Hi, i'm a 145lbs (66kg) rider from French Brittany who started Sup 6 months ago on a red paddle 14x26 race board. I want to get my first hard board for downwind and flat ocean but I am quite confused by boards volume.
what's your point of view?

I'm interested by these boards so far:
- Jp Australia allwater 14'x25.5 315L
-Sic fx pro14'x25 290L
-Bark downwinder 14'x28 275L
-Oxbow 14'x25 266L

Thank you for sharing your experience

Sounds like a question for...

Area10...!!!!!!

Bark Vapor would be a good board that would allow you to go into even very confused/choppy conditions.
Naish Maliko between the 26" and the 24" wide would also be another option.
Keeping the volume under 280L should help in bigger conditions and keep you nice and stable close to the water IMO.

Since the conditions are not too big here, should I even consider a 12'6 board?

You can try both. Less glide and this is a size that is on its way out so there might not be much resell value. Personally like a few others, I am going longer rather than shorter and I am not a big guy 170 lbs/77 kg. You should also see a lot more stability than on the inflatable.

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Helmy said..
Sounds like a question for...

Area10...!!!!!!

Yeah, I agree with Luc. By all means try a 12-6, but most people find longer boards more fun, especially for downwinding.

I'm assuming that you can get good deals on the boards you mention, since they are probably not 2018 or 2019 models?

The Bark is probably a bit big for you. I don't know anything about the Oxbow. I saw some bargain-priced JPs when I was in Melbourne, and they were very light. So I was left wondering why they hadn't sold... demo if you can. The SIC FX model has been superseded by the RS, which is quite a bit better. But the FX is still a good board, and if it is at a really good price would perhaps be my pick of the ones you mention. None of these are particularly good downwinders though. So it depends how much you want to paddle flat water vs. downwind. If you would only race in flat water occasionally I'd suggest trying a Naish Maliko, like Luc suggested, or if you really want to get into downwinding and just flat water cruising and fitness then a Bark Vapor, if you can find one. But all of the boards you mention would probably be ok for general ocean paddling and racing, and for your weight - except the Bark, because if you can cope with a 26" wide iSUP then you don't need a hard board that wide.

The new SIC RS is goergeous, and a fast race board. But it wouldn't be my first choice for downwinding. And it will probably be pretty expensive where you are. If you really want to get into downwinding and don't care about racing (unless it's downwind) then you might find a SIC Bullet somewhere going cheap, maybe. They are very nice boards. The new SIC Bayonet too.

Most likely option for you though would be a 2018 14x26 Maliko. See if you can find one at a good price.

Happy Hunting!

Thank you for your answer. As you guessed I selected "good deal" boards. The jp was my favorite but too much volume and The Vapor look nice but hard to find.
I paddle 70% flat and 30% downwind (When the conditions are favorable). The 12'6 I consider is a Fone race 12'6x26.

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ActuelVirtuel said..
Thank you for your answer. As you guessed I selected "good deal" boards. The jp was my favorite but too much volume and The Vapor look nice but hard to find.
I paddle 70% flat and 30% downwind (When the conditions are favorable). The 12'6 I consider is a Fone race 12'6x26.

If you were talking about the Race Pro All water 14' then I'd be pretty excited about that. For downwind it's hard to get too excited about any 12-6. They do work, but it's a lot harder.

I was talking about the 12'6.

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ActuelVirtuel said..
I was talking about the 12'6.

Yes. I know. I can read.

Which 12-6 f-one model, exactly?

But as I say, it's hard to get excited about a 12-6 for downwind. Or anything much, really. Maybe for surf races, but that's about it. The 12-6 class is slowly disappearing from racing.

The 12'6 x 26 2016 model. I should also mention that I ride only for fun, no competition. I don't have experience with other board than my red paddle 14x26 that Is a little too bulky for me I think.

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ActuelVirtuel said..
The 12'6 x 26 2016 model. I should also mention that I ride only for fun, no competition. I don't have experience with other board than my red paddle 14x26 that Is a little too bulky for me I think.

Ok well you need to try some hard boards then. Inflatables are okish for flat water but they are appalling for DW or surf. All of the 14ft boards you mention will be an improvement. (The Bark is too wide for you though.) Get out there and demo some boards, and get an idea of what suits you. Hard boards are more stable than inflatables, so you may be able to go quite a bit narrower than you are currently paddling. But you won't know until you try.

Thank you for your advice. I will try some hard boards

I am similar in weight and have had several 12'6" boards and have a 14' now.

Far superior to inflatables. Try as many different boards as you can. They are all different and what suits you for recreational touring and fun will be quite different than the narrowest, tippiest, fragile, but crazy fast raceboard.

I made a career initially of "wrong board right price"
decisions and had some extremely tippy boards.

Demo, beg, borrow, steal, even rent.

IMHO a 12'6" is a great choice at your weight for your stated goals.

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cbigsup said..
I made a career initially of "wrong board right price"
decisions......

Didn't we all :-)

If you are wavering between 12.6 and 14, remember that the same model of board that you tried in one size, will not necessary feel and behave the same in the other longer or shorter size. Just in case, you tried the 14 liked it but the 12.6 become available at a good price, then you still need to try the 12.6. I would also buy used. Better chance to get a good recent design at a fair price.

In my opinion, you need bigger conditions for a 12'6" board to work downwind, not smaller conditions. A 12'6" glides less and requires more effort. In marginal downwind conditions, a 12'6" will miss every bump that a 14' might just make it onto. Also, on flat water, a 14' is always going to make the effort more worthwhile. The only time a 12'6" is the better option is going in and out in the surf.

Size wise i agree with what everyone said and i will stick to the 14' but volume also confused me. Let say the oxbow 14x25 266L sounds better for me than 315L for Jp 14x25.5 but maybe I shouldn't care too much on numbers.

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ActuelVirtuel said..
Size wise i agree with what everyone said and i will stick to the 14' but volume also confused me. Let say the oxbow 14x25 266L sounds better for me than 315L for Jp 14x25.5 but maybe I shouldn't care too much on numbers.

The shape will also make a difference.
Certain shapes work better for a larger range of paddlers regardless of the volume. i.e. SIC RS while with some volume works better than AllStar.
There is also whether the volume put you high above the water or there is plenty of recess on the deck. It is a never ending story.
A low volume shape that works nicely is the Naish Maliko. You could likely manage the 24" wide on the flat and medium conditions.

I owned a JP that I struggled with. An elite guy borrowed for ten minutes and informed me wicked fast, REALLY TIPPY.

I had assumed my cat like balance was the issue, but it turned out the JP was really tippy. Almost as bad as my Starby Race.

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cbigsup said..
I owned a JP that I struggled with. An elite guy borrowed for ten minutes and informed me wicked fast, REALLY TIPPY.

I had assumed my cat like balance was the issue, but it turned out the JP was really tippy. Almost as bad as my Starby Race.

Ok, that's helpful - so that's why I see so many of these at heavily discounted prices left on the shelves...

When will these board shapers learn that you can't be fast if you are in the water not on top of it?

The boards everyone wants to buy these days are versatile all-conditions designs that are stable for their width.

If you want a board like this, start by looking at the tail. Wide tails give a lot of stability. Pintails do not. Wide tails also allow for a more parallel rail outline, which helps with trackkng. The secret is to not go so wide that the board becomes hard to turn and surf.

The Naish Maliko is a nice all-conditions design that downwinds pretty well too. I tried a 14x24 2017 in flat water recently and liked it. The 14x26 is a more practical proposal for me downwind, but a capable light rider (70kgs and under) might be fine on the 24.

i suppose you might find a 14x25 Jimmy Lewis Sidewinder used as well. It's not that great downwind (but is OK) but it's surprisingly fast in all other conditions. The 14x23 suits very light people too, but is for the sub-70kg rider only, I think.

Of the boards you originally mentioned, I'm still liking the SIC FX best. It's quite a floaty board and it might be quite a lot of volume for you. However, at least stability shouldn't be a problem at your weight.

Can you get to demo a Gong Rage? If so, please tell us what it is like.

Well, I just had a session in some pretty gnarly conditions (typhoon season in Japan where I live now) and i can't handle the 14ft at the moment. I don't have much experience in Sup but I have a good balance and i believe I will have more fun on a shorter board when the conditions get big. I will get a 12'6 board next month when I go back to France, I think a F-one race pro. I will keep you updated.

Peace