Hey all

Looking for some advice on the next board for me to look at to continue on my sup surfing journey.

I've been sup surfing for around 3 years now and would class myself as intermediate.

I live inland and mainly get to the coast 1-2 times a month, plus a few longer weekends over the course of the year and a 1 week water based trip every year.

Based in the UK, we get a fair bit of wind based chop as well as decent swell driven waves throughout the course of the year - so looking for a decent all around board with reasonable stability to deal with the windier days we have.

Weight: 86kgs / Height: 5ft 11

I started out on an inflatable before purchasing my first solid board - Starboard Widepoint 10'6 (179L), the Widepoint was excellent caught a lot of waves but it was a heavy unit and was fairly slow in the water.

The year before last, a Naish Mad Dog 8'6 (121L) came up for sale locally which at the time I thought would enable me to progress, on its day the board is amazing, its fast and agile but for most sessions its ultimately the wrong board and my wave count has dropped massively which is frustrating me.

I'm now thinking of stepping back up in size, volume and width to something like the Fanatic Allwave 8'7 (135L).

Anything else I should be looking at?

Why not look at boards around 9'5 or 9'3 so you get more glide and about 140lt volume. I have a Smik Lord Bonza at 9'5 and it has great glide and stability and works really well in heavy chop while waiting out the back for sets and I am the same height as you.

Hi UK based too. Not sure if I am allowed to post this but I've got a nearly new SB Wedge 8'7 that might interest you. Some pics on gallery.
Starlite 8'2 x 32 143l. Was my progression board. I'm 185cm 87-90kg and my local is Saltburn.

Thanks for the replies so far.

Hadn't considered anything else in the Smik range other than the Hipster Twin.

@NapNap - I'll message you, I get over to Saltburn quite a bit the Wedge is definitely something I've been considering.

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chestersup said..
Thanks for the replies so far.

Hadn't considered anything else in the Smik range other than the Hipster Twin.

@NapNap - I'll message you, I get over to Saltburn quite a bit the Wedge is definitely something I've been considering.

The Lord Bonza and Bonza are different to any other board and are great to ride, they look good too which is a bonus.

Love the look/reviews of Smik boards, just a pain in the *ss to get in UK - not impossible but not many suppliers don't have stock.
Great looking graphics on that one.
Chestersup have messaged you back.

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Napnap said..
Love the look/reviews of Smik boards, just a pain in the *ss to get in UK - not impossible but not many suppliers don't have stock.
Great looking graphics on that one.
Chestersup have messaged you back.

There's a shipment of SMIK boards heading to the UK ...it is either still being packed up as we speak or has left. New UK distributor opening April/May. If you drop the sales guys at SMIK an email they can tell you if the shipment has gone or could still be added to.

Great, thanks

The Smik Hipster Twin is a brilliant board (I have an 8ft) however personally at this point in your progression I think you are better off getting a 2nd hand board in the 8'8 x 32" wide range, like the SB Wedge or the Allwave (personally I'd go for the Wedge). If you are like me you will probably only keep it for a few years before you want to drop down again to something smaller, this is where I would recommend the Hipster Twin which would be a board you could then keep for a longer time and still allows you to keep progressing.

It might help to identify why wave count is down, is it cause you're slower getting back outside, falling on take off in specific ways or just missing wave. If it were me I'd keep mad dog for clean days and get something that complements it like a longboard or a more stable version of mad dog, but which one prob depends on what's limiting.

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Kisutch said..
It might help to identify why wave count is down, is it cause you're slower getting back outside, falling on take off in specific ways or just missing wave. If it were me I'd keep mad dog for clean days and get something that complements it like a longboard or a more stable version of mad dog, but which one prob depends on what's limiting.

The issue is primarily stability particularly on choppier days, its very easy to miss a wave completely or get out of shape going in to the wave.

In clean conditions with decent ground swell this isn't a problem, I've had some really good sessions on the Mad Dog where I feel like I've got the mark of the board only for that to be completely turned on its head when there is chop.

Unfortunately UK conditions mean there is a lot of chop!

Hello fellow land of cold chop inhabitant. The primary issue here, I suspect, is that the Mad Dog is a "performance shape" (according to the Naish website) and the 29" width is the main cause of your stability woes. The Naish website also suggests that the board is suitable for riders up to 90 kgs. You at 86 kgs + a wet 5mm wetsuit + booties + gloves will likely be around 90 kgs. So. this means you really have to be on your game with fitness and technique because you are at the top end of the suggested weight range. 121/90 is 1.34, so in the top end intermediate / advanced band according to the Guild factor.

Technique is mostly around how you paddle and how you stand when waiting and paddling for waves. Considering that you only get on the water around twice a month, you are doing well. I always have a better session with a high wave count when I feel stable as I am repositioning in the lineup and paddling for a wave.

I would think that a board like an 8'7" Starboard Wedge already suggested here would be an ideal choice for you with its wide and stable shape, yet still allow for the progression that you are seeking and I am not saying that only because I am an SB fanboy.

However, you didn't mention details of how you currently stand and so forth when paddling into waves, so you could also look at your technique. I went to Bantham last Wednesday and the conditions were pretty great. There were quite a few fellow SUP surfers in the lineup and I was surprised that all of them were paddling around in parallel stance. I am always in full surf or semi surf / fence stance, depending on the board and I have no idea how one can feel comfortable, or stable, standing in the surf in parallel stance.

Have a look at this thread, particularly supthecreek's and colas' replies, for some great tips on how to improve your stability when paddling into waves www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/How-do-you-like-to-stand-when-paddling-for-waves-

Hi, same here. My revelation was adopting the 'hybrid' stance. Since watching Colas and Ian Cairns (STC video) I've gone more to 'narrow' fencing stance all the time. Also shortened paddle considerably as a result. Also found I get a much more effective catch when paddling/accelerating which has boosted wave count. Same findings up here too, most paddlers are in parallel stance.

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theSeb said..
Hello fellow land of cold chop inhabitant. The primary issue here, I suspect, is that the Mad Dog is a "performance shape" (according to the Naish website) and the 29" width is the main cause of your stability woes. The Naish website also suggests that the board is suitable for riders up to 90 kgs. You at 86 kgs + a wet 5mm wetsuit + booties + gloves will likely be around 90 kgs. So. this means you really have to be on your game with fitness and technique because you are at the top end of the suggested weight range. 121/90 is 1.34, so in the top end intermediate / advanced band according to the Guild factor.

Technique is mostly around how you paddle and how you stand when waiting and paddling for waves. Considering that you only get on the water around twice a month, you are doing well. I always have a better session with a high wave count when I feel stable as I am repositioning in the lineup and paddling for a wave.

I would think that a board like an 8'7" Starboard Wedge already suggested here would be an ideal choice for you with its wide and stable shape, yet still allow for the progression that you are seeking and I am not saying that only because I am an SB fanboy.

However, you didn't mention details of how you currently stand and so forth when paddling into waves, so you could also look at your technique. I went to Bantham last Wednesday and the conditions were pretty great. There were quite a few fellow SUP surfers in the lineup and I was surprised that all of them were paddling around in parallel stance. I am always in full surf or semi surf / fence stance, depending on the board and I have no idea how one can feel comfortable, or stable, standing in the surf in parallel stance.

Have a look at this thread, particularly supthecreek's and colas' replies, for some great tips on how to improve your stability when paddling into waves www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/How-do-you-like-to-stand-when-paddling-for-waves-

Thanks for your thoughts.

My own thoughts were that on a lower volume board it was more important to have the paddle engaged and working in the water, and ideally relatively short to get the body nice and low with your knees bent.

I tend to paddle in a parallel stance in the line up, but begin to switch to a fence stance going in to the wave - definitely worth playing around more next time in the water.

If current board has unstable shape, could always keep volume same and get something with fuller outline and designed for smaller waves, like JL Super Frank or Infinity RNB, etc.

I have a small board that is punishing when I've been out of the water and it's choppy. If I can paddle it on our local river the day before I surf, it's surprisingly effective. I find it really hard to actually focus on paddling/balance when in the waves, but on the river it's my only focus and I can much more easily feel where the sweet spot is and how foot position affects things.

Hey mate I went from an 8'7" Wedge to a 8'10" hipster twin and am still grinning a year or so on. Not that the wedge was a bad board but major differences were hipster catches waves easier, is marginally more stable and better glide. I'm 85kg and probs upper end beginner

Just a quick follow up on this thread.

Coming back from holiday, I spoke to quite a few different shops to get some different perspectives and decided to go with a Starboard Spice 8'8.

First trip out at the weekend and I'm really pleased with the decision.

Immediately getting on the board I was comfortable, overall it feels to have familiar stability characteristics of the Starboard Widepoint, but is much quicker to turn and easier to manage through the white water.

On the wave the board is probably as quick as the Mad Dog but the extra width makes it a lot more usable.

Board combined with using a fence stance saw my wave count increase significantly, feels like I've found a solid base to start progressing again after a year of frustration.

By the end of the session my arms were hanging off, so plenty of work to do on land based fitness and conditioning.

Sweet. Glad to hear it. I am still waiting for my own Spice to arrive. It's the carbon version and the shop phoned me today to confirm that they are still expecting it to arrive next week (i.e. before the end of March as they had always promised).

Which construction did you go for? Might catch you on the East Coast some time!

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Napnap said..
Which construction did you go for? Might catch you on the East Coast some time!

I have to assume it's the limited, because I've only seen the 7.11 Spice carbon available at UK retailers.

Good point. I've seen a Wedge in the limited at the local, not seen a Spice in any yet

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Napnap said..
Good point. I've seen a Wedge in the limited at the local, not seen a Spice in any yet

Spice in Limited is available in various sizes at places like theSupCo

Sorry guys - missed this.

Went for the limited - both me and one of my mates went for the same in the end.

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chestersup said..
Sorry guys - missed this.

Went for the limited - both me and one of my mates went for the same in the end.

Sweet. Apparently my carbon spice will be here on Tuesday.

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theSeb said..

chestersup said..
Sorry guys - missed this.

Went for the limited - both me and one of my mates went for the same in the end.

Sweet. Apparently my carbon spice will be here on Tuesday.

Looking forward to the review!

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SurfKiteSup said..

theSeb said..

chestersup said..
Sorry guys - missed this.

Went for the limited - both me and one of my mates went for the same in the end.

Sweet. Apparently my carbon spice will be here on Tuesday.

Looking forward to the review!

I'll definitely post some thoughts once I've had a few sessions. Sadly, it's currently 17 knots onshore with 30 knots gusts.