A total SUP novice here looking for unbiased advice, pretty please! I live in Echuca in Victoria, right on the Murray River, and spend summers in Ocean Grove. I've gone SUPing half a dozen times with a commercial operator on the river and just loved it. I'm thinking of buying a board, but have no idea where to start. I want to be able to wrangle it myself on my Subaru Forester and would like one suitable for both river and (when I have a clue what I'm doing) ocean SUPig. I'm 6', fit but heavier set 37yo woman. How much should I be looking at spending? What's the deal with inflatable versus not? Any advice would be awesome.

Something like my 11'2"x 32" Naish Quest would be good.. I think they're about $1600.

They also do a soft top version that might work better for you.. www.naishsurfing.com/product/quest-11_2/

Inflatables are good if you dont have roof racks on your car.. or don't have storage at home for a hard board but they tend to be a bit wobbly and are very hard to surf.

Welcome to the forum and Sup life!

When you do go in the ocean, would you want to ride waves? or ride only the Barwon river etc?

The reason is, if it's only going to get used on the Murray and on Flat(ish) ocean, an inflatable would be a sound option. If you plan on 'surfing' waves eventually I wouldn't go an inflatable. Reason: not suitable rails for surfing - they are too rounded to allow turning on a wave. To much compromise IMO.

I'll assume you eventually want to surf.

A 10 foot(ish) All round shape would be the best choice IMO with a volume around 160 Litres.

All of the main international brands (Naish / Starboard / JP / Sunova / Fanatic / Jimmy Lewis / Smik / Blue Planet etc) will make a board like this.
There are some other Australian brands which are much cheaper than these. These include: Atlantis / Waterborn / Alley Designs etc. There are also many cheap chinese 'copies' that are not even worth thinking about...

Brand and board choice will depend on budget. Most of the international brands will start at around $1500 for the board only.

There are many different constructions of boards, usually a cheap one for pricepoint, a wooden one (quite a bit tougher and lighter) and a carbon one (much lighter but $$$) - This is a very general point.

A good compromise for price and quality IMO are:

Sunova The One 9'5" (approx $1600)
Smik E'Sea rider (approx $1500)
Atlantis Halo 9'6" (around $850)
Waterborn Simplicity ($700)
Fanatic Fly (around $1500)

The majority of boards like this will be between 10kg and 12kg incl fins. Something to consider for getting on the roof of your forester. A 9'5" length board may even fit inside with the back seat dropped and front passenger seat lowered. (a 10'6" Naish fits inside a commodore sportwagon FYI)

Try and spend the most you can on a paddle as it is worth it. It's better to compromise a bit on the board to get a better paddle than the other way.

There are some really good shops in Vic to visit and at the end of the day they all sell good stuff, so in my view visit as many as you can and where you feel most comfortable - buy from them.

Zu in St Kilda
Kite Republic in St Kilda
SHQ in Sandringham
Nalu Surf in Torquay
Core in Torquay
Stonker in Torquay
Strapper in Torquay
Jacks Boards in Rye


Good Luck!

Hi Della... welcome to the addiction

Hoppo has given you a lot of good advice!

I have long been a huge advocate of smaller, manageable boards for casual paddlers of all sizes.

If it's easy to load, easy to stand on and paddle, you will be more likely to use it.

I spent years paddling on my 8'10 to 10' Surf SUPs.... and I weigh 107 kg in baggies.

I am a certified SUP instructor, who has introduced many women, of all sizes, to this wonderful sport.
The company I taught for uses big, stable..... HEAVY boards.

When I hand them my own, most stable Surf SUP, they instantly break into a huge smile! Then they paddle it...as beginners, and are very comfortable on it. (see pics)

the board in the pictures is:
9'5 x 32" at 160 liters
Surfs great, paddles great, 9.8 kgs... and very affordable.
Fits inside the SUV and apartment

Look into something near this size and I am sure you will be super stoked.

Make sure the paddle isn't too big or you might tear your rotator cuffs

Thanks so much. Such awesome advice. Really appreciate it!

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della79 said..
A total SUP novice here looking for unbiased advice, pretty please! I live in Echuca in Victoria, right on the Murray River, and spend summers in Ocean Grove. I've gone SUPing half a dozen times with a commercial operator on the river and just loved it. I'm thinking of buying a board, but have no idea where to start. I want to be able to wrangle it myself on my Subaru Forester and would like one suitable for both river and (when I have a clue what I'm doing) ocean SUPig. I'm 6', fit but heavier set 37yo woman. How much should I be looking at spending? What's the deal with inflatable versus not? Any advice would be awesome.

Hey della79 how you going?

Same boat as you looking to jump into SUP life but no next to nothing. Seen some of the advice from your responses which has been great.

Don't want to spend a lot of $$ but at the same time don't want a cheap board. Have you had a chance to look into the different types of boards?