Hello all, I'm looking to get some suggestions on what brand and even specific model sup I should start with. I have no experience surfing but I am currently getting lessons in both surf and sup and am enjoying both greatly. I'm right on 6 foot and im currently sitting at 99 kg slowly getting back to 90 kg, I am defiantly going to stick to flat water until my skills improve and after a while hopefully I could take to the waves and flat water race too.

Welcome.. I'll start with a suggestion.. The 10'10" Naish Nalu..

Good on you Whitewash13,
Go and demo demo demo! Contact any shops nearby and see what they have. For choice it depends what style of SUP riding you want to do! River and flat water is very different to beach and wave riding, which is also very different to down-winding. Board choice is such a personal thing. Also have you got any mates that you can borrow from? There also might be a SUP Pod nearby to where you live... You could contact them to chew the fat and even go and have a paddle with them to see the different boards on offer.

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DavidJohn said..
Welcome.. I'll start with a suggestion.. The 10'10" Naish Nalu..

Thanks David, I have already read a lot of your advice for new paddlers on the breeze thanks for helping us out with your experience.
I looked at the Nalu and I was confused as to what the channels do and sadly at least right now it's just a tad outside of my price point. I was looking at the ECS evolution 10,6 have you had any experience with it or anyone you know has?

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Mottman29 said..
Good on you Whitewash13,
Go and demo demo demo! Contact any shops nearby and see what they have. For choice it depends what style of SUP riding you want to do! River and flat water is very different to beach and wave riding, which is also very different to down-winding. Board choice is such a personal thing. Also have you got any mates that you can borrow from? There also might be a SUP Pod nearby to where you live... You could contact them to chew the fat and even go and have a paddle with them to see the different boards on offer.

Hi Mott, trust me I have been contacting shops and seeing when demos days are sadly the closest ones are a few hours away but I'm still will to make the trip to test out something I hope to be on more than a couple times per week.
Im defiantly keen to downwind eventually, but I know I should probably start with something good in the flat but still able to take on some mush I think my first comment was a little confusin :).
I have no friends that sup or surf weirdly I live in such a coastal area with so many great beach spots too, but I am soaking up as much info from my surf coaches and independent surf shops.
Can I ask what you started on?

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Whitewash13 said..

DavidJohn said..
Welcome.. I'll start with a suggestion.. The 10'10" Naish Nalu..

Thanks David, I have already read a lot of your advice for new paddlers on the breeze thanks for helping us out with your experience.
I looked at the Nalu and I was confused as to what the channels do and sadly at least right now it's just a tad outside of my price point. I was looking at the ECS evolution 10,6 have you had any experience with it or anyone you know has?

Never heard of the evolution.. until now..

Just looked online.. and It might work for you.. but I think you might find it a bit tippy and not paddle flat water very well..

Where are you… We have a big couple of weeks of demo days coming up..

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DavidJohn said..

Whitewash13 said..

DavidJohn said..
Welcome.. I'll start with a suggestion.. The 10'10" Naish Nalu..

Thanks David, I have already read a lot of your advice for new paddlers on the breeze thanks for helping us out with your experience.
I looked at the Nalu and I was confused as to what the channels do and sadly at least right now it's just a tad outside of my price point. I was looking at the ECS evolution 10,6 have you had any experience with it or anyone you know has?

Never heard of the evolution.. until now..

Just looked online.. and It might work for you.. but I think you might find it a bit tippy and not paddle flat water very well..

Where are you… We have a big couple of weeks of demo days coming up..

I'm about 30min south of Wollongong in NSW, I know bay sup has one coming up but what are others are on the horizon?

I'm in Melbourne..

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DavidJohn said..
I'm in Melbourne..

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DavidJohn said..
I'm in Melbourne..

Ahh lol that makes that difficult are there any other boards you could recommend for me to demo that you think would be a good fit?

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DavidJohn said...

Whitewash13 said..

DavidJohn said..
Welcome.. I'll start with a suggestion.. The 10'10" Naish Nalu..

Thanks David, I have already read a lot of your advice for new paddlers on the breeze thanks for helping us out with your experience.
I looked at the Nalu and I was confused as to what the channels do and sadly at least right now it's just a tad outside of my price point. I was looking at the ECS evolution 10,6 have you had any experience with it or anyone you know has?

Never heard of the evolution.. until now..

Just looked online.. and It might work for you.. but I think you might find it a bit tippy and not paddle flat water very well..

I think their website still lists their older models, the new stats are on their facebook page (or pic below) the new 10'6 evolution is 180l, should be plenty of float. I've never ridden the evolution, but have the wide boy and its quality is top notch. I'm going to the Baysup demo so I might get to give it a go then.

That 10' x 33'' WideBoy might be worth checking out.

Now is a good time to look around for an ex demo 10'10'' Nalu.. btw.. They also do a cheaper GS version.

I defiantly wil have to try both the Evo and the wideboy out at bay sup because I thought the wideboy might be hard to track consistently but only one way to know for sure

Yep too easy Whitewash13,
I started on a 10' x 34" Starboard Whopper... But you might even appreciate an 11' to get your sea legs ("remember that your knees are like shock absorbers... So bend the knees, bend the knees").

DJ has also made a good recommendation there by the way. And the fellow Breezers will no doubt have some other ideas too. Type of board is one variable, others include length, width and volume (litreage), but you will work all that out soon enough.

In respect of suppliers/brands, you are spoilt for choice so take your time in making a decision, you have many many options!
Cheers, Motty

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Whitewash13 said..
Hello all, I'm looking to get some suggestions on what brand and even specific model sup I should start with. I have no experience surfing but I am currently getting lessons in both surf and sup and am enjoying both greatly. I'm right on 6 foot and im currently sitting at 99 kg slowly getting back to 90 kg, I am defiantly going to stick to flat water until my skills improve and after a while hopefully I could take to the waves and flat water race too.

Hi Whitewash,

One of the problems you will face once you have a board is that an all-rounder, while great for doing a bit of everything, is not perfect for waves or perfect for flat water racing, with an emphasis on flat water racing. I started out on an 11'6 Fanatic Fly, which was a great board for a heavier person, but soon got used to it and found that it was not the most maneuverable thing on a wave. I also used it when meeting up with friends and having a flat water paddle, and this is where the difference was most noticeable. It was a great board for just cruising around on, but it was never meant to keep up with proper race boards. I now have a 14' Naish Glide for flat water and a 9'10 Fanatic Allwave for the waves. My point is this: you will most likely end up with more than one board if you want to do both surfing and flat water races! I thought I'd only get one board to do both as well, but it never ends up that way.

If you want something that will be ok in races and can still catch small waves with, maybe a 12'6 board? Not sure what others will have to say about that but I have seen a few people in small waves on their 12'6s. Also, from my personal experience, the Naish Nalu's run a bit narrow and can be tippy, at least for me. BUT, you weigh about 6 kg less than me and are 4 inches shorter so they most likely won't be as tippy for you. Also, because they are more narrow than say, the fanatic fly's, they will track better on flat water and should be more maneuverable in the surf. I really only have been on Naish, Fanatic and NSP boards, so that is the limit of my experience.

Have a look in the Buy & Sell section, you might find a bargain on a board as people upgrade to the 2015 models.

Wow just as is started to think the same idea lol it actually really makes a lot
Of sense and I guess more of a fitness style board may be a good place to start because buying something wide and then it feeling like an oil tanker after a few months was something I definatly want to avoid.

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Whitewash13 said..
Wow just as is started to think the same idea lol it actually really makes a lot
Of sense and I guess more of a fitness style board may be a good place to start because buying something wide and then it feeling like an oil tanker after a few months was something I definatly want to avoid.

Most of the longer mid width longboard shaped SUPs I have rode both paddle and surf extremely well, with a nice glide in both. A great cross-over shape. Nearly all of the popular brands do them well including the Laird Surfer or Hybrid, Naish, Starboard Drive/Noserider.....,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Keep an eye on the Buy and Sell.

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surfershaneA said..

Whitewash13 said..
Wow just as is started to think the same idea lol it actually really makes a lot
Of sense and I guess more of a fitness style board may be a good place to start because buying something wide and then it feeling like an oil tanker after a few months was something I definatly want to avoid.

Most of the longer mid width longboard shaped SUPs I have rode both paddle and surf extremely well, with a nice glide in both. A great cross-over shape. Nearly all of the popular brands do them well including the Laird Surfer or Hybrid, Naish, Starboard Drive/Noserider.....,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Keep an eye on the Buy and Sell.

I'm back after a month of searching and seeing what boards are available to demo but I also wanted to see what experiences people have had with these boards also.
the boards I'm trying out are the Lahui Kai Manta, the Bic Wing and the Surftech Laird Tuflite all in 12'6. I am still looking to start in flat water and buildup my time Develop my style and hopefully get into racing at some point.

Do do any of these stand out to anyone as a better or worse choice from experience and yes I know that three boards is not a lot of demos but finding a 12'6 that's wide enough is tough :)

Bump

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Whitewash13 said..
Bump

Hi, I am 6ft, 110 kg, I am riding a BIC Wing 12'6 x 30.
I moved up to that from the BIC Ace Tec 11'6 x 32.
Mainly doing flatwater paddling and some easier downwind runs and have found the Wing to be very good.
They use these boards for one design racing in parts of Europe and even here in New Zealand.

It's a buyers market that's for sure.