Hi everybody,

I've been reading some reviews and opinions about the Naish Mad Dog in this forum but Im quiet unsure if its the right board for me. So far I've been surfing a self build board 9'6" x 33,5 @ 165 liters. It was just a fun project and when I started it, I didn't really know anything about SUPing, boards and stuff. I just went by some meassurements that I found online.

Anyways I've been looking for a board that handles a lot better in the surf, and I've been looking at the mad dog 8'11"x29 by Naish. The reason for that is, that around here where I live this one comes super cheap compared to the others. In other words, its the only one I can afford. But I read many post about it being unstable in the lineup and and in mushi surf. So I thougt maybe it makes more sense to wait and safe a little more money befor buying it. I would say that I am an intermediate skilled sup surfer, but quiet far away from being advanced.

What is your guy's opinion?

Cheers
Damien

How much do you weigh mate? What are the regular conditions (type of waves) you sup in?

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Hoppo3228 said..
How much do you weigh mate? What are the regular conditions (type of waves) you sup in?

I'm 90 kg. The breaks here are all beach breaks between 2 - 8 ft. Often with side winds and it can get very mushi as well. Glass conditions are rare

The Mad Dog is about perfect then (@90kg, beach break surfing)

It will be a big step down from your other board - mostly due to the width. It will feel unstable initially, but you'll get used to it after a few sessions. The width change is where you'll feel the biggest improvement in your SUP surfing.

Good luck mate

Yeah Damo that is a big drop down for sure. Just make sure you demo a few smaller boards before you part with the cash

YES as rossall said tis a big drop and will take some getting use to ,33,5 wide down to 29 .will be your biggest huddle .
it really depends on the rail ,i thought i was a pretty **** hot SUPer ,then i brought a 9'11 insane with very rounded rail ,made for big waves .It is 29 ,and 140 litres ,it is one of my most unstable boards ,,,until you get it going ..but it is very fast on the wave ,as i think the maddog will be ,if you in your 20's by pass this ,post you will get use to it .it has 130 litres in its favour .

Thank you so much for your feedback guys. I appreciate it a lot.

Here, where I live there are no option to demo boards and even buying boards is quiet difficult. I mostly rely on Onlineshops from abroad in spain and france, so I totally appreciate your opinion.

You might also consider what your goal is in SUP surfing - for me learning new maneuvers is the most fun part, but most folks I see where I live (prone or SUP) are more into long rides down the line. If you're doing a big volume drop to a board that's more optimized for turns than glide and speed down the line, then you're probably moving in the right direction for one style of surfing, but not necessarily for the other style.

One risk to consider, in terms of money, is that if you don't like the Mad Dog, it might not be easy to sell. I traded my first 143L Sup for a 130L 'pro' shape board. The 130L is too big so I've tried to sell it, but I've gotten zero interest locally.

I'm 93kg+, intermediate SUP Surfer and currently ride the 8'11" Mad Dog.

It's a great board on a wave and performs really well but can be a real PITA while waiting in the lineup especially if it's choppy or windy.

I still like this board but recently it has been a real pain for me due to the conditions (i.e. quite windy and very choppy). In this environment I've struggled with stability and paddle-ability. It's hard to get going when you spend all your time trying to stay upright.

Having said that, I got a couple of real nice shoulder high sliders last weekend once I got going. It is so much fun on a wave.

So if you're prepared to deal with the stability issue and can get onto the waves you will have fun on it.

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Kisutch said..
You might also consider what your goal is in SUP surfing - for me learning new maneuvers is the most fun part, but most folks I see where I live (prone or SUP) are more into long rides down the line. If you're doing a big volume drop to a board that's more optimized for turns than glide and speed down the line, then you're probably moving in the right direction for one style of surfing, but not necessarily for the other style.

One risk to consider, in terms of money, is that if you don't like the Mad Dog, it might not be easy to sell. I traded my first 143L Sup for a 130L 'pro' shape board. The 130L is too big so I've tried to sell it, but I've gotten zero interest locally.

That is a very good point. I've been thinking about that a lot. Actually I prefer the long rides down the line without technical maneuvers. But over here we rarely have the conditions for that. So Im kinda forced into that more ripping style of surfing. Besides the 90 kg that I weigh I have to say that Im 195 cm tall (6'4") and not in my 20s anymore, which makes this style of surfing even harder.

The money part is a good point also. Reselling SUPs is nearly impossible over here as well. But yeah.... I guess I have to invest somewhere if I want to improve ;)

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Mahanumah said..
I'm 93kg+, intermediate SUP Surfer and currently ride the 8'11" Mad Dog.

It's a great board on a wave and performs really well but can be a real PITA while waiting in the lineup especially if it's choppy or windy.

I still like this board but recently it has been a real pain for me due to the conditions (i.e. quite windy and very choppy). In this environment I've struggled with stability and paddle-ability. It's hard to get going when you spend all your time trying to stay upright.

Having said that, I got a couple of real nice shoulder high sliders last weekend once I got going. It is so much fun on a wave.

So if you're prepared to deal with the stability issue and can get onto the waves you will have fun on it.

What about the stability when you paddle out towards the lineup in choppy and windy conditions?

In the lineup itself I usually sit on my board like all other surfers and only stand up when Im really about to go for a wave. Over here this behavior helps a lot with other surfers. You get the respect and when you stand up they let you go... So I guess that part is safe. But still need to paddle through white wash and braking waves until I get there.

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damo46 said..

Kisutch said..
You might also consider what your goal is in SUP surfing - for me learning new maneuvers is the most fun part, but most folks I see where I live (prone or SUP) are more into long rides down the line. If you're doing a big volume drop to a board that's more optimized for turns than glide and speed down the line, then you're probably moving in the right direction for one style of surfing, but not necessarily for the other style.

One risk to consider, in terms of money, is that if you don't like the Mad Dog, it might not be easy to sell. I traded my first 143L Sup for a 130L 'pro' shape board. The 130L is too big so I've tried to sell it, but I've gotten zero interest locally.

That is a very good point. I've been thinking about that a lot. Actually I prefer the long rides down the line without technical maneuvers. But over here we rarely have the conditions for that. So Im kinda forced into that more ripping style of surfing. Besides the 90 kg that I weigh I have to say that Im 195 cm tall (6'4") and not in my 20s anymore, which makes this style of surfing even harder.

The money part is a good point also. Reselling SUPs is nearly impossible over here as well. But yeah.... I guess I have to invest somewhere if I want to improve ;)

Yeah I hear ya - we get decent waves on beach breaks, but most waves closeout, so it's super fun to get a bottom turn - top turn combo in, but not gonna get a really long cruise (for me at least). The peaks that peel better have a pile of prone surfers on them and they turn on/off quickly cause we have a big tide swing.

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damo46 said..

Mahanumah said..
I'm 93kg+, intermediate SUP Surfer and currently ride the 8'11" Mad Dog.

It's a great board on a wave and performs really well but can be a real PITA while waiting in the lineup especially if it's choppy or windy.

I still like this board but recently it has been a real pain for me due to the conditions (i.e. quite windy and very choppy). In this environment I've struggled with stability and paddle-ability. It's hard to get going when you spend all your time trying to stay upright.

Having said that, I got a couple of real nice shoulder high sliders last weekend once I got going. It is so much fun on a wave.

So if you're prepared to deal with the stability issue and can get onto the waves you will have fun on it.

What about the stability when you paddle out towards the lineup in choppy and windy conditions?

In the lineup itself I usually sit on my board like all other surfers and only stand up when Im really about to go for a wave. Over here this behavior helps a lot with other surfers. You get the respect and when you stand up they let you go... So I guess that part is safe. But still need to paddle through white wash and braking waves until I get there.

If it's choppy and windy it will be a PITA paddling out as well. At our weight it is a tough board when conditions are not great.

If you were used to the smaller volume I'd say go for it but coming down from a big board you will struggle in less than ideal conditions.

You can get it dialled but it will take time and effort and is very hard if you're a weekend warrior like me...

Tolerated an 8'6" Mad dog for a year. Though it showed signs of brilliance on a wave it was allways a pain to paddle. I'm 80 kegs and now riding a 7'8" 95lt fish which is more comfortable than the Mad dog. Don't get me started on build quality. All fin boxes tore out under water pressure alone. SERIOUSLY!
So many better aussie boards around.
Look at Scotty Mckercher's Smik range or Marshal Thompson from Ocean Merchants will do you a custom build for under 2 grand. Just to name a couple. Both top quality and they work.

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Mahanumah said..

damo46 said..

Mahanumah said..
I'm 93kg+, intermediate SUP Surfer and currently ride the 8'11" Mad Dog.

It's a great board on a wave and performs really well but can be a real PITA while waiting in the lineup especially if it's choppy or windy.

I still like this board but recently it has been a real pain for me due to the conditions (i.e. quite windy and very choppy). In this environment I've struggled with stability and paddle-ability. It's hard to get going when you spend all your time trying to stay upright.

Having said that, I got a couple of real nice shoulder high sliders last weekend once I got going. It is so much fun on a wave.

So if you're prepared to deal with the stability issue and can get onto the waves you will have fun on it.

What about the stability when you paddle out towards the lineup in choppy and windy conditions?

In the lineup itself I usually sit on my board like all other surfers and only stand up when Im really about to go for a wave. Over here this behavior helps a lot with other surfers. You get the respect and when you stand up they let you go... So I guess that part is safe. But still need to paddle through white wash and braking waves until I get there.

If it's choppy and windy it will be a PITA paddling out as well. At our weight it is a tough board when conditions are not great.

If you were used to the smaller volume I'd say go for it but coming down from a big board you will struggle in less than ideal conditions.

You can get it dialled but it will take time and effort and is very hard if you're a weekend warrior like me...

Yeah that's exactly what I thought. Thanks for sharing your opinion. I might have to look for another board I guess. It's just more difficult to get them around here in Portugal.

Anyways I appreciate all the comments. Great Help! Thank you.

I've just bought a 2nd hand 8'3" Smik spitfire V1, it's got really good stability for a 111 ltr board, and surf's really well. Might be an option, if you see one up for sale, I would recommend it as a more forgiving high performance SUP?

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Midlife said..
Tolerated an 8'6" Mad dog for a year. Though it showed signs of brilliance on a wave it was allways a pain to paddle. I'm 80 kegs and now riding a 7'8" 95lt fish which is more comfortable than the Mad dog. Don't get me started on build quality. All fin boxes tore out under water pressure alone. SERIOUSLY!
So many better aussie boards around.
Look at Scotty Mckercher's Smik range or Marshal Thompson from Ocean Merchants will do you a custom build for under 2 grand. Just to name a couple. Both top quality and they work.

Was that the carbon version or the PU mad dog? I got the carbon 8'6" and at 95kg it is a challenge but goes unreal in glassy conditions.

I had a 8'1 maddog. Absolutely loved it on a wave, the mega tail rocker and vee made it rail to rail like no other board I've had Inc hipster twin 7'8, late model 8'0 fanatic prowave, SB hypernut 7'2 (what a fun board, still have it, will never sell) and 2019 SB pro 7'10. But.....that rocker and vee made it a challenging to stand on when choppy, even the 29" width couldn't save it. I think that might also had something to do with the high volume to my weight, 111 litres vs 78kg, always felt a bit corky and on top of the water. And I got sick of ding repairs too, seemed quite fragile, so sold it.

But you know what, even though current sb 7 10 is great i miss that effortless turning. So I've got my eye out for a 7'10 maddog, I'll just suck up the repairs :)

Just had a fun session on 8'6" dog. Wondering if anyone has ridden the newer and wider dogs?