Extra paddle power
The recommended increase in length and thickness helps you build paddle speed and get into bigger waves earlier.
Pyzel Next Step Surfboard
Pyzel Surfboards · Board Editorial
Next Step
A purpose-built step-up for surfers heading into bigger, more powerful waves — combining shortboard-like looseness with the paddle power, hold and control needed when the surf gets serious.
Step-Up / Gun 4–15ft Thruster · Quad · 5-Fin Average-to-Good Waves
The Next Step
When your everyday shortboard needs backup.
The Next Step is designed for the sessions when the waves are bigger than your everyday shortboard can comfortably handle. It keeps the loose, responsive feel of a shortboard while adding the paddle power and hold that matter in solid surf.
Pyzel recommends going around 2–8 inches longer than your regular shortboard and adding at least 1/8 inch of thickness, with more thickness as you go longer. The aim is to help you paddle into waves earlier without losing the control needed when the drop gets steeper.
Wave Range 4–15ft
A step-up shape for bigger, more powerful surf, from solid overhead waves to serious swell.
Category Step-Up / Gun
A longer, more controlled option when your regular shortboard feels under-gunned.
Bottom Single → Double → Vee
Pyzel lists a single concave with double concave blending to vee.
Fin Setup 3 / 4 / 5 Fin
Thruster, quad or five-fin options; Pyzel recommends five fins for maximum versatility.
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The Next Step is the board you reach for when the forecast gets serious and your everyday shortboard starts to feel out of its depth.
Bob Gnarly Pyzel Next Step · Editorial Take
What makes it work
Paddle in earlier. Hold your line when it matters.
The Next Step balances the extra length and paddle power needed for bigger waves with the refined feel of a performance shortboard. Its rocker helps manage steeper drops, while the nose carries a little extra thickness to support paddling. Refined rails provide control when setting a line in hollow surf.
High nose rocker
Pyzel specifies high nose rocker, helping the board suit steeper take-offs and step drops in powerful surf.
Refined rails and round pin
Thin rails and a round-pin tail are part of the Next Step's gun-inspired design, built around control and hold when the wave has real power.
The shape
A step-up outline for bigger, more demanding surf.
The Next Step sits in Pyzel's Guns category. Its outline and dimensions are intended for surfers who want to keep a responsive, shortboard-like feel while adding the length, paddle power and control needed in solid waves.
Pyzel describes the rails as thin, the nose rocker as high and the tail rocker as medium-high. The bottom contour is listed as single concave with double concave blending to vee, and the stock tail shape is a round pin.
Category Gun / step-up
Rocker High nose rocker; medium-high tail rocker
Bottom Single with double to vee
Rails Thin
Tail Round pin
Fin options Thruster, quad or five-fin
Who is the Next Step for?
For surfers ready to step up with the swell.
Building confidence in bigger surf
For an intermediate surfer with sound fundamentals who is progressing into larger, more powerful waves and wants more paddle support and control.
A dedicated step-up for solid conditions
Advanced surfers can reach for the Next Step when their everyday shortboard feels too short or lacks the paddle power and hold required for the conditions.
Made for serious destinations
Pyzel highlights the design's use in places including Pipeline, Mainland Mexico, Tahiti, Fiji and Western Australia.
Sizing
Next Step dimensions.
Standard dimensions listed by Pyzel for the Next Step. Pyzel recommends starting around 2–8 inches longer than your everyday shortboard and adding at least 1/8 inch of thickness; use your intended conditions and preferred volume as part of the decision.
| Size | Width | Thickness | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6'1" | 18 5/8" | 2 3/8" | 27.10L |
| 6'2" | 18 3/4" | 2 7/16" | 28.20L |
| 6'3" | 18 7/8" | 2 1/2" | 29.50L |
| 6'4" | 19" | 2 1/2" | 30.20L |
| 6'6" | 19 1/4" | 2 9/16" | 32.20L |
| 6'7" | 19 3/8" | 2 5/8" | 33.70L |
| 6'8" | 19 1/2" | 2 5/8" | 34.45L |
| 6'10" | 19 3/4" | 2 3/4" | 37.30L |
| 7'0" | 20" | 2 7/8" | 40.50L |
Watch the Next Step
See the thinking behind the shape.
Next Step — Video 1
Official Next Step video from Pyzel Surfboards.
Next Step — Video 2
A second official video featured on Pyzel's Next Step model page.
Two useful tools
Know your volume. Then build your Next Step.
Find your ideal volume.
Not sure which Next Step volume to start from? Our calculator gives you a recommended volume range based on your weight, surfing ability, fitness and the waves you surf most often.
Find My Volume →Build your Next Step.
Choose your Next Step size, work through the available options and create the board you’re looking for.
Open Board Builder →Bob's Take
The Next Step makes sense when the forecast starts to look serious.
Every surfer has a point where their everyday shortboard stops feeling like the right tool. The take-offs get steeper, the waves have more push, and getting in early becomes more important. That's where a dedicated step-up earns its place in the quiver.
Pyzel's Next Step is designed to give you more paddle power and hold without losing that loose, responsive shortboard feel. The high nose rocker, extra thickness through the nose and refined rails all have a clear job: help you get into the wave and stay in control when the drop is critical.
For UK surfers, that might mean keeping a board ready for solid winter swells, a punchy reef break or a bigger-wave trip. It's not intended to replace your everyday board; it's the board you reach for when conditions call for more length, control and confidence.
Pyzel's starting point is around 2–8 inches longer than your regular shortboard, with at least 1/8 inch more thickness and more as you go longer. Treat that as a guide rather than a fixed formula, and consider the waves you want the board for, your usual shortboard dimensions and the volume that still lets you surf confidently.
Ready to step up?
Build your Next Step.
Use the volume calculator as a starting point, then head into the Bob Gnarly Board Builder and choose your Next Step size and setup.
BOB GNARLY SURF
Find Your Ideal Surfboard Volume
Tell us a little about yourself and how you surf. We'll give you a recommended volume range to help you find your first or next board.
Use this calculator as a rough guide only. Volume isn't everything. If you're unsure, hit the 'Live Chat' below and we can help.
01
How much do you weigh?
02
How would you describe your surfing?
Choose the description that sounds most like your surfing today.
03
How would you describe your fitness?
This helps us account for paddle power and how much support you may want from your board.
04
What kind of waves do you surf most often?
Think about the conditions you're most likely to encounter.
YOUR RECOMMENDED VOLUME
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