
If you tracked your own sessions honestly, most surfers would find the same shape. A small core of boards does most of the work, and the rest exist for reasons that sound good in theory, a specific swell, a specific mood, a board bought on a whim, and rarely get lived out in practice.
What I would tell someone about to buy their fourth board
Before adding a fourth or fifth board, ask what gap it fills that your current boards do not already cover. If the honest answer is "none, I just want a new board," that is a want, not a need, and it is fine to buy it as a want, just do not tell yourself it is a gap in the quiver when it is not. Most of the 121 boards I sold were bought on some version of that same want.
For more on avoiding that trap, see which surfboard should I get and, if the want is a cheap impulse buy, are cheap surfboards a waste of money. This section on choosing a board has the rest of the questions.
Questions people ask
Is four boards enough for a beginner or intermediate surfer?
Often fewer than that. One board matched to your usual conditions, ridden a lot, teaches more than three boards ridden occasionally. Add a second only once you can feel the gap the first one leaves.
Does owning more boards make you a better surfer?
No. Time in the water on a board you know well does more for your surfing than switching between boards you barely know.
How do I decide which boards to sell first?
Look for the boards that keep getting skipped in the rack for the same reason, session after session. If something else always gets picked instead, that is the one to sell.
Is 150 boards over 12 years unusual?
Yes, and I do not recommend it as a strategy. It came from curiosity and a habit of buying to test ideas, not from a belief that more boards makes for better surfing.
What is the smallest quiver that actually works?
Two boards, if your conditions are consistent: one for everyday size and one for when it is bigger or smaller than usual. Most people can surf well on that alone.
How do I know if a board is actually earning its place?
Count your sessions honestly over a few months. A board that has not been under your arm in that time is not filling a real gap, no matter how good the reason for buying it felt at the time.