Ok so I recently dipped my toe in the sup world and loved it so now looking for a first board but feeling a touch clueless as to what to go for...

I have kite surfed/windsurfed/surfed for over 15 years in some combination so picked it up pretty quickly when I rented a few boards to try at the weekend - basically looking to push myself as fast as possible without giving myself a board that negatively impacts my progression

Boards I tried & brief summary:

Fanatic fly 10' - very easy to use but felt a bit sluggish / dull underfoot - difficult to catch even small waves without sticking the nose in - felt like it was more comfortable on flat water but may have just been my lack of technique
Sunova 10' - light and faster - felt small for its size and quite wobbly underfoot but a bit more alive - again I nosedived it a lot so possibly just poor technique
Fanatic allwave 9'1" - enjoyed this one the most but it was the last board of the day so may just have been that I was getting the hang of it.. Felt easier to steer and alive underfoot but very stable even low speed paddling out

I am 6'3" and 88kgs - looking to use it predominantly in small surf - for now.

Recommendations / comments on sizing greatly appreciated. I thought I was lookin at pretty standard sizes for a first board but a lot of people have suggested I will "grow out" of a 160 Ish litre board quite quickly

Cheers-Craig

Hi Englishcraig,

The Allwave 9'1" would be my pick for you if you are looking to use it in all conditions and you are a beginner/intermediate paddler. You could easily go with the 8'11" also but if going out in choppy conditions and infrequent sets, you'll miss the additional size and volume of the 9'1".

Allwaves are fun boards for less than ideal/small conditions. Once you start charging, you'll need something a bit faster/smaller/etc. Pretty hard to ignore the Allwave as a fun easy allrounder for small to medium surf. Tough board too!

DM

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EnglishCraig said..


Fanatic fly 10' - very easy to use but felt a bit sluggish / dull underfoot - difficult to catch even small waves without sticking the nose in - felt like it was more comfortable on flat water but may have just been my lack of technique
Sunova 10' - light and faster - felt small for its size and quite wobbly underfoot but a bit more alive - again I nosedived it a lot so possibly just poor technique
Fanatic allwave 9'1" - enjoyed this one the most but it was the last board of the day so may just have been that I was getting the hang of it.. Felt easier to steer and alive underfoot but very stable even low speed paddling out

I am 6'3" and 88kgs - looking to use it predominantly in small surf - for now.

Recommendations / comments on sizing greatly appreciated. I thought I was lookin at pretty standard sizes for a first board but a lot of people have suggested I will "grow out" of a 160 Ish litre board quite quickly

Cheers-Craig

At your size & weight you've got a lot of choices. JP Fusion or Starboard Widepoint would be worth a look, as would Naish Mana around the 9'5 mark. If you wanted to try something more longboard style , Naish Nalu 10'6.5 or starboard Drive would be candidates, as would the 11'4 Nalu. With heaps of glide these style of boards will get you up and moving sooner rather than later in predominantly small -med surf.

As to growing out of a board to soon? Yeah there's an argument for that but growing into a board can be a bloddy hard slog if you get onto something too ambitious. Personally I reckon go for the one you like best now, you'll be up and having fun straight away, you'll get your chops faster and you'll have a solid point of reference to discern what you need/want when you feel ready want to step up in performance.

Cheers guys - lots to think about!

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HumanCartoon said..

If you wanted to try something more longboard style , Naish Nalu 10'6.5 or starboard Drive would be candidates, as would the 11'4 Nalu. With heaps of glide these style of boards will get you up and moving sooner rather than later in predominantly small -med surf.

Hey HumanCartoon,

Why exclude the 10'10" Nalu in the comment above - is it quite different from the 10'6" and 11'4" Nalu boards due to the channels? (am asking as I am interested in boards around that length too)

Cheers

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EnglishCraig said..

Cheers guys - lots to think about!

Try and demo the new 2014 Naish Mana's.. both 9'5'' and 10'.. and the 10'10'' Nalu is also worth demoing.

The 10' Mana would be my choice for you.

http://naishsurfing.com/MANA%2010.0%20GT%20and%20GS-Compact%20All-around%20Wave/

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jafa1970 said..

HumanCartoon said..

If you wanted to try something more longboard style , Naish Nalu 10'6.5 or starboard Drive would be candidates, as would the 11'4 Nalu. With heaps of glide these style of boards will get you up and moving sooner rather than later in predominantly small -med surf.

Hey HumanCartoon,

Why exclude the 10'10" Nalu in the comment above - is it quite different from the 10'6" and 11'4" Nalu boards due to the channels? (am asking as I am interested in boards around that length too)

Cheers

I had more surf-oriented longboard shapes in mind when i wrote that, which is where the 10'6 and 11'4 firmly sit. The 10'10 would be worth a look I suppose, it's crazy stable, cruises nicely on the flats, can put a couple of kids or a dog on the front, can windsurf it (DJ has a cracking vid of that), it's pretty square & slabby & full in the rails, that and the channels are where the stability comes from...the others I mentioned are designed to be surfed and would take the OP a lot further that way if that's where he wants to go.

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HumanCartoon said..
I had more surf-oriented longboard shapes in mind when i wrote that, which is where the 10'6 and 11'4 firmly sit. The 10'10 would be worth a look I suppose, it's crazy stable, cruises nicely on the flats, can put a couple of kids or a dog on the front, can windsurf it (DJ has a cracking vid of that), it's pretty square & slabby & full in the rails, that and the channels are where the stability comes from...the others I mentioned are designed to be surfed and would take the OP a lot further that way if that's where he wants to go.

Thanks for taking the time to clarify, all good info. Appreciate it.

Cheers

Ok so thanks all for your comments - hoping to spend this weekend demoing some stuff - current thoughts based on comments are to have a go with;

Jp fusion 9'8"
Jp surf wide body 8'8" x 32
Mana 9'5"
8'11" fanatic all wave

Thanks for your advice and comments!

I learn't last year on the JP Surf 9' 2". Conventional shape. It was my first SUP board and I got a real feel for it after about 9 weeks alltold. Now I have progressed to the 8' 10" Pro model and feel the progress has been smooth. These days a 9' board seems adequate to learn on if you have the time on the water. The JP Surf is good from small conditions to much larger waves. It's a tad heavy but isn't bad in less than ideal surface conditions.

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Aseela said...
I learn't last year on the JP Surf 9' 2". Conventional shape. It was my first SUP board and I got a real feel for it after about 9 weeks alltold. Now I have progressed to the 8' 10" Pro model and feel the progress has been smooth. These days a 9' board seems adequate to learn on if you have the time on the water. The JP Surf is good from small conditions to much larger waves. It's a tad heavy but isn't bad in less than ideal surface conditions.

Thanks assela - I'm just very conscious it's my first sup and I know how much of an issue going for too small a board too soon can be in other sports!!