I'm looking at purchasing a 14' SUP predominately for flat water paddling but must be able to deal with some choppy conditions on open waterways. I currently own a 14' x 28" One Evo. Bought that as an all round board, but the vast majority of my paddling over the last 4 years has been on flatwater, and I am now after something a bit faster in those conditions. Has anyone had any experience on all or any of these boards that can make a comparison?
Has there been any updates in design on the Sidewinder and RS since 2020? There was some manufacture quality concerns re the RS back in 2020, don't know if that situation has changed.
Thanks

I have a Sidewinder 14x 27 and love it for long distance runs and have done a few DW's and it is light at 9kg plus it's a great looking board. However I do not believe there have been any changes in the design for along time presumably because of the reduction of wanting to use 14ft boards in favour of Foils. don't know about the others sorry.

I am going to throw out an idea that might be worth considering. My wife and I have current-design custom SIC Bullet 14's that we use for downwinding off Maui and surfing tiny swells that are too small to be any fun on our performance surfSUPs.

While we love these boards for downwinding and catching micro waves, we do not consider them to be fast on flat water, mainly because of the nose shape and rocker needed for downwinding and surf.

Our 12'6" flatwater boards shown below have a sharp displacement nose with a much flatter entry-rocker and are much faster on flatwater; no comparison. These will 'downbreeze' great in light wind and do as well as the Bullets in moderate chop of less than a foot.

Though I have not paddled the RS or the Sidewinder, I have studied a lot of videos of them going through the water and feel that they are a compromise between the Bullet and our flatwater boards. Because the noses on those all-water boards are thick and blunt to help their performance in downwind bumps and surf, they do not pierce the water nearly as cleanly as the nose on flatwater the board in the photo. I also find that sharp piercing noses are much better at paddling into the wind because the nose cuts through the oncoming chop much better than a blunter or more rockered nose that tends to slam into the wind chop rather than piercing it.
Most "all-water" boards like the Evo One, the RS, and the Sidewinder you mentioned have blunter noses with enough rocker to allow them to function well as downwind boards and in small surf. If riding bumps and surf is not important to you and you are looking for flatwater speed and better performance paddling into wind chop, I would consider trying a board with a sharp displacement hull like the one in the photo. The speed and glide of these boards on flat water or in minimal wind chop are on a whole different level from an all-water board and therefore much more enjoyable for those conditions.
Something to think about.

obijohn thank you for the detailed reply. Definitely some good points for consideration. Do they make the 12'6" board shown in the photo in 14'? What is the make and model of that board? Appreciate your input.

Hi DaveL1963.
The brand is 'Stand On Liquid' and they don't make that board in a 14', just 12'6" or in similar 11'6" models. For flat water use, I really prefer the 12'6" length over all the 14's I have paddled though I need a 14' or 16' for ocean downwinding in wind over 20mph and wind waves over a foot. For flat water or downwinding in mellower wind and chop, my wife prefers the Juju in an 11'6" x 28" and prefers 14's just for open-ocean downwinding in wind over 20 mph. Note that in flat water, we have to paddle our SIC 14's twice as hard to go half as fast as our 12'6' and 11'6". Once the 14's catch a downwind bump and start planing, it's a whole different story and the SIC Bullets take off like a rocket.

Here is a link to the newer version of my 12'6" Quest model in the previous photo. A couple of my friends have this newer 12'6" x 29" @ 289 liters version which I found to feel slightly faster than my older Quest model.
standonliquid.com/products/latitude-44-orion-12-6-paddle-board

I didn't mention the brand before because they are on the west coast of the US in Oregon so I assume shipping to Australia would be a big problem. The US price on these boards is great and they are very well built in a carbon construction that comes in at 29 lbs, but shipping could be a deal breaker for you. (Warning, the fin is cheap plastic that you may want to replace with a faster fin.)

In my experience, the key to flat water speed is a sharp nose that splits the water right at the entry point. Any board that has enough nose rocker that the water encounters the bottom of the board rather than the point of the nose will push water forward which slows the board down a lot. Watch a board move through the water and if you are able to see the underside of the nose at all, you will see water splashing forward off the bottom entry which means the board has to push that water forward rather than cutting through it the way a board will to if the most forward point in the board is down in the water and displacing water to the sides (hence the name displacement hulls).

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obijohn said..
Any board that has enough nose rocker that the water encounters the bottom of the board rather than the point of the nose will push water forward which slows the board down a lot.

+!

Also it decrease the actual water length of the board, lowering the hull max speed.

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DaveL1963 said..
I'm looking at purchasing a 14' SUP predominately for flat water paddling but must be able to deal with some choppy conditions on open waterways. I currently own a 14' x 28" One Evo. Bought that as an all round board, but the vast majority of my paddling over the last 4 years has been on flatwater, and I am now after something a bit faster in those conditions. Has anyone had any experience on all or any of these boards that can make a comparison?
Has there been any updates in design on the Sidewinder and RS since 2020? There was some manufacture quality concerns re the RS back in 2020, don't know if that situation has changed.
Thanks

Hi mate, I have not paddled any of those boards, but I did have a Starboard
Waterline 14x28 and in flat water it was super fast with effortless guide.

It's also very stable, indeed it's the only board that I never had an unplanned swim off.

I never paddled in more than knee high chop, but if it's flat water you're chasing it should be on your list.

Cheers.

Steve.