Hi everyone,

I am 76kgs and 36 years old looking to get into SUP. I have been kiting for many years but want to start SUP as well for this days with no winds.

i am looking for advice relating to purchasing new equipment. At this stage I am planning to SUP at a number of locations and looking for a board that work at a variety of locations.

I would love to get everyone's thoughts.

So many boards to choose from rsh ,but to narrow it down ,do you want it for waves of mostly flat water ,but a good 9,5 -10 foot board is a good start board .

Mainly flat water but would be good to have something which can occasionally go in the waves

with flat water ,length is your friend ,so longer boards are faster to paddle ,and most surf pretty good to .eg. 10.6 or 10,8 naish nalu which is 160 litre (longboards
and 30 wide ,there are lots of other brands that make this size board too ,most boards from 10 foot down start to target more surfing ,but they are still ok to paddle around on .I have 9,11 x 145 litre gun board i paddle around in flat water and catch the odd bump on .I'm 93 kgs ,so you will be ok on a large wave board too, eg, 145litre x 32-33 wide .enjoy the hunt .its a great sport to get into .

Tardy thank you this is super helpful.

are all of these boards carbon fibre?

some have carbon some not ,i have had full carbon boards before ,they seem softer and more fragile ,I ride Sunova boards which use wood and glass great compact for waves ,and seem to be holding out well to the bashing i give .I wouldn't be hung up on carbon boards ,they are lighter .but some can ding easy .but not all are bad .Smik and starboard seem quiet strong ,in their carbon construction .

I haven't had many brand s ,
so maybe someone else can chime in with some comments .

I'm still on the L plates and just backing up what Tardy says re length 9' is absolute minimum and width 31" and 32" really helps.
As a first board go second hand or a cheaper brand. I've got a Surfboard Warehouse board, Vex pro, which was cheaper than the second hand Sunova I then bought. The Sunova snapped, I repaired it and then it creased above the repair. The Vex has been in meatier surf and transported in containers and trucks and not a blemish beyond my suss paddle strikes and it cost $600 less than the second hand Sunova.
Sorry if this sounds like a whinge, not meant to, but if you're starting out there's a poo tonne of cheaper boards that'll do the trick and then advance when you've got a handle on where (or if) you wanna go with supping, especially in the flatwater/small surf field. Buy the flash gear like carbon when you can benefit from it otherwise KIS and enjoy the challenge of learning another fantastic way of enjoying the ocean and her waves. Cheers

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rsh said..
Hi everyone,

I am 76kgs and 36 years old looking to get into SUP. I have been kiting for many years but want to start SUP as well for this days with no winds.

i am looking for advice relating to purchasing new equipment. At this stage I am planning to SUP at a number of locations and looking for a board that work at a variety of locations.

I would love to get everyone's thoughts.

Welcome to the club. SUP is a great complement for low wind days. Thanks to SUP surfing I have streamlined my kite quiver to two kites only - 9/7 - and one surfboard (at 240 pounds).

If you are looking for one board to cover both flat water and surf I would go for a classic long board shape - Naish Nalu, JL Hanalei, etc. At your weight I would not go over 29-30 wide in this type of a board. Something like JL Hanalei 10'4 or Infinity New Deal 10x29 would be a great compromise. Just play with the fins to adjust for the conditions.

A longboard shape will help you catch your first waves and it will remain relevant for flat water cruising or small waves when you catch a SUP surf bug and transition to smaller boards - which is inevitable:).

if you don't get waves in your locations go for a longer cruising/racing shape - 14' would be ideal.

A beginner (wide and high volume) SUP surf or all-around shape will become obsolete very quickly and you will loose money trying to get rid of it. Just rent one for a few sessions. You are a kiteboarder so you are already comfortable with rough water.

Just my 2 cents as a fellow kiteboarder who got hooked on SUP surfing.

Thank you very much this is a terrific help

Consider a SUP/Surf/foil combo board around 135-150 liters, probably 8' in length.

I am a sunova fan ive had a couple other brands but none lasted the distance! Im a bit lighter than you but a couple years ago i bought an atlantis 10 foot mistress from surfboard whore house and im still smitten paddles the flat nice surfs great and better than half price of my sunovas

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LastSupper said..
I am a sunova fan ive had a couple other brands but none lasted the distance! Im a bit lighter than you but a couple years ago i bought an atlantis 10 foot mistress from surfboard whore house and im still smitten paddles the flat nice surfs great and better than half price of my sunovas

what you have a whore house in vic ?

good advise

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Tardy said..

LastSupper said..
I am a sunova fan ive had a couple other brands but none lasted the distance! Im a bit lighter than you but a couple years ago i bought an atlantis 10 foot mistress from surfboard whore house and im still smitten paddles the flat nice surfs great and better than half price of my sunovas

what you have a whore house in vic ?

good advise

Mates, you make me improve my English, tho :-D

We got a Surfboard Warehouse in WA now too. Added the 8'6 Evoke to my quiver and has quickly become my go to in most conditions. Can't beat the price and the quality has not let me down. Heaps of models/sizes to choose from, you will definitely find something to suit you there.

Thank you I will have a look