Everyone buying their first longboard asks the same thing: "what size should I get?". And almost everyone gets the same half-answer, which is a foot measurement. But longboard dimensions don't stop at the length. The number that decides if the board will float under you, paddle well on its own, and get into the wave before it breaks is something else: the liter.
Quick summary
- The length (feet) does not determine the liter (volume). In our catalog today, there are 15 longboards at 9'4", and they range from 71.0L to 79.1L.
- You can have a shorter board with more volume than a longer one. We have a 9'6" at 80.80L and a 9'10" at 77.5L.
- Liters represent buoyancy. They determine paddling, stability, and how early you get into a wave.
- Length (feet) represents behavior. It determines how the board turns, holds the nose, and responds off the back foot.
- Weight and surfing level push the volume up or down within a range. The shaper makes the final call, looking at both factors together.
Longboard measurements: why length doesn't tell you the volume
This is the part that confuses almost everyone, and it's easy to prove with what's in the shop right now.
We did the math on the active catalog on August 12, 2026. There are 15 longboards at 9'4" available. If length determined buoyancy, all 15 would have roughly the same volume. They don't:
| Size | Number of models | Volume range |
|---|---|---|
| 9'1" | 2 | 64.0L to 71.0L |
| 9'2" | 5 | 66.0L to 72.1L |
| 9'4" | 15 | 71.0L to 79.1L |
| 9'6" | 5 | 74.0L to 80.8L |
| 9'8" | 1 | 79.0L |
| 9'10" | 2 | 77.5L to 78.5L |
An eight-liter difference within the same 9'4" size. That’s a lot. It’s the difference between a board that carries you and one that lets you sink half a palm's depth when paddling.
And look at what happens in the bottom row of the table: the 9'10" has less volume than the 9'6". A board four inches shorter, with 3.3 liters more volume. If you had bought by the foot, you would have bought exactly the opposite of what you needed.
This happens even within the same model. The The One 9'4" appears today in 73.0L, 74.5L, and 79.1L. Same shape, same length, a six-liter difference between the first and the last.
Where the liters hide: width and thickness
If it's not the length, what fills the board with volume? The other two numbers on the spec sheet that almost nobody reads.
Compare two of our boards:
- Sea Devil 9'1" × 22½" × 2⅞" = 64.03L
- Easy Glider 9'4" × 23" × 3" = 74.2L
The Easy Glider is only three inches longer. But it is half an inch wider and an eighth thicker, and that alone accounts for ten liters. Width and thickness work across the entire body of the board, from nose to tail. Length only works on the ends.
That's why the complete spec sheet always comes in this order: length, width, thickness, liter. The first three are the recipe. The fourth is the result.
At the factory, this becomes a single line, handwritten on the ruler before the board even exists: 9'4" · 23¼" · 3" · 72.6L, One Piece. It's the photo that opens this article.
What volume actually does
Liters equal buoyancy, and buoyancy equals time.
When the board supports you well, you paddle higher in the water with less effort and less drag. This means you reach the position sooner, start paddling earlier, and get into the wave before it gets steep. In longboarding, this is almost everything: speed in longboarding comes from reading the wave and being in the right place early, not from pumping on the wave face.
Too few liters and you spend the session paddling behind the wave, always half a second late. Too many liters and the board becomes a buoy that is hard to sink during a turn, stubborn to drive the tail.
Length, width, and tail shape are what determine how it behaves once you're standing: whether it holds the nose so you can walk to the tip, if it turns tight, or if it handles faster waves.
If your goal is to walk to the nose, it's also worth reading how to walk to the front of the board, because well-balanced volume is what keeps the board stable enough for you to step up from behind.
How to find your volume
Two factors push the number, and they go together.
Your weight is the foundation. More mass requires more volume to have the same buoyancy. It's physics, there's no way around it.
Your experience level is the adjustment. Beginners need more liters than the weight-based calculation suggests because they still spend too much energy on the paddle and need stability to stand up. Experienced surfers can work with less volume and get a more responsive board in return.
In practice, the Lufi longboard catalog today ranges between 64L and 80.8L. This is the real range, not a guess. Where you land within it is what the conversation resolves.
And this is where we won't give you a "so many kilos, so many liters" table. Not because it's a secret, but because that table lies. It ignores whether you surf three times a week or once a month, whether your local break has knee-high or overhead waves, and whether you want a board to learn on or to nose ride. An 80kg person who has been surfing since childhood and an 80kg person who started last year shouldn't be on the same board.
What we do is the opposite: we ask your weight, your height, how long you've been surfing, and where you surf, and Lufi Bento calculates the number. With over 35 years of shaping, he does this calculation in his head before he even touches the foam.
What about mid-lengths? That's a different range
If you're looking at mid-lengths, forget the numbers above. That's a different territory.
Our mid-lengths range between 41L and 50.67L. And the same phenomenon repeats: we have two 6'6" boards, one with 41L and another with 46.4L. Five and a half liters difference in the same length, again due to width and thickness.
The choice between a longboard and a mid-length isn't about volume, it's about what you want to do. The mid-length gives you good paddle power in a shorter, easier-to-carry, and easier-to-turn shape. The longboard gives you the nose for walking and the long line. You can see both families side-by-side in our mid-lengths and longboards collections.
Questions we hear every week
Is more volume always easier?
Up to a point. Extra volume helps with paddling and stability, but go past that point and the board becomes hard to sink to turn. The right amount is the volume that solves your paddling without hindering your maneuvers.
Can I just choose by length, like everyone else does?
You can, and that's how most people get it wrong. Data from our own shop shows an 8-liter difference within the same 9'4" model. Length alone doesn't close the deal.
Does volume change with the material?
Volume is volume, measured in liters, regardless of construction. What changes between PU and EPS is the weight of the board and the feeling under your feet, not the liter reading.
Do I need to know all this to buy?
No. You need to know your weight, how long you've been surfing, and what kind of waves you ride. The rest is our job.
What if I already have a board that works?
Best-case scenario. Send its dimensions and volume, and we calibrate from there, up or down, according to what you want to change.
The right size is the one made for you
There are two ways to solve this.
One is to look at what's ready and find the board whose specs match you. All our in-stock boards list length, width, thickness, and volume in their titles, precisely so you can compare without needing to ask.
The other is not to choose from what exists, but to ask for the number that is yours. That's what the custom order is for: you choose the model and color, and the measurement comes from your conversation with the shaper. Message us on WhatsApp with your weight, height, experience level, and local break. We'll give you the measurements.
Oh, and once the board is defined, the fin is the next adjustment. But that's another conversation.
