If you could only own three surfboards, what should they be?

At Degree 33 Surfboards, we believe one of the best ways to become a better surfer—and have more fun doing it—is to ride different kinds of surfboards.

It can be tempting to find one board you like and ride it in everything. But every surfboard shape teaches you something different. A longboard teaches you glide, positioning, and style. A midlength teaches you flow, rail control, and how to draw out your turns. A shortboard or fish teaches you speed, responsiveness, and more aggressive surfing.

That diversity is what makes a complete surfer.

It also makes surfing more fun.

Instead of waiting for the ocean to produce the perfect conditions for your favorite board, you can choose the right board for whatever the ocean gives you. Small and clean? Grab the longboard. Average everyday surf? Pull out the midlength. Punchy and lined up? Time for the shortboard or fish.

That is the Degree 33 philosophy behind building a quiver: don't just own different boards—learn to surf differently.

For most surfers, you don't need ten boards to accomplish that. Three carefully chosen boards can cover an incredible range of waves.

Board #1: The Longboard

Every three-board quiver should start with a longboard.

And no, longboards aren't just for beginners.

A good longboard gives you something that virtually no other board can: maximum wave count combined with an entirely different approach to surfing.

Longboards allow you to paddle into waves earlier, generate speed through trim, move around the board, and focus on positioning rather than constantly generating speed. They're perfect for those knee-to-waist-high days when riding a shortboard would turn a surf session into a paddle workout.

But longboarding can also improve your surfing.

Because everything happens a little slower, you have time to think about where you are on the wave. You learn to recognize the pocket, understand trim, control your weight distribution, and connect smooth turns. Advanced surfers can take things further by learning cross-stepping and noseriding.

That's why we believe a longboard belongs in virtually every surfer's quiver. Degree 33's own surfboard-shape guide makes the same point: longboards provide exceptional paddle speed, stability, buoyancy, momentum, and wave-catching ability.

Degree 33 Longboard Picks

For maximum versatility, start with the Ultimate Longboard.

The Ultimate is the flagship of the Degree 33 lineup because it combines easy paddling and stability with considerably more responsiveness than you'd expect from a traditional longboard. Its performance-oriented design makes it approachable for newer surfers while still giving experienced surfers plenty of room to progress.

If you're more interested in traditional longboarding, trimming, and noseriding, look toward the Classic. Degree 33 generally separates its longboards into performance and classic approaches: the Ultimate emphasizes maneuverability and versatility, while the Classic is better suited to surfers prioritizing stability, trim, and noseriding.

The role of your longboard: wave count, small-wave surfing, glide, style, and learning to read the wave.

Board #2: The Midlength

If the longboard is the foundation of the quiver, the midlength is the bridge.

Generally sitting somewhere between the shortboard and longboard worlds, a midlength gives you much of the paddle power and wave-catching ability of a bigger board while opening the door to tighter turns, steeper takeoffs, faster surfing, and more maneuverability.

For many surfers, this becomes the board they ride the most.

Why?

Because most days aren't perfect.

A midlength doesn't need flawless conditions to come alive. You can paddle into softer waves that would be frustrating on a shortboard, but when the wave gives you a good section, you still have enough maneuverability to put the board on rail and turn.

Midlengths are also incredible progression tools. We've previously written about how they can help intermediate surfers develop better turning mechanics, positioning, speed generation, and flow before jumping onto highly demanding shortboards.

Degree 33 Midlength Picks

The Poacher is one of the easiest places to start.

It's designed to combine longboard-like wave-catching characteristics with the maneuverability of a considerably smaller board. The wider front end helps with paddling and getting into waves, while the rounded pin and thruster setup give you control when it's time to turn. Degree 33 describes its sweet spot as knee-to-head-high surf, making it a strong candidate for the everyday slot in a three-board quiver.

More experienced surfers can look toward the Speed Egg. It maintains the paddling advantages of a midlength but is designed around speed and responsiveness, with a pulled-in rounded pin and five-fin setup that can be ridden as a quad or thruster.

The Easy Rider is another option for surfers who want the speed and feel of a fish stretched into a longer, more forgiving platform.

The role of your midlength: everyday surfing, progression, flow, paddle power, and versatility.

Board #3: The Shortboard or Fish

Your third board should sit at the performance end of the quiver.

This is where your personal surfing style becomes especially important.

Some surfers should choose a traditional shortboard. Others will get far more use out of a fish.

Option A: Shortboard

If you regularly surf steep, punchy waves and want to work on more aggressive maneuvers, a shortboard makes sense.

Shortboards trade paddle power and stability for responsiveness. They're designed to fit into tighter sections of the wave, make quick directional changes, and allow more vertical surfing.

Within the Degree 33 lineup, the ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) fills this role as a performance shortboard. This board is on the aggressive end of the spectrum, designed around speed, agility, maneuverability, and steeper, more powerful surf.

But don't add a shortboard to your quiver simply because you feel like you're "supposed" to ride one. The right performance board is the one you'll actually surf.

For a lot of surfers, that means a fish.

Option B: Fish

A fish gives you a different type of performance.

You still get a compact, maneuverable board, but the fuller outline, lower rocker, and added planing area help generate speed when the waves aren't perfect.

That's especially valuable if your local waves are frequently waist-to-chest-high rather than overhead and barreling.

The Degree 33 Retro Fish is built around exactly that idea. Its fuller outline helps it get into waves while its quad setup and concave are designed to generate plenty of down-the-line speed and drive through turns.

A fish can also introduce an entirely different feeling to your surfing. Rather than trying to force shortboard-style surfing into weak conditions, you can use the board's natural speed and glide to approach the wave differently.

The role of your shortboard or fish: speed, performance, maneuverability, and pushing your surfing.

The Three-Board Formula

Put those three boards together and you have an incredibly capable quiver:

LONGBOARD → MIDLENGTH → SHORTBOARD/FISH

Think about each board as having a different job.

Your longboard maximizes wave count and makes small surf fun.

Your midlength becomes the versatile everyday board that handles the huge range of conditions between tiny and firing.

Your shortboard or fish gives you the performance option when you want more speed, maneuverability, and tighter turns.

More importantly, each board develops a different part of your surfing.

The longboard teaches glide and positioning.

The midlength teaches flow and rail control.

The shortboard or fish teaches speed and responsiveness.

Together, they make you a more complete surfer.

Don't Build Three Versions of the Same Board

One of the biggest mistakes surfers make when building a quiver is buying boards that overlap too much.

If you already have a 6'0" shortboard, buying a slightly wider 6'2" shortboard might give you another fun board—but it doesn't dramatically expand what your quiver can do.

With only three boards, diversity is the goal.

We would rather see a surfer with a 9'0" longboard, a 7'2" midlength, and a 5'10" fish than three boards separated by only a few inches.

Each board should unlock something the others can't.

That means more surfable days, more types of waves, and more ways to enjoy surfing.

Example Degree 33 Three-Board Quivers

For the surfer who wants maximum versatility:

Ultimate Longboard + Poacher + Retro Fish

You get wave-catching ability on the Ultimate, an everyday midlength with the Poacher, and the speed and maneuverability of the Retro Fish.

For the performance-minded surfer:

Ultimate Longboard + Speed Egg + ATV

This quiver moves progressively from the glide and wave count of a longboard into a performance-oriented midlength and finally into a true shortboard.

For the surfer who loves alternative boards:

Classic Longboard + Easy Rider + Retro Fish

Now you've got three very different ways to surf: traditional longboarding, fast and flowing midlength surfing, and the skatey speed of a fish.

There isn't one perfect combination for every surfer. Your ability, size, local waves, and preferred style should determine the exact models and dimensions.

A Board for Every Surfer—and Every Kind of Surfing

At Degree 33, our philosophy isn't that progression means continually riding smaller surfboards.

Progression means becoming a better surfer.

Sometimes that means grabbing the shortboard and pushing yourself in powerful waves. Sometimes it means getting on a midlength and learning how to draw a proper turn. Sometimes it means paddling out on a longboard on a two-foot morning and remembering why you started surfing in the first place.

Different boards teach different skills.

Different boards open different waves.

And different boards keep surfing fun.

That's why we believe diversity in your quiver can make you both a better surfer and a surfer who simply gets more enjoyment out of being in the water.

You don't need a garage packed with surfboards to get there.

Start with three:

One longboard. One midlength. One shortboard or fish.

Then go surf everything.