Every surf trip starts with the same argument at the front door: which board, and is it worth flying with at all. A wave pool changes the answer. The PerfectSwell® wave pool at Riyue Bay, Hainan runs 23 wave settings, and each public session runs one of them at a known size, shape and speed — so for once you know exactly what wave you are packing for. This is the guide to matching a board to it: what each level asks for, what is on the rental rack beside the pool, how to size it, and what to know if you bring your own.
The short answer: rent for the pool, decide on the ocean
Most guests fly with carry-on and ride the rental quiver. It is beside the pool, it is matched to the wave settings, and the models on it are the ones you would choose for a chest-to-head-high wall anyway. Soft-tops are provided for lessons and the beginner setting, and a beginner ticket comes with a board. The case for a board bag is the ocean: Riyue Bay’s lineup is a short walk from the pool deck, and in the cooler months, roughly October to March, it serves long, organised walls that suit a longboard or mid-length. If you are coming in that window and you have a log you love, bring it. If you are coming for the pool, you do not need to.
What each wave setting asks of a board
The pool sorts its settings by level, and the board follows the level. Every public session is 55 minutes on a single setting with a capped lineup and one surfer per wave, and the walls at intermediate and advanced are chest-to-head-high with an angled roll-in take-off — you are on your feet and looking down the line before the wave stands up. Our PerfectSwell® explainer covers how the settings differ; here is what that means for the board under you.
Learn to Surf and Beginner. Gentle rollers with a long, easy roll-in. Soft-tops are provided for the session setup and life jackets are there on request. You do not need to think about a board at this level; the coaches put the right one under you. Our beginner’s guide covers these two settings in detail.
Intermediate. This is the repetition machine — a consistent wall you can actually draw a line on. Soft and hard boards are both welcome. For the shortboard setting, Jetty, a standard shortboard or a small-wave board with a little extra volume works beautifully; for Nose Rider, the long, mellow wall built for cross-stepping and hang tens, ride a longboard. The intermediate guide and the longboarder’s guide take each of those further.
Advanced. Real push: a quick take-off into a long, open face with room for big wrapping turns, a barrel section, and an air if you time it right. Bring a high-performance shortboard or pull one from the quiver. Grovelers and fun-boards are a blast too, though a log will feel sluggish — with one exception. Stock Stack, the first advanced setting, works on a log as happily as on a shortboard; Lowers does not. Our advanced surfer’s guide has both.
Pro — barrels and airs. The slab and the air ramp run in private sessions only. This is pro-model territory: a refined, high-performance shortboard for a steep, fast drop and no forgiveness for hesitation. If your crew is booking the pool for these, the two Cabianca and Chilli pro shapes on the rack are built for exactly that, and you can also bring your own.
Board by setting, at a glance
Which board for which wave
What is on the rental rack
The quiver rotates, so treat this as the shape of it rather than a promise of a specific size on a specific date — ask us what is on the racks for your dates. As of writing it runs four shortboards and two longboards.
The Cabianca Candy (EPS/epoxy, Futures 3-fin, 6’0” to 6’4”, 33 to 38 litres) is the perfect first step towards performance surfing, with plenty of DNA from Gabriel Medina’s pro model: a flat rocker, generous foam under the chest and a stable, easy glide that delivers maximum control and way more waves on average days. The Chilli Churro 2 (PU, 5’10” to 6’4”, 32 to 39 litres) is Chilli’s daily driver with next-level small-wave performance, fast and forgiving with a huge sweet spot. Between them they cover the intermediate walls and most surfers’ advanced sessions.
The Cabianca DFK 2.0 (PU, 5’10” to 6’4”, 28 to 34 litres) is Medina’s go-to pro model, the most refined and balanced board in the Cabianca lineup, tuned to excel in quality waves and equally at home smashing the lip or flying above it. The Chilli HK II (PU, 5’6” to 6’4”, 25 to 35 litres) is a well-rounded step-down updating the much-loved Hot Knife: effortless rail-to-rail, speed over flat sections and a pulled-in swallow tail for tight turns. These two are the advanced and pro boards.
For the loggers, the Tide Moment ITK (EPS thruster, 9’1” to 9’6”, 72 to 78 litres) is the balance point between classic and modern longboarding, and the Tide Moment X One (single fin, 9’2” to 9’6”, 67 to 75 litres) is the noserider that does not demand perfect technique to be enjoyed. Do not see your size? Tell us your height, weight and surf level and we match you to the right board for your sessions.
Sizing a board for a pool wall
Ride what you ride at home, or a touch more. Two things about a pool argue for a little extra foam. The first is the take-off: the walls arrive with an angled roll-in, so you do not need the knife-edge rocker that gets you into a late ocean drop, and a flatter, fuller board carries speed off the roll-in better. The second is the session itself: 55 minutes with one surfer per wave and minimal waiting means a great deal of paddling back to the peak, and a few extra litres under the chest turn into more waves before the clock runs out. Nobody has ever regretted the wave count. Advanced surfers stepping onto Lowers or a private barrel session are the exception — there, a steep, fast drop wants the board you would take to a good day at home.
Flying with your own board
Plenty of guests do, and the ground side is handled. The airport transfer, included in every package, is a modern business van with space for boards and luggage for up to six guests; if you are travelling with multiple boards or a big group, tell us in advance and we size the vehicle to suit. The surf hotel sits inside the pool grounds, so your board goes from the van to your room to the pool deck without another vehicle. The airline side is yours to check: carriers treat a board bag as oversized sports equipment and their rules and fees vary, so confirm them before you book flights — especially on a connection through Hong Kong, Singapore or Bangkok, where two airlines may apply two policies. Every route and transfer is in our getting here guide.
Whatever you fly with, pack less than you think. The surf shop beside the pool carries fins, wax, leashes, sunscreen, rash guards and surf accessories from the major brands, so the small things that get confiscated, forgotten or snapped in transit are a two-minute walk away. The water is warm all year: boardshorts and a rash vest, no rubber. Every wave in the pool is filmed, so the one thing worth carrying is a way to watch your footage between sessions — the café on the deck is the place to do it.
One board for the pool and the ocean
If you want a single board to cover both, make it the long one. From October to March the ocean at Riyue Bay produces the long, paced walls the WSL has run longboard events on, and it is exactly the wave the pool’s Nose Rider setting rehearses — so a log, yours or the rack’s, surfs the pool in the morning and the bay in the afternoon. A shortboarder does the same with a groveler or a daily driver: it is the right board for Jetty and for the smaller ocean days. Typhoon swells in the warmer months are a different animal, faster and heavier, and belong to experienced surfers on a shorter board; the Riyue Bay surf guide covers the seasons and the breaks. And on a flat day, the pool is on the same bay, so a board never goes unridden.
Ready to pick yours?
Browse the trip packages, keep reading the journal, or send your dates, your level and what you ride at home to hello@surfchina.co (WhatsApp +8613893402173) through the booking page. We’ll match you to the settings on the calendar, have the right board on the rack when you arrive, and your sessions confirmed before you land.
