Hey guys - great site.

I am looking for a SUP board for surfing and was hoping some of the more experienced bigger guys can help me. I am 6'3 285lbs 45 yrs old - in very good shape for a big old guy. I have been surfing for 35 years and surf regularly all year round here in Nj in 2 fot to 10 ft plus in addition to traveling Central America, Hawaii, ect... I started SUP paddling in flatwater two years ago and really love it now I want to try to surf. I have done it a few times and was able to get right into waves and go down the line. My current board is HUGE Surftech 12 ft x 24 x 5. Fine for flatwater but not great for surf. I was thinking of the Avanti or the whopper extra from Starboard. What would you guys reccomend? I surf very well and fell I will be able to transition to SUP surfing just want to ensure I have enought volume to have fun. Shoudl I go smaller? What type of volume should I be looking at?

Thans for the help!

Hey Bigun... I think I replied to you on the Zone???
You gave out more info here... so I'm gonna modify my recommendation. I know you can start smaller than the Avanti.
I didn't realize you were already paddling a 24" wide board.

First of all... to me, you are still a kid and your confidence leads me to believe that you would be fine on a 9'10 Allwave.
It has a LOT of stability built into the 190 liters... and it will suit you for a while.

Go visit JimK at Extremewindsurfing, in Atlantic City (7079 Black horse Turnpike)
He may be able to set up a demo. He is your size and a good SUP'r... he is a wealth of information and a great guy.

The 9'10 was Jimmy's goto board for a long time... and he is actually bigger than you.
I had a 9'6 Allwave when I weighed 265 lbs.... it was rock solid.

Hi Bigun

Supthecreek and i agree on many things but the Allwave is not one of them. Personally not a fan, never owned one, but I know plenty of people that have and have got off the Allwave to the JP and were over the moon.

So also check out the JP Fusion 10'8 or maybe 10'2. I was your 265 lbs and went from the 10'8 through the 10'2 to now the 9'8 in Pro construction and love it.

Good luck

Mostly concur with what the other two guys said...depending on what you have access to, 9'10 x 33 Fanatic Allwave (192L) and 10'8 x 34 JP Fusion (193L) should be on your list of boards to demo. I reckon you should also look at the 2014 10' x 33 Naish Mana (190L), it's a big improvement over the previous 10 Mana IMO. At your 285lbs, boards much below that 190L mark will struggle to float you. The 34" Starby Whopper won't have enough volume for you, as for the 36" Whopper Extra or Avanti? 36" wide is probably way more width than you need if you're fit and have your surf chops.

Just note that coming off a 12' you'll feel noticeably less glide and board speed with the shorter/rounder shapes and they probably won't track as well as your 12 (which can be overcome to some extent with practice and some work on your stroke). Take-offs will be later than on the 12 too, but as you say you're a long-time surfer so you should make sense of that pretty quick.

Hi all, I am after similar advice so thought I would jump on to this thread.
I don't have the same surf experience as BigunzNJ. Would class myself as a beginner SUP rider.
I weigh 95kg, 6ft tall.
Want a SUP that I can use on a bit of flat water but with the primary objective of getting more into waves.
Also like the idea of the kids riding on the front occasionally.

I have a few in mind namely the Starboard Whopper Extra, Fanatic Allwave 9'10 and the JP Fusion 10'8 as discussed below.
I note a few comparisons between these in the posts but given my slightly lesser weight than BigunzNJ and more beginner status, wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction? Stability would be a good thing for me at this stage.
Thanks

At "only" 95kg mate you're not that big and for the uses you scribe you probably won't need those wide boards, they're really at their best for blokes 115kg and upward.

For the uses you describe, look at the 10'6 or 11'4 Naish Nalu, or maybe even the 10'10 Nalu From starby, look at the 10'5 Drive or 11'2 Blend, or maybe the 10' whopper. From fanatic look at the 10'6 fly all round, NSP has a 10' 2 cocomat that might be a nice choice as well.

That's just a few and only from the majors, there's a wealth of boards out there for someone your size.

Thanks Human Cartoon. Much appreciated and more to consider.

Anyone have comments on the Starboard 11'2 Blend vs the Naish Nalu 11'4?

Seem like very similar boards? Is it personal preference or has one got some pros over the other. Looking at the wood / GT versions.

Hey guys thanks so much for the advise - got ahold of Jim and looks like I am going to demo the Allwave 9'10. One more question - with my primarily surfing on this being in smaller knee to chest high waves and with my size is this not enough board?

Thanks again

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benj73 said..

Thanks Human Cartoon. Much appreciated and more to consider.

Anyone have comments on the Starboard 11'2 Blend vs the Naish Nalu 11'4?

Seem like very similar boards? Is it personal preference or has one got some pros over the other. Looking at the wood / GT versions.

I've owned both the Starboard Blend and Nalu 10'6 & 11'4 and my personal preference is the Nalu 11'4. I'm actually going to buy another one some time soon. I like its rocker, outline and all round surf ability over the others.

You'd be able to take a small from on the nose easy. I'm also 6'2" 100kg so very similar size to you.

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BigunzNJ said..

Hey guys thanks so much for the advise - got ahold of Jim and looks like I am going to demo the Allwave 9'10. One more question - with my primarily surfing on this being in smaller knee to chest high waves and with my size is this not enough board?

Thanks again

If you want a more short board style of board in that size range, to to demo a 9'10" Hokua. That board is fantastic!!

To benj's query - + another 1 for the nalu 11'4"! It was my first sup and covers all the things you listed. I take my kids on it, tour around on glass with it and it's a fun board in small surf.

To the OP's query, demo every recommended board that you can. A surf-specific board for big guys like us need to be stable, but also perform and most importantly - be able to withstand the loads that we put on them.

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HumanCartoon said..

At "only" 95kg mate you're not that big and for the uses you scribe you probably won't need those wide boards, they're really at their best for blokes 115kg and upward.

For the uses you describe, look at the 10'6 or 11'4 Naish Nalu, or maybe even the 10'10 Nalu From starby, look at the 10'5 Drive or 11'2 Blend, or maybe the 10' whopper. From fanatic look at the 10'6 fly all round, NSP has a 10' 2 cocomat that might be a nice choice as well.

That's just a few and only from the majors, there's a wealth of boards out there for someone your size.

And adding to the comments of my learned friend Sir Cartoon, the JP 10'2 x 32 - 9'8 might be a handful straight up but it would be good. However having plugged that I would really consider the 10'6 nalu its great and would suit you well

Hey Mr Shiresup, how'd the mobile man cave going?

Thanks for taking the time to provide this advice guys. Much appreciated. The board I have had most practice on so far is the Naish Nalu 11'4" GT and it is sounding like this might be the best option to progress with. Nice board and will try the 10'6" too. Cheers.