Hi guys I know that most of you will say 14ft is the way to go for down winding but being a female paddler I have to consider the weight and ease of moving the board outside of the water. I am 6ft and about 78kg. I currently have a 10ft all round board and would love something to play on for some down winding. I have a tight budget and happy to buy second hand. Also happy to keep saving my pennies for a new one if nothing comes along in the mean time. Just was hoping you might give me some advice on what best to spend my money on. Probably the more stable the better as well.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

My 12'6" Glide goes really well on downwinders.. It's also a very good price.

You can see me catching and surfing runners on it in this vid at the 4.07 mark

Thanks Dj, how heavy is it and how much should i expect to pay for one. I see the 2013 model is a bit cheaper. Is there a massive difference between that and the current model?

They are pretty heavy (guessing 15kg)

I think they are about $1,600 new.

I have the new 2014 model now and it's the same shape.. but much better.

The new handle is heaps better that the new deck pad is soo much better.. also I like the new colour better.

I'm sure there are some bargains going on the old model and you might find an ex demo going cheap.. If it's not much cheaper I'd get the new one.

Again thanks heaps for the advice DJ it is appreciated. There is a demo day in sydney this weekend might see if I can paddle one:)

Mate try the Fanatic 12'6 that thing in my eyes is the best DW 12'6 around!! yes i ride for them but i'm sure other will also say how good this thing is!!

Thanks paul, I am open to any and all advice. Things that I really need to consider are cost obviously and weight. I will try and have a paddle of a couple of down winding boards tomorrow at the demo day. Hopefully they will have a few of the brands I am interested in.

Regards,
Elise

vid of the fanatic in action.

Lol Paul. Great vid looks like you guys had heaps of fun. I was laughing in the first minute as I was not quiet sure it was selling me on the stability factor:)
Although I am keen to really get into downwinding that looked a bit hectic for me.

Regards and thanks for the vid
Elise

SIC Bullet 12. Or Jimmy Lewis M12-6. Or if you could find a secondhand Jimmy Lewis Albatross that is a great board to start DWing on. It's extremely stable and very easy to control. Build quality is top-notch too.

Another secondhand option would be an old Glide 12ft. The original older shape from around 2010-11, not the new one. I've got a carbon one that I picked up for spare change and it constantly surprises me how much fun it is to downwind - and fast too, in short period stuff. It is light and tough, and 29.75" wide so it's plenty stable.

Some of the newer boards have become too specialised to flat water to be really great DW boards. If your budget could stretch to it, the SIC would be perhaps the ultimate 12-6 DW board on sale at the moment. That's what it is built for, pretty much exclusively. I've heard great reports about the M12-6 as well, and they look fab too and build quality is superb. But I would tend to suggest buying secondhand if you can until you really know exactly what you want (assuming you don't). Even a big 11-6 surfboard like the Naish Nalu 11-6 or Coreban 11-6 can do a pretty decent job as a DW board if you are really on a budget and they are fun boards to much about on with family and friends when not DWing.

Most hybrid boards like the Falcon and All Star etc are pretty tricky for beginners in real DW conditions, and are a total pain in the proverbial in cross-winds and chop compared with dedicated open ocean boards. I have two friends who have Naish Glides (2013) 12-6 boards and both have had difficult experiences in our DW conditions on them. And some guys have had All Star experiences even worse than that - to the point of not being able to ride them at all. But experts can make anything work (and are paid by the manufacturers to do so) and DW conditions across the world differ as much as surf ones do. So maybe your local conditions are more forgiving than ours. Please try before you buy if you can....

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Area10 said...
SIC Bullet 12. Or Jimmy Lewis M12-6. Or if you could find a secondhand Jimmy Lewis Albatross that is a great board to start DWing on. It's extremely stable and very easy to control. Build quality is top-notch too.

Another secondhand option would be an old Glide 12ft. The original older shape from around 2010-11, not the new one. I've got a carbon one that I picked up for spare change and it constantly surprises me how much fun it is to downwind - and fast too, in short period stuff. It is light and tough, and 29.75" wide so it's plenty stable.

Some of the newer boards have become too specialised to flat water to be really great DW boards. If your budget could stretch to it, the SIC would be perhaps the ultimate 12-6 DW board on sale at the moment. That's what it is built for, pretty much exclusively. I've heard great reports about the M12-6 as well, and they look fab too and build quality is superb. But I would tend to suggest buying secondhand if you can until you really know exactly what you want (assuming you don't). Even a big 11-6 surfboard like the Naish Nalu 11-6 or Coreban 11-6 can do a pretty decent job as a DW board if you are really on a budget and they are fun boards to much about on with family and friends when not DWing.

Most hybrid boards like the Falcon and All Star etc are pretty tricky for beginners in real DW conditions, and are a total pain in the proverbial in cross-winds and chop compared with dedicated open ocean boards. I have two friends who have Naish Glides (2013) 12-6 boards and both have had difficult experiences in our DW conditions on them. And some guys have had All Star experiences even worse than that - to the point of not being able to ride them at all. But experts can make anything work (and are paid by the manufacturers to do so) and DW conditions across the world differ as much as surf ones do. So maybe your local conditions are more forgiving than ours. Please try before you buy if you can....

I'm sorry mate I am going to disagree with you on the so called hybrid boards, I have two guys who train with us and both own sic 14ft boards and yes they like them for dw paddling but both are changing to fanatic 14ft boards!! Why? Because the fanatics are easier and faster. Both of these guys are pretty even paddlers and when they dw paddle they usally come in together but when either one was one the fanatic they would flog the other on the sic and when asked why it was because the fanatic was easier. Both of these guys pay for boards.
In side winds the boards they are super easy so not sure why you say what you say. This is for the fanatic not sure about the starboard allstar as that is something I have not spent much time on!!

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Isiswolf said...
Lol Paul. Great vid looks like you guys had heaps of fun. I was laughing in the first minute as I was not quiet sure it was selling me on the stability factor:)
Although I am keen to really get into downwinding that looked a bit hectic for me.

Regards and thanks for the vid
Elise

Haha yeah I made it look pretty good at the start!! That board was a proto and only 23 inches wide plus the current coming across that river mouth was crazy
if you look how f
ast we drifted accross it you will see what I mean.

I am thinking about getting the 14ft Falcon for this season coming from the older Naish
Glide 14. Flat water and choppy river with some bigger side chop from passing container ships. 75 kg. Width (27 inch) and volume (270L) of the Glide always felt good for me. Not sure if I should go for the narrow version (24.75) or the 27 inch version.

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paul.j said..

Area10 said...Most hybrid boards like the Falcon and All Star etc are pretty tricky for beginners in real DW conditions, and are a total pain in the proverbial in cross-winds and chop compared with dedicated open ocean boards. I have two friends who have Naish Glides (2013) 12-6 boards and both have had difficult experiences in our DW conditions on them. And some guys have had All Star experiences even worse than that - to the point of not being able to ride them at all. But experts can make anything work (and are paid by the manufacturers to do so) and DW conditions across the world differ as much as surf ones do. So maybe your local conditions are more forgiving than ours. Please try before you buy if you can....

I'm sorry mate I am going to disagree with you on the so called hybrid boards, I have two guys who train with us and both own sic 14ft boards and yes they like them for dw paddling but both are changing to fanatic 14ft boards!! Why? Because the fanatics are easier and faster. Both of these guys are pretty even paddlers and when they dw paddle they usally come in together but when either one was one the fanatic they would flog the other on the sic and when asked why it was because the fanatic was easier. Both of these guys pay for boards.
In side winds the boards they are super easy so not sure why you say what you say. This is for the fanatic not sure about the starboard allstar as that is something I have not spent much time on!!

I'm sorry that's my mistake - I meant to say "Glide" rather than Falcon. As you can see from the text that follows, I was talking about the 2013 Glide and the 2013 All Star. My bad.

I haven't tried the new (2014) All Star yet, and I have limited experience of the Falcons. The 14x30 Falcon goes pretty well in downwinders in choppy conditions, although it needs big blow to show its best. I found that it tends to like to sit quite high up the bump (also does this when surfing) for some reason. But I really liked it as an all-round all-conditions, all-person board, especially for a bigger guy. The carbon one is a bit fragile though.