Beginning surfing....again, advice needed on FUNBOARD

[xriddx]

Hi I'm kind of a beginner. I've surfed a 7'10" foam board about 40 times but spread out over the past 6 years (averaging 3-10 times a yr). The foam board I borrowed on and off from a friend, so i never owned my own and couldn't go regularly. I can get up fairly ok on a foam boar d and i've also sometimes ridden an 8"fiberglass mini-longboard, but this is harder for me to stay on (i fall off pretty easy and have trouble catching waves with this).

I generally am clumsy so i need something durable, so i was tihnking Epoxy. Would that be good?

I'm 6'0" 180lbs, in good shape. I haven't been surfing in over a year, but want to get back into it.

I'm thinking of getting a 7'6" to 8" board. I'm guessing i'll be surfing the beaches in the southbay and LA maybe 20-40 times a year, but maybe when i own my own

My major problem is money, i was looking for something under $350 but in that size of board they are much more expensive.

For a new board, i'd have to get a popout one. I've heard mixed reviews about these. For my pricerange I've looked at Equinox, Isle, Phase one, Millennial, Baton r, Beto, NSP (Does anyone have any info or REPUTATION for these boards???). Is it true that millennial is not made out of real epoxy? I've heard Beto fiberglass cracks easy.

Also, I've looked at used Becker LC-3 for about $300. is that a good deal? would a 7'10" becker funboard be good for a "beginner".
I was also looking at a Walden 7'6" mini-magic funboard used for $390 (but this will stretch my budget)

Anyways, this is a big purchase for me so i was wondering if i could get some much needed advice.