I'm looking for my first true surf sup, pretty new to the sup world but am lucky enough to get loads of time on the water. I'm using a naish mana 9'5 and weight in at round 90 kilos, love the board but I'm looking for an upgrade to something that moves well in decent surf. I think the mana is around 190L, I guess my main question is how low can And should I go with volume. Based in north west so no chance of demoing so am looking for advice from those in the know. Thanks in advance

Hey tgcp,
I,m similar weight to you and I have just bought last yrs 9,10 Hokua 155litres and I absolutely love it ,Ive had about 8 surfs on it from 2ft to 6ft and it excelled, my only criticism it a little slow through the faster sections and I need to play with the standard fin setup but apart from that ,its a great surf board.
This is my second sup and Ive come down from a 10,6. I could of gone smaller but I prefer to sacrifice a little performance for ease of paddling and making it a bit easier between sets.
This board really would be a good board for you to progress on, I intend on keeping this one for around 12months then depending how I feel getting down under 9ft .

cheers
Red

Its such a hard one to give advice on.
I am 93kgs and ride and 8' up to 8'10
The 8'10 feels like an aircraft carrier, (easy to paddle around)

Depends on so many factors.
One being your skill level. Just been able to get to your feet is a 1 on a scale of 1 to 10.
Two being the shape of your board. i know guys as heavy on 7'6 to 7'10 boards. (their boards have wider tails etc.)

Unfortunatley its never ending

Just remember overall volume isn't the most important factor when deciding on a board, it is more about how the volume is distributed that is more important. For example the 2013 9'6x32 Fanatic All Wave (174) has 6 litres more volume than the 2013 10x34 Starboard Whopper(168), and both under the 9'5 Mana.

Thanks peeps, looks like I've got some more research to do, just a shme that I can't demo up here

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tgcp said..

I'm looking for my first true surf sup, pretty new to the sup world but am lucky enough to get loads of time on the water. I'm using a naish mana 9'5 and weight in at round 90 kilos, love the board but I'm looking for an upgrade to something that moves well in decent surf. I think the mana is around 190L, I guess my main question is how low can And should I go with volume. Based in north west so no chance of demoing so am looking for advice from those in the know. Thanks in advance

JP 8'8" Quad (and BTW keep the Mana) or 8'10" Starboard Widepoint. The Fanatic 9'3 Prowave is also a good board and if money is no object you can get the widepoint and the prowave in carbon!!

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tgcp said..

I'm looking for my first true surf sup, pretty new to the sup world but am lucky enough to get loads of time on the water. I'm using a naish mana 9'5 and weight in at round 90 kilos, love the board but I'm looking for an upgrade to something that moves well in decent surf. I think the mana is around 190L, I guess my main question is how low can And should I go with volume. Based in north west so no chance of demoing so am looking for advice from those in the know. Thanks in advance

Hi,
I am 88kgs and just upgraded from a JP Fusion 9'8" to a JP Surf Pro. If you want a true surf sup this is it!
Stable enough to be comfortable, even in windy, choppy conditions. It is fast, wicked acceleration, turns beautifully, very responsive.
Can turn really tight, right in the pocket.
It has surprised me how well it goes in really small conditions, catches waves real easy and carries plenty of speed through fat sections.
I have Shapers - Jackson close fins in it.
Ken.

Advice abounds aplenty. Brands are bountiful. Waves at every beach.

Head for a reputable shop, talk to the guru's and DEMO a couple of brands at least. Over a weekend and try some more. Work out what works for you.

The cream rises to the top pretty quickly and you will know what "works" for you.

That's the best part about SUP. You can demo boards and find out what works.

I rest my case your worship!

What size JP Surf are you on Kenneth? Personally I like the look of the 8'10....

cheers,
Scott.

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Scott79 said..

What size JP Surf are you on Kenneth? Personally I like the look of the 8'10....

cheers,
Scott.

Sorry for leaving that out, it's the 9'6" x 31".

cheers mate

Top advice guys, thanks a lot, just down to me to make the commitment now :-)

Hi tgcp, sounds like you need to bite the bullet and maybe fly down for a demo weekend maybe? The board of choice for you will depend on what "feels" right... And for you this might be different than for others. But, we are spoilt for choice with many, many brands and shapes along a wide spectrum of budget.

As for me, I found my right fit on a 2013 9'5" starboard wide point. Love it for surf in any conditions. But each to their own, so go and demo, demo, demo!

Mottman