Picking the right bodyboard is super important because you want your equipment to work the best for you out in the water and have the most fun!
There’s nothing worse than picking out the wrong board and equipment because it won’t perform nearly as well as it would with the right gear.
What is “right” for you is going to probably be different compared to someone else and that is because choosing the right bodyboard for you completely depends on your height, weight & skill level.
…So, below I broke which board will be perfect for you based on those 3 pillars; height, weight & skill level.
Selection Table
Our #1 Recommended Bodyboards
#1 Adult Bodyboard
Morey Mach 7
- All Around Classic
- Experience Level: Beginner to Advanced
- Length: 37, 40, 41, 42, 43 Inch
#1 Kids Bodyboard
Lucky Bums
- Perfect Kids Weekend Warrior Board
- Experience Level: Beginner
- Length: 33, 37, 41 Inch
#1 Advanced Bodyboard
Mike Stewart Science Style
- High Performace Pro Board
- Experience Level: Intermediate to Advanced
- Length: 40, 41, 42, 43 Inch
Best Bodyboards For Beginners
If you’ve only started bodyboarding recently, or if you’re just about to begin, you may consider these bodyboards built for beginners.
Lucky Bums Bodyboard with EPS Core, Slick Bottom, and Leash
The Lucky Bums Board is an all-around bodyboard made with durable materials. Its high-density polyethylene bottom and EPS core make it a very durable but lightweight board.
- Ready to use straight out of the box
- 60/40 rails for greater maneuverability
- Rear channels for speed
- Slick polyethylene bottom and EPS core
- Comes with a leash
Bo-Toys Bodyboard Lightweight with EPS Core
The Bo-Toys Bodyboard is a very light board but it is also quite durable. It is made of high-density polyethylene and a solid EPS core. If you’re looking for a straightforward board that you can easily paddle out into the water with, this is a good board to try.
- Very lightweight
- Durable EPS core
- Good for kids
- Comes with a leash
Best Bodyboards For Intermediate To Advanced Riders
If you know that you’re ready to take on the bigger stuff, you should advance your skills further by getting a bodyboard suited for intermediate to advanced riders. Here are our top kicks for boards that could take your water time up a notch.
Mike Stewart Science – Style Bodyboard
The Mike Stewart Science Style Bodyboard has the trifecta of advanced bodyboarding. It is equal parts control, maneuverability and speed. This board was designed to be an all around board, whether you want to just cruise down the line or boost up and do arcs in the air.
- 55/45 rails
- Slick HDPE bottom and PE deck
- Double stringer
- Crescent-shaped tail
- Channels are graduated
- Nose bulbs for grip
4Play Dallas
No board can come close to the 4Play Dallas PP when it comes to the ultimate slick stick design. The Polypro core makes the board 100% waterproof, making it one of the most durable bodyboards in the market. It is a lightweight board made for ultra high performance, so if it’s airs and loops you want; this is the board for you.
- U-cell solid deck
- Single stringer
- PP core
- 50/50 rails
- HDPE bottom with channels
- Rolled in crescent-shaped tail
- Finger pads for more control
Best Drop Knee Bodyboards
If you are a true adrenaline junkie in search of the ultimate high, you might find yourself riding your bodyboard on drop knee more often. You’ll need a trusty board that can keep up with your radical ways so choose among out selection of the best drop knee bodyboards.
Morey Mach 7-SS
Presenting the Morey Mach 7-SS, also known as the “Super Stoked” model. It is made of hi-tech Polypropylene and crosshatched composite material that works to improve how you project off a wave. It is ergonomically designed to help your body achieve the float and support it needs in bigger conditions.
- X-flex system
- Mesh material between the skin and core
- Deck with knee contours
- Ergonomic design
- DuPont slick bottom
- Crescent tail
- Thumb rails
Hubboards Dubb
Another pro type bodyboard is the Hubboards Dubb. It features the most sought after template in the world today because of its stiffness and perfect control and speed combo features.
- Polypro core
- Double stringer
- Slick HD bottom
- Crescent tail
- Graduated channels for speed
Best Large Bodyboards For Heavy Guys
It’s well known in the bodyboarding scene that the bigger guys charge the hardest. When you’re up for the biggest and toughest types of surf, you’ll need a board that can keep up with you.
Morey Big Kahuna 44” Bodyboard
If you are taller than 5’10” and heavier than 185 lbs., you’ll need a tough board like the Morey Big Kahuna. It has a carbon-strength tube inside its dual composite core, making it the bodyboard with the strongest power base.
- PE core
- Power Rod Stringer (carbon tube)
- Closed cell foam
- Good for warm and cold water
- Crescent-shaped tail for more control
- Channels at the bottom
BZ Big Bruddah 45”
The BZ Big Bruddah is currently the only board with a brand new nose lip design. It also features its trademark Variable Flex Stringers, which gives it the ability to allow the snappiest twists and turns.
- 45 inch board
- Highly buoyant
- Floats like a longboard
- Polypropylene core
- VFS stringer system
- Slick bottom (Surlyn material)
Best Bodyboards For Kids
The best thing about bodyboards is that it’s for everyone. No matter your age, you are sure to find a bodyboard that is right for you.
Boogie Board 33” Fiberclad Bodyboard
Whether you’re going to the beach or to a pool, this boogie board will surely let your kids have the time of their life. These boards are made with a unique Phuzion material, which makes them lightweight, durable and buoyant at the same time.
- Weighs only 13 ounces
- Fiber clad deck
- Phuzion core
- Built-in wrist leash
- For ages 2 and up
Full Beach Pack by BPS – Ultra lite Bodyboard
Bullet Proof Surf (BPS) has created one of the lightest bodyboards to ever be made. Just be careful not to leave this under the heat because the lightweight material could be deformed.
- Ultra-lite body
- Comes with a coiled leash
- Comes with swim fin tethers
- EPS core
- Rear channels
Best Bodyboards For Adults
If you are looking for something more reliable than a generic watersport toy, you can try any of these bodyboards made for adults. Built to last, these tough foam boards are the key to a world of stoke.
Morey Mach 7
The Morey Mach 7 is a bodyboarding classic and it is known throughout the world of bodyboarding as one of the most reliable boards to have ever been made. Like the other Mach models, this board has a power rod stringer made of carbon-strength material, making it one of the most durable boards today.
To Read the full review on the Mach 7, Click Here.
- 50/50 rails
- H-cell deck
- Polyethylene core
- HDPE bottom with channels
- Bat-shaped tail
- Tail wings for more speed
Best Mini Kick Bodyboards
Mini kick bodyboards are one of the best gifts to give anyone because it is a highly versatile type of watercraft. It can be used by people of all ages in ocean, pools, or lakes.
662 All In One Mini Kickboard
These mini kickboards are made of durable EPS foam so they’re as good as any other high-end board. It can be used to practice swimming or assist you when you’re out bodysurfing.
- Slick HDPE bottom
- IXPE deck
- High grade EPS foam
- Ultra light material
- Small crescent tail
Catch Surf Womper
This fun little Catch Surf Womper can be used like a hand plane so if you are looking to get deeply barreled, this is the mini kickboard for you. Not only is it made by the fun guys at Catch Surf, it is also a highly functional board with the right features to give you stability and speed when you need to take out your swim fins.
To Read the full review on the Womper, Click Here.
- 16” inches long
- Stiff core (dual composite)
- High density skin
- PE deck
- Comes in unique retro designs
How to Choose a Bodyboard
First and most important, you need to pick the right size board for yourself. If you get this wrong, it doesn’t matter what kind of board you get!
Size
Size is one of the most important things when your picking out a bodyboard is choosing the what size board to get. If your board is too big or small it can really wreck your experience.
You want to make sure it fits comfortably under your arm when carrying it and you can grab the lower rail with your hand (to secure it and hold it under your arm). This isn’t an exact science but in the summer time at the beach I always seen a little kid holding a board under his arm trying to carry it and he can’t even grab the rail with his had to secure it, obviously it’s too big of a board. And on the other hand, there is always a grown man marching down to the waters edge with a children’s board (maybe his kids) and it is way too small for him.
I have heard many people say that you want the board to come up to your belly button for it it be a good fit. Meaning, stand the board up straight and if the the nose of the board is around your belly button its good. I really disagree with this “myth” in my opinion. If I followed that advice, in my teens when I was very tall (6 ft 2 inches) and very light weight I would have been riding a massive board (like a 44 inch board). With a lot of different body types that just does not work very will as a size indicator. So if someone at a surf shop or something tells you that, I would disregard it.
Bodyboard Size Chart
Below is a great bodyboard size chart to generally follow. It is a great chart to follow but it is not perfect. It generally works but picking the perfect size bodyboard also depends on your own personal preference. Also, you may be like I once was, very tall and very skinny, so if you fall into a body type category like that then you may need to take this chart with a grain of salt!
Prone
After you know what size board to get, you need to know what you will be doing on your bodyboard. More specifically, will you be prone riding where you ride with your stomach on the board? This is just normal bodyboarding, like most people do. The other riding style option is Dropknee, explained below.
Most stocked boards you see in surf shops etc. are going to be for regular/ prone riding, as most people do this and probably only around 5% of bodyboarders are dropkneers.
If you are just starting out, brand new or a beginner, you 100% want to start with a regular prone board. Start off doing prone and if you want to can get into dropknee later. You want to learn the basics and get your start riding prone.
Again, 95% of boards out there are prone shapes. All the beginner cheaper boards are, like Wall-Mart and Costco boards. You are really only going to find dropknee boards in surf shops.
Dropknee
Or will you be dropkneeing? Dropknee or DK is where one knee is on the tail corner of the board and your other foot is flat on the other corner of the board up at the nose. This is a more advanced riding style and much less bodyboarders do this than riding regular, or prone.
If you are looking for a dropknee board, you have probably already been in bodyboarding for a bit, as this is more of an advanced thing and rarely do bodyboarders get their start by dropkneeing.
Dropknee VS Prone Bodyboards
The two main differences between a dropknee board and a prone bodyboard are the nose length as well as the nose-to-wide-point (see bodyboard dimensions below).
Prone boards have wider noses and the nose-to-wide-point is usually higher.
Dropknee boards narrower noses and lower nose-to-wide-points help in that you are using it more like a surf board.
The picture below show a prone board on the left and a dropknee board on the right.
Bodyboard Dimensions & Parts
It can be helpful to know about general bodyboard dimensions but you only really have to know your stuff if you are ordering a custom shaped board, because you will have to tell the shaper the exact dimensions you want!
There are 5 main dimensions of a bodyboard:
- Length
- Nose
- Nose to Wide Point
- Width
- Tail
Length is of course just the length of the entire bodyboard. You can see above at the Bodyboard Size Chart the all the lengths. Most people will fall into the 40-42 inch but younger kids will be in the 36 to 39 range and larger adults will be in the 43-44 range.
Nose is the length of the nose. Dropknee is going to be shorter than prone. Most bodyboards that are 40 to 42 inches in length will be have a nose of 10-12 inches.
Nose to Wide Point is the length from the nose down to the widest point on the bodyboard. A lot of prone bodyboards are around the 17 inch mark.
Width is the widest point on the bodyboard (horizontally).
Tail is the length of the tail.
Surlyn (Bottom of the board) The material of the bottom of a bodyboard affects the quality of your ride. Most bodyboards come with a polyethylene or a polypropylene bottom. Some boards are built with graduated channels at the bottom to help achieve greater speeds.
Bodyboard Features
There a about a dozen features to consider when buying a board, options including a stringer, rails, mesh, core, nose bulbs, deck contour, channels and tail.
But for most stock boards these features are narrowed down more than custom boards where you pick and choose exactly what what you want, so for that reason we left the fine details out but if you want to know more about these features, check out our custom bodyboard page.
Okay, now by this point you know what size and shape board to pick. Lets get into which one to buy and where >>
Where to Buy?
Unless you don’t care much about the board, don’t go to a generic place like Walmart, Sports Chalet, Big 5, Costco etc. They just have low end cheap boards.
If your not going to bodyboard much, it makes sense to just go to those places mentioned above like Walmart and pick up a board that will get the job done, at a reasonable price. I have left out the cheaper low-end Walmart type boards from the Best Bodyboard Brands List, since they are low-end you just go there and pick one out.
Otherwise, you want to go to a place that specializes in bodyboarding and has higher end boards, like your local surf/bodyboard shop in person or online or Amazon has some great deals and selection.