Mini Mals have it all. The rounded nose template makes catching waves simple (or as simple as it can get anyway). The wide mid point means that they are stable, easy to paddle and plane early. The tail template is shortboard related so if you stand anywhere over the fins you will get tight turning arcs and accurate performance.

The bottom shapes vary depending on what performance the surfer is looking for. The vee bottoms have more predictable handling and help to iron out choppy conditions whilst the concaves helps liven the board up in more challenging conditions.

Most suitable for... The funny thing is if you live and surf regularly in the U.K. then pretty much you would appreciate a mini mal in your quiver. On the face of it mini mals are ideally suited to learner / intermediate surfers. If you stand near the middle of these boards you get great stability and safe handling which suits anyone trying to get their act together in the surf. Also because mini mals are relatively light, they are easy to control and fairly easy to 'hang on to' in choppy conditions all points that a learner surfer should be stoked to hear.

On the other side, many established surfers often choose to carry a minimal in their quiver because these boards are so user friendly in such a large range of surf conditions. If your usual surfboard won't function because the waves aren't right then you can pretty much guarantee a mini will function. By covering your basics, you'll spend more time surfing.