I am 185 pounds and 6'1", does anyone know if a Bic Sport ACS 10'4" is a suitable choice for me; I cannot go for a longer one as my budget is tight and also I can get a good deal on this in a local shop. Any input is appreciated?
These boards are sane, stable, extremely durable and tough (you can drop them on the rocks without problems), and great to begin with. And Bic being a reputable brand, they have a great resale value. They are also very heavy, and very slow (huge rocker). You need also to sand lightly the joint edges on the rail to not scrape your wet skin when climbing on the board, this was the main complaints of the beginners on them at the local club.
I would advise them for casual users that have no prone surfing experience. A prone surfer knows how to take care of his board and will be happier with a lighter, faster board that he will be able to keep as a longboard SUP for small waves even if he buys also a smaller board later on.
I had a flatwater paddle on one of these recently and was very impressed with its stability and speed - in my opinion its easily as fast as any sub 11ft board I've paddled. I also thought that the weight of the board was pretty good considering the ultra tough construction. A mate of mine, who weighs closer to 100kg also paddled the board and it floated him ok - and he also commented on how well it paddled. Highly recommend this board for a tough as, fun allrounder.
Very good all round boards for both paddling and surfing. I would however recommend the Ace Tech 10'6 over the ACS 10'4 construction if you can afford it. The weight saving is significant (3 kg approx) and in the long run you will appreciate the benefits of the lighter board. We use the Ace Tech 10'6 in our school and they hold up well.
.....the ACS 10'4 and ACE TECH 10'6 are basically the same board. The moulding process used to create the ACS board creates a board 2" shorter than the ACE TECH construction. Basically the ACS is a shrunken version of the ACE TECH board.