Hi SUP riders,

My partner has been nagging me to get us into SUP all summer as a new hobby and i've finally caved and am looking at getting us each a paddle board and getiing into the sport.

I've tried to do as much research as i can, originally finding "Honu" boards on facebook and research has lead me to find you get what you pay for and cheap noname boards can delaminate, or turn up damaged and leave you up sht creek with a dodgey paddle so to speak.

I'm leaning toward going with my local surf shop, for me in Central QLD its down at 1770 agnes waters and the chap down there has quoted me 2 mongo boards complete packages (Board, Paddle, Leg rope and board bag) for $1500 each if i buy both from him.
Is this a good deal, i mean i dont have to travel excessive hours or pay frieght. His stuff all comes with warranty and he can service what he sells he can repair dings, etc at his shop.

I can buy 2 honus for basically $150 more than one of the surf shops boards but I want to buy right the first time and quality stuff tends to last right?

Regards, Tristan

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Tristan17 said..
Hi SUP riders,

My partner has been nagging me to get us into SUP all summer as a new hobby and i've finally caved and am looking at getting us each a paddle board and getiing into the sport.

I've tried to do as much research as i can, originally finding "Honu" boards on facebook and research has lead me to find you get what you pay for and cheap noname boards can delaminate, or turn up damaged and leave you up sht creek with a dodgey paddle so to speak.

I'm leaning toward going with my local surf shop, for me in Central QLD its down at 1770 agnes waters and the chap down there has quoted me 2 mongo boards complete packages (Board, Paddle, Leg rope and board bag) for $1500 each if i buy both from him.
Is this a good deal, i mean i dont have to travel excessive hours or pay frieght. His stuff all comes with warranty and he can service what he sells he can repair dings, etc at his shop.

I can buy 2 honus for basically $150 more than one of the surf shops boards but I want to buy right the first time and quality stuff tends to last right?

Regards, Tristan

Hi Tristan, I don't know much about the Mongo boards. They may be great and I guess the warranty protects you too. From their website, it looks like the prices are relatively low anyway... mongoboards.com/
So, for example, a board for $1130 plus a basic paddle (even a $300 one) and a leggie (say $60), shouldn't cost more than $1500 anyway.
I've bought a few boards from Ocean Addicts down here at Maroochydore and have found them good people to deal with and handy with advice too. And they have free freight to most places (although there is a charge for remote ones).
They have pretty good package deals too: http://www.oceanaddicts.com.au/product-category/specials/sup-specials/
It might cost you a few hundred more (but some say the big name brands can hold their value pretty well for resale/trade). I do like Naish's Quest and Alana ranges. It may be worth giving them a call and comparing what they might have to offer and what their bottom line may be.
Hopefully a few others might chip in to this thread.
If the Mongo boards still looks like your best option, fair enough. Sometimes you can get frozen by too much choice, the main thing is to get a couple of suitable boards and get out on the water. It's a great sport.
Cheers,
McG

There are some super priced 2nd hand boards in the for sale section. Even a 2014 board from one of the big brands is a better buy than a cheap new board.

ECS do full packages for $1500. (Board, bag, leash, fins and full carbon paddle) I think JM on the Goldy do them if you want to have a look or you can go direct to ECS Australia. Sweet looking boards, light and strong.

My first sup was a honu 9'8", (the one i'm on in the pic) $520 with paddle, thought i'd get a cheapy to see how i liked the sport, needless to say i loved it!

So about the honu, they are cheap crap boards, the paddle is rubbish ( got a one piece carbon now) and after surfing small beach break waves for 6 months the bottom of the board looks like a golf ball and there is a crease across the middle with a crack going up the rail from the crease on both rails, the deck grip started lifting off after only a couple of surfs and constantly needs glueing down in different spots, the plastic fins they come with have chips out of the back like a bite mark, i have now moved on to a sunova speed 8'10 for the surf and a starboard allstar 14' x 28 for flat water distance paddling, both brilliant boards. still have the honu for the kids to muck around on, do yourself a favour and buy a good quality board!