Women's & girls' surfboards: an Australian buying guide

Board Guide · Surfboards · Softboards · Women & girls

Your board should suit your body, your experience and the waves you want to surf. Whether you're choosing a first softboard, looking for more responsive turns or settling into longboard glide, a few details can make the choice clearer.

We're Summer vibes, a Gold Coast brand with 25+ years in the surf industry. We design our own boards and accessories, and our approach starts with understanding the person riding them: your size, your surfing, and what you want from your next board.

What size surfboard should a woman start on?

Go by volume, not length. Volume is how much float the board has, measured in litres, and every size on our site lists it. The rule we use for everyone:

So a 60kg surfer learning to stand is looking at roughly 60L. The same surfer turning confidently is closer to 45L.

Treat the chart as a starting point, not a verdict. Four other things shift the answer:

• The waves you surf. Small and soft asks for more volume and planing area. Steeper and hollower asks for less.
• Reach, and how the board handles. A board you can't comfortably carry down the beach or get your arms around in the shorebreak is a board you'll surf less. If a length looks right on paper but feels unwieldy, a shorter and wider board at a similar volume is often the better buy.
• How often you'll surf. Twice a year and twice a week are different problems.
• What you already ride, if anything. What you like about it and what you'd change is the most useful information there is — more useful than any chart.

The long version is in our board size guide, softboard guide and surfboard guide. For sizing everything that goes with the board, the hardware guide.

How do I choose a surfboard for my daughter?

Buy the board that fits her now, not the one she'll grow into. A board that's too big is heavy on the sand, hard to turn, and teaches a kid that surfing is hard work. It isn't, when the gear is right.

Weight is the number that matters, not age.

• Under 35kg, first waves: the Grom 4'0 at 25L. Light enough to carry herself, floaty enough to catch whitewater.
• 35–50kg, still learning to stand: stay on float — Mini Mal 6'0 (50L) or Stable Table 6'0 (54L).
• Standing up and starting to turn: the Hard Core Shorty, 4'8 for smaller groms and 5'4 as she grows. It rides like a hard board with a soft deck, so it's the step before a proper shortboard.
• 50kg and up: size her like a light adult from the chart above. Teens progress fast, so the Mini Mal 6'6 and Fish 6'6 are good boards to grow into.

A softboard is the right call for almost every kid. The soft deck and rails make falls and collisions less punishing, which counts for a lot when she's learning in a crowded beach break. And one practical thing: let her pick the colour. A board she's proud of is a board she'll ask to take to the beach.

Not ready to stand up yet, or just wanting waves? Start on a boogie board.

Softboard or hard board?

If you're learning, start on a softboard. The soft deck and rails make falls and collisions less punishing, and ours are built to carry high volume at a length that's still manageable.

Move to a hard board when your skills and your goals point that way: you're making most of the waves you paddle for, you're surfing on the rail rather than straight at the beach, and you want something that responds faster than the foamie does. For some people that's one season, for others several. It depends on how often you surf and what you want to do next, not on a timetable.

There's a useful middle step. A hard mini mal or funboard keeps the wave count while giving you a livelier rail — our Mini Mal Funboard comes in 7'0, 7'6 and 8'0, and it's the board a lot of people should buy second.

Our picks

Board	Model	Size and volume	Who it's for	Price
	Grom 4'0 Softboard – Pink	4'0, 25L	Kids to about 35kg, first waves	$229.99
	Hard Core Shorty – Rose Pink	4'8 (15.7L) or 5'4 (23L)	The next board after the Grom — groms standing up and starting to turn	$599.00
	Mini Mal 6'0 Softboard – Pink	6'0, 50L	Kids and teens, 35–65kg	$429.99
	Seaside Ave 2026 Mini Mal – Pink, 6'6	6'6, 59L	Teens and lighter adults, 50–70kg	$459.99
	Seaside Ave 2026 Mini Mal – Pink, 8'0	8'0, 83L	The board most adult beginners should buy	$559.99
	Longboard 9'0 Softboard – Pink/White	9'0, 105L	Maximum glide and the easiest wave count in the range	$599.99
	Mini Mal Funboard Surfboard – Pink	7'0 / 7'6 / 8'0, 46.2–58.7L	Stepping up to a hard board without losing waves	$759.99–$799.99

Not sure which of these is yours? Use the volume rule above, then ask us — we'd rather you got it right the first time.

Are women's surfboards different?

Some are, in ways that matter. Women-focused design can involve real changes to dimensions, rail profiles, tail outlines and how volume is distributed through the board — not just a different colourway on the same blank.

Whether those changes suit you is a separate question. There's no single shape that works for every woman, and a women's label on its own doesn't tell you a board will fit. What tells you is your size, your experience, the waves you surf and how you want the board to feel — which is why the sizing above comes first.

Can body proportions influence board design?

They can, and some designers work around them.

Height, weight, limb length and where your weight sits all change how a board feels underneath you — how it paddles, where you stand, how easily it comes onto a rail. Those things vary far more between individuals than between men and women as groups, which is why proportions are one input a designer can work with rather than a prescription. Strength, fitness, technique and water time matter just as much, and adult averages tell you nothing useful about a 12-year-old girl.

A 2025 Australian study of competitive surfers looked at how body measurements relate to the boards surfers actually ride, and found the relationship was weaker and less predictable among the female surfers than the male ones (Gosney et al., 2025). The authors didn't measure whether those boards performed better; their conclusion is that there's room for more individual fitting and experimentation. That matches what we see day to day — the best answer usually comes from trying boards and talking to someone who designs them.

What about rails and tail shape?

A designer has three main levers, and they interact.

• Rail profile. A fuller, boxier rail carries more float and feels more forgiving. A finer rail sits deeper in the wave face and feels more responsive and sensitive.
• Tail width and outline. A wider tail gives lift and planing speed and is easier to get going. A narrower tail is easier to sink onto a rail and turns tighter.
• Foam distribution. Where the volume sits — through the chest for paddling, out in the rails for stability, tapered away for release.

None of these has a women's setting. Finer rails and narrower tails aren't automatically right for a woman; they're right for a surfer who wants more response and has the wave count to spare. If you're learning, or you just want the most waves per session, stability and enough volume matter more than either, and that's where your money should go.

This is also where XO COCO is worth a look. They describe the Aurora as having "a reduced width and adapted rail foil", developed around women's proportions and balance points. That's their stated design approach — they haven't published evidence that it suits every woman — but if a high-performance shortboard is where you're headed, it's a real option.

Which brands make women's boards

We'll name names, and we'll be fair about it.

Three things get blurred in this conversation and are worth keeping apart: who owns a brand, where its boards are designed, and where they're made. We're Australian-owned and we design here; our boards are manufactured overseas, as almost all boards at this price are. Decide which of the three matters to you, and buy accordingly.

And yes, colour can matter too

A board you love the look of is a board you actually take to the beach. We make pink and pastel colourways as part of the range rather than as an afterthought, and we colour-match the boardbags, fins, leashes and traction pads to go with them.

It doesn't change how the board rides. It does make your board easy to spot in the water and easy to find in a car park full of white boards. It's your board — have some fun with it!

What else you'll need

A new board needs to be properly set up: a leash sized to the board, wax suited to your water, a cover for transport and travel, and a traction pad or upgraded fins if you're there yet.

• Help choosing your leash
• What wax is right for me?
• Do I need a traction pad?
• How do I carry boards on my car?
• Board covers & travel bags

We make all of it, in colours that match the boards.

Questions we get asked

What size surfboard should a woman start on?

Go by volume, not length. If you've never stood up, look for about as many litres as you weigh in kilos — for an adult that usually means 7' or longer. Once you're standing up, about 10% fewer litres. Turning confidently, about 25% fewer. A 60kg surfer learning to stand is looking at roughly 60L; the same surfer turning confidently is closer to 45L.

Are women's surfboards different to men's?

Some women-focused boards use different dimensions, rail profiles and volume distribution. Those changes can be worth exploring, but there's no single shape for every woman. Choose around your body, experience, waves and how you want the board to feel.

How do I choose a surfboard for my daughter?

Go by her weight, not her age, and buy the board that fits her now rather than one to grow into. Under 35kg, a 4'0 softboard with about 25L. 35–50kg, a 6'0 at 50–54L. Once she's standing up and turning, the Hard Core Shorty 4'8 or 5'4. Over 50kg, size her like a light adult.

What's the best beginner surfboard for girls?

A softboard sized to her weight. Soft decks and rails make falls and collisions less punishing, which is why they're the standard choice for learning. Let her choose the colour — a board she's proud of gets surfed more.

Are pink surfboards any different to surf?

The same board in a different colour rides the same. Pink does bring excellent beach energy, though — and a distinctive colour can make your board easier to recognise. Choose the board that suits your surfing, then enjoy making it yours.

Is Roxy an Australian brand?

No. Roxy is part of Boardriders, which has been owned by Authentic Brands Group, a US brand-management company, since 2023. Summer vibes is Australian-owned and independent, and designs its boards on the Gold Coast.

Still choosing?

Send us your height, weight, where you surf and what you'd like to do next. If you already have a board, tell us what you like about it and what you'd change. Branchy's on the Gold Coast and can talk you through the options.

Ask Branchy →