Hello!

I've recently started SUPing and decided I would like my own board. Unfortunately, the more I try to research boards, the more confused I get.

I'm about 1m80 & 70kg. I have been surfing an 8ft mini-mal for 2 years but I'm not a particularly gifted surfer. I'm looking for a wave SUP board that would be used primarily for wave SUP in messy 1-3ft waves, with some wind. I don't live on the coast, so i'd be limited to weekends mostly, so might not progress super fast. Occasionally I might travel a bit further and get cleaner waves up to 6ft (weekends & 2 x 10 day holiday a year). I prefer a kind of lazy longboarding style of surfing.

Initially I was looking at 10'6 allround board but after talking to some rental places, they suggested to go for a 9'6 wave sup as it will be a little more challenging. I don't have much demo options but I've paddled around on a 9'10 / 32" hard board and that felt stable enough. Based on this I started looking at boards in the 9'2 to 9'6 range, like fanatic allwave and starboard whopper/ widepoint. When checking the Fanatic website though, suggested rider weights for allwave boards are all well above mine... Reading up on the forums here, it seems people mostly advise on shorter boards (8'6+) for my weight, although it's also suggested beginners don't drop below 9ft... at the same time I'm worried if I drop too low, i might not catch much in the small, messy wave conditions....

So I suppose what I'm asking is whether for my weight / height / wave condition / skill level combination, i should be looking at boards above or below 9 ft?

Hello,

How old are you ?(that also counts ;) )

If I was starting SUP, I'd go for a 10 ft x 29" to 30". This option not only will let you have some performance and forgiveness to progress, but most of all, will be a great backboard for future smaller summer days. A keeper.
If you're on europe I'd suggest "GONG SUP 10'0 NFA 140 WOODCKFUSION" absolutely amazing price (particularly now) and good quality.

www.gong-galaxy.com/magazine/pics/1-hour-4-boards/

If you're level is already nice and you a want a bigger challenge, the Naish Nalu Pro is a fantastic board.
The first collection boards were quite light but very fragile. I guess they might have improved. Look for feedback on the Seabreeze.

The Sunova Style would also be a great option.

The only downside of a 10 footer is the logistic aspect.

Have fun!

both. one size fits all is difficult as I am finding out.
I have paddle surfed less than a year, and have yet to buy a board "to small". However, I have already bought three boards that where to big.I wish I had listened less to the people selling me boards and started off with a much smaller board than was recommended to me.

At your weight I think something in the 9ft range would be perfect, maybe a good 9ft long board style this way the more parallel rails will help with stability as well.

This is one that I think would be perfect for what you are looking for it is the 9ft x 29 http://www.onestanduppaddle.com/boards%20page/Surf-All-Round

I wouldn't go too small if were you. It takes all the fun out, and you are right that small boards don't catch 1-2ft windy messy waves well. Many people *have* to ride smaller boards than would see them catching everything because they haven't learnt how to turn bigger ones. But it's a skill worth acquiring - a good rider can pretty much turn anything. So I wouldn't necessarily give up on a decent 10x30ish longboard shape if I were you. Some of the longboard shapes these days (eg. the Fanatic Stylemaster) have pretty thin rails and can do a lot. You aren't going to be pulling any wildly radical moves in 1-3ft wind slop anyway. I much prefer the challenge and fun of a longer board (11ft or even more) in those kinds of conditions: You can practice your old school longboard moves, coffin rides etc and catch every little wave going, far away from everyone else, and just have fun.

As you like Longboard style surfing... something with plenty of glide will suit...

Easy answer - 8'11" Jimmy Lewis Striker (or Sunova Steeze 8'10"). All round Quiver killers.

I agree with all the others.

- get a longboard shape: something like the Gong NFA, round nosed ONEs, Jimmy Lewis Striker, ... cited above and others.
- do not get under 9'0" length and 30" width and 120 liters volume
- a 10' will be better. In SUPing, In doubt, go bigger. Progress depends on the number of waves taken. Too small a board will reduce this number dramatically.

Welcome to the dark side age and skill sets are key bits of info you have left out. Never mind, for starters it's more about the shape rather than the length, you have mentioned a chilled long board style of surfing, cool that narrows it down a bit. Anything from 9" to 10" with more parallel rails or long board shape with lower narrow rails. Don't go any wider than 30" for your weight, you will get use to the stability pretty quick and will regret the extra width when you start to carve on the wave (bottom turn and top turn while using your paddle). I'm currently riding a Nalu carbon Pro (10") which is designed for a more aggressive style of surfing which would not necessarily suit someone during the early stages of SUP surfing, but would definitely suit once you have gained a few technical skills and SUP time on the water.

There are some good board suggestions on here, just don't go to wide, you will regret it.

hope this helps mate,

Thanks a lot for all your feedback and board suggestions! It has helped me narrow down my choices! Not quite decided yet, but I have a much better idea of what I want and what would suit me!

Cobi 1, don't go too narrow! If you are only surfing on weekends then you want to have fun and not spend your time trying to balance because your board is too "tippy". I'd go for a Widepoint or something like the Sunova Flow. You'll have fun in almost any conditions and because you're enoying yourself you'll stay out longer and improve more rapidly.

Yep
don't go too short nor too narrow. I surf 2-3 times a week and am amazed at how short the boards are that people are riding/recommending

i will spare details but recommend 8'10" x31.5 sunova flow or similar, or larger

if you want to relax and catch waves even when it's bumpy

A long time ago I started on a Focus Smoothie 9' x 32". I needed to actually get something a little longer to figure it all out.

I had years of short board experience, but I quickly discovered the balance skills to stand up in the ocean with chop, current, swells was totally unrelated to surfing.

More accident damage than Evel Knievel did not help either.

In retrospect if I had gotten a 9 and a half foot board 32 inches wide and ridden it for a season instead of buying and selling lots of boards I would have been better off in the long run.