I'm 68kg and looking for a high quality SUP board around 8'6" to complement my only current SUP Sunova 10'6" XXX-tech (which is a great board - fabulous quality - surfs great). After a lot of research and have come down to a shortlist-

Sunova Flow 8'7" x 30.25 (121 litres)
Jimmy Lewis 8'5" x 30 (116)
Jimmy Lewis 8'11"x 30 (130)
Smik Short Mac 8'7" x 29.5 (126)

All of these get good reviews so it is darn hard to decide. I want something that I will love to keep (and will keep well) and love to surf in a variety of conditions.

Any advice from those more experienced than I would be greatly appreciacted.

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Have you thought about the Sunover Speeed 7'11"? It may be narrow but you are light. The square nose helps with stability and it goes great on the waves.

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johndg said..

Have you thought about the Sunover Speeed 7'11"? It may be narrow but you are light. The square nose helps with stability and it goes great on the waves.

IMO the Speeed needs push in the water to get those cranking back foot turns ripping...

Hard to go past a JL Striker IMO. 8'11 if it is genuinely small or 8'5" as a all rounder for mushy waves...

Stoked you're considering the Jimmy Lewis Striker's which you can't goo wrong with but you could also look at the NEW Super Frank's arriving tomorrow...
See previous posts about them...

Go with the Flow for your weight it will be perfect

you would be going to find a better board for the river than the 8'11" JL striker.

68 kg = 7 .11 speed if ya dont wanna whack the lip !!!

7 11 speed 94lit to small 68kg living in Tassie plenty of rubber be comfortable go with the flow you already know the Sunovas work you can't go wrong. I weigh 71kg an the 7 11 is very tippy . Life's to short to struggle

I have an 8'7" Flow with some FCS PCC-7's setup as a quad (the rears are smaller than the front sides) and it's a great board for anything from 2ft mush (but you need to work at keeping it moving) to head high clean, if you are after more drawn out carves then leave the 95's in but if like me and enjoy slashy turns then change the fins like I have.
Balance and pitch are very well sorted, it's difficult to get it out of balance, even cross chop doesn't faze it.
I'm bigger than you at 83kgs and I still float high on it and I've got to paddle about 1.5ks out to the break.. I'm keeping it, it's a fabulous board for all my surfing conditions.. but have to say I also have a Speeed 8'10 for the more mellow days.. Love them both equally (and I've also changed the fins for 95's PCC-7's on the Speeed too)

At 68kgs you'll find it a great board, but maybe a bit larger than you could actually get away with, but I know nothing about your breaks or ability.. so... can you not try one?

Other than that, I'd probably look at the Smik or JL, go for something with robust and light construction, something that you'll fall in love with rather than a "fashion" pop out Brand.

Thanks for the time on advice to help me decide. I think the Speed is probably not my 'style' (what there is of it), carves vs flicks. Usual conditions: a few feet most of the time and pretty gutless. I was going to skip the 8'11" Striker (thanks RR) as it was closer to my current Sunova 10'6" but given gutless (most of the time)...? It seems to come down to rocker, maybe. The Flow (thanks mike3217 and SB) has it and the Striker doesn't (as much). Smik 8'7" looks like a well thought out newbie. The suggested JL Superfrank (thanks JLB: 8'6" x 32 - 141 l) is a tad too wide and too much volume. I was working on 120-130 litres and ~ 30" wide. I reckon any of the shortlist I could learn to love. Maybe dice?

Ah, and another option: http://standupsurfshop.com.au/boards/smik-sup/smik-spitfire-8-8-x-31-5.html

www.sup-internationalmag.com/shaping-bay/smik-north-freo-short-8-7-test-review/

Just another option ONE SUP
8'5 x 31 118L
Very fun board, top end constructions but i think the closest retailer to Tassie at the moment would be SHQ or Core in the Melbourne areas.

Disclosure i own ONE SUP so i might be a little bias!!lol

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scott mckerc said..

www.sup-internationalmag.com/shaping-bay/smik-north-freo-short-8-7-test-review/

Nice review similar to pocket rocket?am looking for an easy paddler up from my 8'0" x 28 pro.Am 70kg.

I've forgotten how to post pics on here, I was about to post a couple of my Flow 8'7" with the PCC-7's in..

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SunovaBouy said..
I've forgotten how to post pics on here, I was about to post a couple of my Flow 8'7" with the PCC-7's in..

There is an "Add Photo(s)" button in green below the text box.

PS: paul.j - nice looking board

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Foghorn said..

scott mckerc said..

www.sup-internationalmag.com/shaping-bay/smik-north-freo-short-8-7-test-review/

Nice review similar to pocket rocket?am looking for an easy paddler up from my 8'0" x 28 pro.Am 70kg.

Nah. Entirely different board. rocker/ bottom configuration and outline all very different.

HI Tasilee,
I just rode the first NEW Super Frank today in crap waves & it surfed a treat....I've ridden a lot of sup's in the last 10 years & this board felt amazing....
There's a NEW 8'6 Super Frank that's just landed...
I'll try & do a review asap...

Here's my Flow 8'7" with those PCC-7's in, as you can see the front sidees are 94's but the rear are smaller, I've measured them and they come out at 86's.. Boards used on a very long sandbar beach break, the bars about 1.5k long and we get head through 1ft'ers depending on tide and forecast. I've used the board in all sorts, in the mush 2ft'ers you have to keep the speed on, keep working the board and paddle and it'll slash and turn great, anything over 2ft with push and it's surf really nicely, coming out of turns it'll grip but you can slash it with a blackfoot slide it you want. I've found riding it from the middle draws out the turn, great for styling it before the bottom turn, but use the stomper and it'l rip around (as I like it, hence the setup)

Without turning this into a Sunova Love In, it would be good to get some reviews of the other boards mentioned, because over here in the UK we don't see JLewis or One. What we do get are the windsurf Brands like Starboard and Fanatic and they just obliterate the market.. We do have a couple of smaller Brands but the only one I've seen thats Surf orientated is Loco..

SunovaBuoy, why are you sailing the flow as a quad and how is it different as a thruster? When do you use what fin set up? Got the flow 8'7 too as my big board and absolutely love it in less than ideal conditions but haven't tried it out as a quad yet...

I've tried it as a Thruster a few times, with the stock 95's in and I like it.. but I like the drive at the bottom turn so once I'd figured out the fin size I wanted in Quad the PCC-7's suit it great, I did try with smaller fins in a Quad but that lacked drive in the bottom turn, great for slashing though.
I will try it again in Thruster soon, but settled at the moment in Quad.

Why do you like the Thruster setup ? Have you tried it as a Quad yet ? And have you tried different fins ??

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scott mckerc said..

Foghorn said..

scott mckerc said..

www.sup-internationalmag.com/shaping-bay/smik-north-freo-short-8-7-test-review/

Nice review similar to pocket rocket?am looking for an easy paddler up from my 8'0" x 28 pro.Am 70kg.

Nah. Entirely different board. rocker/ bottom configuration and outline all very different.

Sorry Scotty was thinking more of the target user.Plug and play.

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paul.j said..
Just another option ONE SUP
8'5 x 31 118L
Very fun board, top end constructions but i think the closest retailer to Tassie at the moment would be SHQ or Core in the Melbourne areas.

Disclosure i own ONE SUP so i might be a little bias!!lol

Looks like a nice fine rail there. Couldn't bring up individual boards on the ONE site.

Regards SunovaBouy's request: I just had a go this morning on riverriders's Jimmy Lewis Striker 8'5" (thruster setup) - and I was very impressed. Even though that board is 116l, it felt way more stable than I expected, and would you believe, it paddled within a few percent of my 10'6" Sunova Surf! That is impressive.

I was in crappy cross chop on a 2' wave day and within minutes, got the feel of the board. Bobbing around waiting in those conditions wasn't too bad, but boy, when a small wave came, getting on it was as easy as my 10'6". Surely impressive? The best bit - as soon as I got on the wave, I felt totally at home, no surprises at all. It just handled like I would hope it would. While it was nicely loose, it was never out of control. It just felt right. I didn't even manage to fall off on the 8 or so waves I got (before I felt sorry for riverrider on my 10'6"), and given I have only been riding 10'6"x30" boards, it is more a reflection of the Striker design than my (poor) skill. That flatter rocker certainly is a key, nice parallel rails over a fair bit of its length (similar to the Smik design) also help on stability yet don't seem to detract from is responsiveness on a wave. Who would think of walking forward and back on an 8'5", but that's what I did, a tad tentatively admitted.

In short, a VERY impressive board given its length and volume. Build quality - excellent. Full deck - a bonus. Thanks riverrider.

I'm going to try another local's Striker 8'11" and will report back.

SunovaBouy: That Flow 8'7" does look a treat (the Sunova 'wood' is beautiful) - specially with the quads. Would love to try one but no idea if there is one around my area.

Oh, and to top it off, three whales turned up about 1km off.

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beerdead said..

paul.j said..
Just another option ONE SUP
8'5 x 31 118L
Very fun board, top end constructions but i think the closest retailer to Tassie at the moment would be SHQ or Core in the Melbourne areas.

Disclosure i own ONE SUP so i might be a little bias!!lol

Looks like a nice fine rail there. Couldn't bring up individual boards on the ONE site.

Yeah sorry about the website it still has a long way to go and the surf SUPs are the next big project to get online!!

Just came back from giving the friend's (5 year old) JL Stiker 8'11" a go. It has a thruster setup with centre fin way back). The conditions were crappy with semi-onshore wind and chop with a 2' wave with little shape. Like the 8'5", getting on the wave is ridiculously easy and once on a wave, these boards just handle so darn well. No surprises, just pleasant responses. You can move forward, back, sideways and it reacts nicely. Stopping and turning in the slop in the 8'11" is ok, while the 8'5" is certainly trickier. With the centre fin forward on the 8'11", I think there would be little difference in wave 'performance' between the 85 and 811 much of the time in local conditions.

The 8'5" is very tempting but given the gutless waves near my house (Carlton River), the 8'11' a wiser investment. I would have immediately bought a carbon version, but none around. Ditto Super Freak. Great pity I reckon as they lost that sale. I was momentarily toying with the Smik 8'7" with e carbon deck, but a lesser known quantity. Yes, I know the carbon version JLs are only marginally lighter than the glass ones, but I figured they would have better strength/weight. If Jimmy uses them....!?! So I've ordered the JL Striker 8'11" rather than order a carbon one and wait till September sometime.

Key decision points if I have limited it from considerable research to 8'5-9'0" SUP boards and 115-130l: 1) small local (gutless) waves most of the time, 2) high quality construction (strong and light), 3) desire to walk around the board as I can on the 8'11" (beaut full deck will handle hitting my head on occasion!) and it makes a huge difference (vs planting feet and throwing body around) - and this gives me plenty of options and learning ahead, 4) Paddles pretty well (=more waves!). In my case $ doesn't come into it as there is little difference between the short list boards.

Smik 8'7" - a tad unknown and untried (by me), but it is probably good on many fronts. I don't reckon they will go away. Sunova Flow is easily the best looking board but too much rocker for what I have in mind.

Thanks to all who contributed. I hope it helps others...but then there will be new models out all the time...

Tasilee,

I have the 8/11 since 2010 or so, on the beach about 5 months a year, bodyweight 170 lbs/77 kg, but only occasional use when wind is light. A bit advanced for a less frequent user, but now it seems quite stable, turns very well, catches waves easily and still looks brand new. Waves in three or four different parts of the break can vary from overhead pealing ideal waves to small unpredictable mush, with wind developing most days. Wind is usu. sideoff/crossoff but can also be onshore briefly in the AM.

Full deck pad makes it nice to walk forward to stay on a slowing wave or drop onto a wave. Have not ventured into nose riding.

Would like a lighter weight board and it seems the newer models are lighter. Only a thruster configuration. Or, possibly a single fin. Handle is OK, and deep, but not much purchase for the hand as newer models.

Very stable. When first standing up, and not moving, rails support the weight shifts better than I would ever expect. Had no significant adjustment when moving from a giant 11/2 red thing. Can stand still outside the break with paddle out of the water, on relatively calm days.

Found that wave catch percentage went way up by moving feet back from center. With one forefoot at center and the other foot a few inches further back. By learning to use the core when paddling, have been able to catch waves on occasion that never even break, but this is not the norm.

Had an early experience stepping on one side near the tail as if to fall off and the board turned right under me! So, the board has a lot more potential to exploit.

Hi billekrub and thanks for the comments on your older JL Striker 8'11". I hate the hand hold in the older one I rode yesterday - and I'm assuming the newer models have a better one! Carrying them in a little wind can be dangerous as they can easily twist out of your fingers. On the beach, little problem, but on hard ground or placing the board on the roof of your car - a problem.

I'd LOVE to see more boards use the Sunova (liftsup) handles - they are BY FAR the best I have seen. If you are carrying your board for 1km or more - it makes a HUGE difference. And by the way - the Smiks use the old JL design hand hold! That was one reason I finally dismissed it as not serious. Yes, they (and the JLs) are light, but when walking into a breeze for a kilometre or more, believe me, a good hand hold makes life a lot easier.

Hi Tasilee,
The new JL boards have a great deep handle that's easy to carry your board distances, nothing like Smik's which I couldn't even get my fingers in properly to pick up & all the new models are really light but strong....A customer just got his new 8' Super Frank yesterday & rang me to tell me how light it is (7.5kg for 128L board) & what a beautiful finish it has....

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Tasilee said..
Hi billekrub and thanks for the comments on your older JL Striker 8'11". I hate the hand hold in the older one I rode yesterday - and I'm assuming the newer models have a better one! Carrying them in a little wind can be dangerous as they can easily twist out of your fingers. On the beach, little problem, but on hard ground or placing the board on the roof of your car - a problem.

I'd LOVE to see more boards use the Sunova (liftsup) handles - they are BY FAR the best I have seen. If you are carrying your board for 1km or more - it makes a HUGE difference. And by the way - the Smiks use the old JL design hand hold! That was one reason I finally dismissed it as not serious. Yes, they (and the JLs) are light, but when walking into a breeze for a kilometre or more, believe me, a good hand hold makes life a lot easier.

new JL's have an awesome deep handle...i much prefer it compared to my Sunova...Older JL's did have a crappy handle though...

Have you considered a custom?

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R4H said..
Another couple of options to consider.

https://www.standupzone.com.au/product-page/8-10-ninja-warrior

www.standupzone.com.au/product-page/allgood

I am in no way affiliated with BP just a happy customer with 3 of their boards. Can't recommend them highly enough

The Ninja 8'10" does have about the right specs, but I like a little more width up front that the Striker shape gives. As the song says, I like to move it, move it..

The Allgood 8'8" is a tad wide at 32" I figure, at least for me. But I agree, both have interesting specs. Not cheap, but the JL and Sunova are in the same ball park, but a tad cheaper. My JL will hopefully arrive middle of next week or so. I will let you know what I think. It will be interesting to compare it with the older model I rode. I am told the new one is lighter, nice.