G'day everyone.

My name is Johnny and I am new to this forum.
I am 46 years of age and would like to purchase an SUP that I can surf in 1-3ft around the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, specifically Bondi, Maroubra, Malabar and perhaps down south e.g. Wanda etc.

I normally surf a mid-size board and longboard, however recently due to a shoulder issues (tightness more than anything) prone position paddling is become an issue for me. Rather than walk away from the water completely I would like to try my hand at SUP surfing.

What I am interested in is advice on the following boards below.

Like many of you I am up for a challenge and my plan will be to initially use the board in flatter water (for a limited time), however naturally I would love to hit the surf on the smaller days, subsequently progressing from there. I have narrowed down my board search to a few boards below and I would like thoughts/opinions on an ideal board that would allow me to get into the sport and progress to surfing the SUP (like I have my surfboards) ideally without changing the board/downsizing etc. So in a nutshell I am prepared to shell out for a better board, however I would to know that the board can be surfed at the beaches I am local to.

My stats are:

Age: 46
Height: 5'7 (170cm)
Weight: 86kg-90kg
Fitness/strength: Good/Strong

Boards I am looking at are as follows:

2019 Fantatic Allwave
9'4" 33 inches wide 173L of volume, 10.3kg in weight
www.fanatic.com/sup/composite-boards/surf/allwave

2019 ONE SUP
10" 34 inches wide 169L of volume, weight unknown depending on I go PVC/wood or PVC/carbon
www.oneoceansports.com/surf-sup

2019 Sunova Creek
9'7" 32 7/8" wide 160L of volume, 9.5kg weight
sunovasurfboards.com/en/sup/sup-surfing/creek-a-legend-board

2019 Sunova Speed
10' 34" wide 193L of volume, 10.9kg weight
sunovasurfboards.com/en/sup/pro-surfing/speeed

Thanking you all in advance for your respective thoughts and opinions.

Finally, I have read a heap of past posts on this forum and I am BLOWN away at everyone's age, there are so many of you that are over 50, 60 and 70 and still ripping hard! That is a HUGE inspiration to me - very motivating!

Thanks again.

I can help a bit just to give you some weights.

2019 ONE SUP
10" 34 inches wide 169L of volume, weight unknown depending on I go PVC/wood 10.2kg or PVC/carbon 9.3kg

This was just from weighing the 2 boards I had in the shop.

And this is the Aussie site.
www.oneoceansportsaustralia.com/shop/one-bolta-allround


Jacko

Welcome to the forum mate.

I know you've listed some boards that you'd be interested in... however - honestly, a 34" board will feel damn wide after a few sessions...

I'd look more at something like a 10'6 Naish Nalu as a first board, you'll never sell it and it can be surfed from 1 foot to 10 foot.

Every major brand does a board similar to a Nalu and they are generally all pretty good. Here are some similar boards:

ONE Sup 10' x 30" (I think it is a better choice than the 34" wide version)
Jimmy Lewis Striker 10'
Sunova Surf 10'6"
Fanatic Stylemaster 10'6"
JP Longboard 10'6"

Then once you are competent on these in head high and smaller waves, look at more of a surf shape. I've had both a Creek and Speed, they are great boards, but at your weight i'd look more at the 9'2 Speed and the 9'1" Creek, again after you are competent in the waves.

Good Luck

Hi JohnnieMidlife,
The JL 10' x 31" Striker is a great all-round board that's light, stable & great in all conditions... You can check them out at Surfboards Manly & SupGear Australia also in Manly...

The Jimmy Lewis Striker-
Our Number 1 best selling board....The 1 Board Quiver Killer...Ride the Nose, Hit the Lip. Best of Both Worlds.
Low rocker and full deckpad for nose riding.
Down rails and tight carving tail for high performance turns...Self regulating Gore Vent.
Swept center fin and side bites. JL Signature I-Beam Construction.
Low nose rocker for nose riding and great flat water paddling, while the tail rocker and 5 fin set up gives the Striker great small to medium wave performance abilities, making this a ultimate all around board! Full length deckpad for posi-traction nose riding.

Check out SMIk Style Lord 10'.
Sweet as...

Select to expand quote

paul.j said..
I can help a bit just to give you some weights.

2019 ONE SUP
10" 34 inches wide 169L of volume, weight unknown depending on I go PVC/wood 10.2kg or PVC/carbon 9.3kg

This was just from weighing the 2 boards I had in the shop.

And this is the Aussie site.
www.oneoceansportsaustralia.com/shop/one-bolta-allround


Jacko

Thanks Jacko, I appreciate the info.

Thanks Jacko, Hoppo, Jimmy and cbigsup for your feedback - I appreciate your time!

Based on feedback, I have refined my list to the following boards, however I have one more quick question/thought I would like to run past you.

Shortlisted boards based on feedback are as follows:

2019 10'6" Fanatic Stylemaster (I really like the look of this board and it is surprisingly light for the size in the bamboo construction @ 9.6kg)
10' ONE Sup (seems like a great all rounder - might be worth the 30 inch wide version)
10' JM Striker (good overall feeback, like the fact that the deck pad runs all the way to the nose)


Now for my question:

My current long board is 9ft long, and when waves are dumping I normally use my mid length board 7'6". On glassier fatter waves e.g. surfing more the high end of the tide I could comfortably see myself surf a 10'6" board but on more dumpy surf do you think the boards in the list above have enough nose rocker to minimise pearling? I know there are many factors that can affect why a board pearls - e.g. wave entry position/location etc, however I am curious if a 10ft+ board is too long.

With this the case, should I consider the following two shorter options (all approx the same volume range, similar width just a tad shorter):

If the above makes any sense at all are the below two boards worth considering?

2019 Jimmy Lewis Destroyer 9'3" 31.5" 160L
jimmylewisboards.com.au/collections/surf-sups/products/jl-destroyer-sup-new
Pros: Seems like it will give me just as much volume as the boards above, it is shorter and also has a pin tail which might make it fun when I get into waves. My current mid length board has a pin tail.
Cons: Would be it stable enough to learn on - even paddling in flat water. This board is approx half an inch wider than the others above but shorter, and still has more volume overall (be it a few litres), and the pin tail looks fun (but would it be harder to balance). but again not sure about stability, e.g. can I still paddle it in flat water?


2019 Allwave 9'0" 32" 159L
www.fanatic.com/sup/composite-boards/surf/allwave
Pros: Is shorter, slightly fatter and still has a good amount of volume - might be easier to surf in smaller dumpy waves?
Cons: Again would it be stable enough to learn on, i.e. being shorter overall. Anyway guys, thanks again for your input, feedback and opinions.


After this round of feedback I will pick one board, make a purchase... and get wet

Thanks again everyone.

Hi JohnnyMidLife,
I was going to suggest the NEW 9'3 Destroyer but I didn't want to confuse the issue.... It is sooooo stable & will make a better all-rounder than going a 10 footer as you have noted above especially in the beachbreaks but it does come down to what you predominately want the board for... The new Destroyer will be just as stable with less swing weight & pearling in the beach breaks plus there's as much performance as you want out of the round pin tail.... My new Destroyer is now my go-to board for all conditions from 1-6' beachies & reef breaks...
There's a 9'3 you can check out at Sup Gear Australia next to the Strikers in Manly if you want...

Select to expand quote

JohnnyMidlife said..
Thanks Jacko, Hoppo, Jimmy and cbigsup for your feedback - I appreciate your time!

Based on feedback, I have refined my list to the following boards, however I have one more quick question/thought I would like to run past you.

Shortlisted boards based on feedback are as follows:

2019 10'6" Fanatic Stylemaster (I really like the look of this board and it is surprisingly light for the size in the bamboo construction @ 9.6kg)
10' ONE Sup (seems like a great all rounder - might be worth the 30 inch wide version)
10' JM Striker (good overall feeback, like the fact that the deck pad runs all the way to the nose)


Now for my question:

My current long board is 9ft long, and when waves are dumping I normally use my mid length board 7'6". On glassier fatter waves e.g. surfing more the high end of the tide I could comfortably see myself surf a 10'6" board but on more dumpy surf do you think the boards in the list above have enough nose rocker to minimise pearling? I know there are many factors that can affect why a board pearls - e.g. wave entry position/location etc, however I am curious if a 10ft+ board is too long.

With this the case, should I consider the following two shorter options (all approx the same volume range, similar width just a tad shorter):

If the above makes any sense at all are the below two boards worth considering?

2019 Jimmy Lewis Destroyer 9'3" 31.5" 160L
jimmylewisboards.com.au/collections/surf-sups/products/jl-destroyer-sup-new
Pros: Seems like it will give me just as much volume as the boards above, it is shorter and also has a pin tail which might make it fun when I get into waves. My current mid length board has a pin tail.
Cons: Would be it stable enough to learn on - even paddling in flat water. This board is approx half an inch wider than the others above but shorter, and still has more volume overall (be it a few litres), and the pin tail looks fun (but would it be harder to balance). but again not sure about stability, e.g. can I still paddle it in flat water?


2019 Allwave 9'0" 32" 159L
www.fanatic.com/sup/composite-boards/surf/allwave
Pros: Is shorter, slightly fatter and still has a good amount of volume - might be easier to surf in smaller dumpy waves?
Cons: Again would it be stable enough to learn on, i.e. being shorter overall. Anyway guys, thanks again for your input, feedback and opinions.


After this round of feedback I will pick one board, make a purchase... and get wet

Thanks again everyone.

Hey JM. I'm a (semi-) former longboarder who as a newbie has moved into the world of SUP in the past year for similar reasons. 5'9, 95kg, 42, fit (ay!). Spend a fair bit of time lurking on here trying to learn from the advice and experiences of the many experienced riders on here.

I also usually surf 1-3 footers (or used to get the longboard out if bigger) so I went straight to the 10' boards as I like the similar feel, tracking, trim, moves, noseriding, to my longboards.

I initially bought a top name, carbon 10x29 which is an awesome board, and which I kind of got sucked into because many of the people you speak to forget what it was like when starting out and recommend smaller, thinner, lower vol. But, I am not on it regularly enough (weekend warrior), and not experienced enough to be able to really enjoy it (maybe in a couple of years). I got to the point where I rarely fell off, but after 20-30 mins my legs are knackered, and I'm so focused on staying on, there is little looking around enjoying the ambience, and found it difficult to watch for and get myself positioned for waves.

Rather than give up though through when starting to lose enjoyment, I took a step back, did my research, and bought a new board (thanks wife) that looked more suited to where I am at and what I want from my supping at this time. I got the JL Striker 10'x31 and it is brilliant for where I am at. So. Incredibly. Stable. Second time out in a 12k southerly (when no one else had bothered to go out, I was catching 20 waves in 2h and not usually falling off. I hadn't caught 20 waves total on my first board in 6 months. Had a 2.5h session last weekend and on Anzac day and got a stack of waves, had a chat to mates, followed a seal, and the wind and backwash caused no issue and I only came off during or after a wave. Has made such a difference to my enjoyment of supping.

As for the JL Striker 10' - strong as, lighter than my carbon (6.5kg I think), love the deck pad to the nose - been on and around the nose a number of times already - not sure why other manf. of 10' don't also do this? - also protects the front of the board from paddle dings.

Only change was I swapped out the 2n1 fins and put in my big 10inch noserider fin which has had a great effect - big long curved turns, better hold partic when up the front, more stable again. So good. I don't even look at my longboards now when I am heading out. Highly recommend it. U won't be disappointed if u get one from one newbie to another.

EDIT: sorry, missed your question around pearling. When longboarding, I don't get to ride the lovely A-frames of SoCal so have always had to wind up to get the speed sufficient to keep my 9'10 single fin with minimal rocker from pearling, and put weight down at the back of the board on bigger waves. I've found the 10' sup is similar but also different. I still really wind it up (no late drop ins on a 10 footer) but because I'm (my weight is) in the middle of the board already and have the extra speed from paddling, and a last hard paddle push as the wave catches me (similar effect to when you push your kid onto a wave on a softie), I rarely have any issue with pearling regardless of nose rocker.