Hey paddlesurf community,

A lot of thanks for your excellent forum. I need your experience for a new board decision.

Where I Surf: I come from Germany and live on an Island in the north sea. Waves are mostly mushy and powerless from ankle to head high sometimes a bit more. Wave Period is 4-10sec. Its not Hawaii but I love it.

my person: male, 172cm (5'7 ft), 63Kg (140lbs), intermediate

my current board: Naish Nalu 10'65, I'm hooked to this board. Paddles fast and easy. by 30 width its not to much of a platform. Surfs really well in most conditions. Once on a wave it turns easy and smooth from almost everywhere on the board. If you step back you can turn it really hard if you have enough speed. Durability is very good (on AST).

why Change: wanna step out of my comfortzone and progress

what I want: A board that paddles fast by shorter length. Dont need to get radical. I like Malibu/longboard/funboard shapes that turn with performance and still offer you a walk to the nose. Shouldn't be to wide. Most Important is to get speed to catch those powerless waves early.

boards I consider:
first pick: Jimmy Lewis Striker 8'11 - flat rocker, 130lts, full deckpad, looks like a very versatile funshape, anyone surfed it single fin?
Naish Mana 8'5 - totally different, wide shortboardshape, 132lts, dont knwo if it work in the local surf but looks really like fun
Coreban Fusion 9'0 - 148lts, a bit more volume, but looks like it could work well in local conditions
Laird Surfer 9'6 -125lts, looks very nice, but seems to be out of stock
etc.
the more I read less I know

Here in germany you cant test many boards. So most of the boards in my list. Many brands are not distributed. So I have to trust my sense and your expertise.
Thank you
(sorry for spelling and grammatics)

I reckon go for the 8'5'' Mana..

hi sas81, i've had a 8'11" striker for a couple of years that i use on small days, i reckon its the funnest sup i've been on, it has a real longboard feel to it, you can get on the nose or ride it off the tail and i mostly run it as a single fin.

Thanks

The striker looks very good. good Reviews. But no pics or vids in Action.

the mana 8'5 seems to be a very good Board too. I only be a little afraid that it is not fast enough paddling to catch those powerless local waves early.

At 65kg SAS... the Nalu must ride like a Supertanker! You must be very light framed, or not a big fan of traditional german food? Put dumplings and roast pork in front of me and I put on 3 kg just by looking at it!! On a more useful note, you did not mention Fanatic as an option... thought since they are European you might see a lot of them around? Perhaps an Allwave 8'5" or shorter?

I love german food and i can eat as much as I want without gain in weight. I think i can be lucky with my metabolism.

The Nalu works very well. Surfs not like such a big board.

Fanatic: very popular here in germany. But the Allwave shapes are very wide. im looking for something narrow(er). I thought more width less speed (i know thissis a bit too easy but in general?)

Gluten morgen von Australian. JP surf wide body 8 8. Or starboard Great in all sorts of conditions. Match with c drive large fins and you will gave a love affair for years to come. Stable yet turns well. Enough glide yet fast on the face. I have been out in 0.2 m to 3m beach rivermouth and reef. It's all good. I have had mine 18 months and see no real need to buy another. Demo if you can

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momasfolly said..
Gluten morgen von Australian. JP surf wide body 8 8. Or starboard Great in all sorts of conditions. Match with c drive large fins and you will gave a love affair for years to come. Stable yet turns well. Enough glide yet fast on the face. I have been out in 0.2 m to 3m beach rivermouth and reef. It's all good. I have had mine 18 months and see no real need to buy another. Demo if you can

I'd say the 8'2" JP surf wide body at your weight would be great for the conditions you're talking about.

I just got the 8'8" surf wide body in the wood gloss build....agree completely with momasfolly's assessment of the design it's a terrific board!

The 8'8" is perfect for me @ 6'4" currently 90-plus kg's

Hi thanks for your recommendation.

I already read your review to the JP surf wb. And it was a favorite board of mine ( infact of your review ). But I talked to the local SUP coach and he told me that for our conditions he would recommend a longer but more narrow board that glides faster to catch waves earlier.

So I thought a board at 28 till 30 width would be a bit more tippy but would be faster catching waves. Am I wrong?

What are your thoughts about the new Quatro glide (8'6)? It is 32 wide but has a low nose rocker for increased paddlespeed and glide. has a narrow tail and big nose. looks like an awesome adapted shape.

Hi sa81, I guess you could ask Magnus for advice. He SUPs in sweden, with waves that look like yours. See the thread: www.gong-galaxy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=3688

He is active on the Gong forum as MagW (his last posts: www.gongsup.com/forum/search.php?author_id=53715&sr=posts )
You can see he favor boards with low rocker, wide one-foot-offs, but not too wide overall: www.gongsup.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=4780&p=87699#p87699

Thank you I will read

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AkeG said..

momasfolly said..
Gluten morgen von Australian. JP surf wide body 8 8. Or starboard Great in all sorts of conditions. Match with c drive large fins and you will gave a love affair for years to come. Stable yet turns well. Enough glide yet fast on the face. I have been out in 0.2 m to 3m beach rivermouth and reef. It's all good. I have had mine 18 months and see no real need to buy another. Demo if you can

I'd say the 8'2" JP surf wide body at your weight would be great for the conditions you're talking about.

I just got the 8'8" surf wide body in the wood gloss build....agree completely with momasfolly's assessment of the design it's a terrific board!

The 8'8" is perfect for me @ 6'4" currently 90-plus kg's

Try the JP FUSION..9'8" x31" x 153litres....pro edition in carbon....the flow..small or biggish waves...easy board to ride..does it all....its a keeper....

The fusion is a nice board but 153l at 9'8 it's similarly to the nalu 10'65 at 160l

Hi SAS,
I paddle in Holland at thesame gutless, strong current, choppy chaotic kind of waves as you do and think you actually need 2 boards.1 longboard style for the small slow summer waves and your Nalu is doing that perfectly.a 2th board for the off season days that we actually can hve some really swell and more or less proper waves.The 2th board can be a bit smaller and faster, how small is really depending on your skills.I,m big boned with 188x90kg and opted for a Starboard Airborne8.8x123l, but no clue hoe wit would fit to you as you are a lot lighter.What I really like about the AB8.8 is that due its extra width its a bit more stable in the chop as those 29wide boards, and it cathces the waves very very quickly.Almost as quick as with the Nalu 10.6.5, but turning much tighter of the backfoot with a good grip due its thin rails.I tried the Nalu8.5 as well, lovely board, but I couldnt get it up to speed when the waves lacked while the AB is doing fine at that department.
I owned a Hokua9.0 and tried various Naishes and Although I really sympatize with the brand, the boards don,t really suit imo the Northsea conditions.Gong, Starboard and Jimmy Lewis and JP seem to ME suiting our Northsea waves better as Naish (with the new wider Hokuas as an exception) and Fanatic do.
Just my 2 cents

Thanks Jeroensurf,

I think you're right. As I like Malibu shapes the variety of shapes/boards is limited. But I think the striker 8'11 would work perfectly. Not to long for fast cut but still long enough for gliding fast at 30 width and low rocker.

Nobody wants to speak about the Quatro glide series it looks like they could work well in local conditions.

(Keeping the nalu is my plan.)

a shop owner I know paddled the Glide and found it almost too easy and a bit boring board.I have seen the Carve8.4 and was very tempted to buy that one instead of the Starboard Pro I got on order now. lovely shapeand i,m absolutely sure that will work like a charm in our conditions, but more like a shortboard surfstyle kind of board instead of longboard.For that kind of riding the JL Striker but als Black n Blue 9.6x28.5x117 looks better indeed.The Black n Blue is extremely responsive and could easily also replace your Nalu.Because I like all kinds of different riding I get next month a 10x26.5x115l longboard from Gong and have the Airborne8.8 + Surf Pro 9.0 will be 8.5If budget/spacewise possible I think its a good thing to own a several different style of boards. From that perspective I would keep the Nalu and buy something like a Quatro Carve8.4 or AB8.8/pocket rocket8.5/ JP surf widebody
just my2cents

Hi sas81. You are a bit lighter than me (lucky - you have a lot more choice!), so can't really advise you on a new board. Only advice I would give you is to keep your Nalu as a back up. I update my 10'6" every now and then, but I will never be without one.

Hi sas81!
Colas told me about this thread.
I think the longboard type of boards suit your, and my, waves perfect! I live and surf in Sweden and Denmark mostly.
You mentioned that you like this type of board and surfing and I agree. I would say there are at least town type of longboards. The log classic nose rider type and the performance type with round 50/50 rails. A sensation to surf! These type are really different in and out of the water and one is not better than the other Therefore I recommend one of each type! I usually use the log in small, slow waves and for long nose rides, which is quite easy on the right shape. Classic soul surfing. Hang5s are no sport and I make 10s regularly, even though my technique is not world class! And when it is bigger and steeper waves I take my performance long board which can be used for both classic and modern longboarding. This board gets you easily around sections since it is planing, not gliding, and allows for sharp turns pushed by your back foot.

The good thing is that a longboard gets you through the reforms and flatter wave sections easily and you get soooo long rides compared to guys on shorter boards. There is no comparison in performance! I ride waves in Sweden and they are really slow when small and really windy and choppy when big. The longboard is my perfect weapon.Since 3 years I use two different long boards in the 9-10' range, for different style of surfing and mood. And waves. For traveling abroad I also have fish shortsups, but I rarely use the at home.

I am 63kg and my choices are around 120 litres and 71-74 cm wide. The Gong Soul 9'6 and the Gong Zero 9'. A sligthly heavier friend uses the Gong 9'4 Freak perf longboard (75cm wide) which is a good compromise between my two boards. Really good in slow 0,5-2m waves and makes all turns a blast. It would complement your board. My Zero can manage bigger and faster waves and the Soul can surf smaller. The Zero would also complement your board very well. The new Gong NFA9' xtr is a really nice looking perf long board, but I have not tried that one. Light carbon laminate!

I guess I can have less volume but the boards work fine anyway. The narrower width gives good glide and are easier to get back out through white water. And rail to rail speed is much better on narrower boards. When it is bigger my friend uses the Gong 8'6 Cloud which is a perfect introduction to shortboard style sups, but still with good glide in slow waves. (78cm wide 130lit)

For next year I have chosen 3 longboard sups. Two less than 70cm wide for the not so windy days and an 8' 76cm perf longboard for the really windy days (25-35kts) to be able to still keep standing. Yes, I sup in 30+ winds because that is when my waves are the best. Unfortunately. . . Good luck with your decision!

Thanks for your advice. didn't heard much about GONG boards but seems to have a nice range.

I'm impressed. What a nice product-range of GONG. I spontaneous felt in love with the soul caribou 9'6. Its not exactly what i was looking for but its narrow shape with under 28 width is awesome. But there are so much nice longboard shapes on gongsup.

Here in Germany nobody really knows the BIG BRAND of our neighbors I'm a little ashamed.

sas

Actually, Gong was the first manufacturer to have production SUPs worldwide in 2006: see www.gong-galaxy.com/notre-histoire/

However, since it is sold direct from France, hence the low price, you have drawbacks too compared to brands you find in physical shops: buying from other countries may have significant transport costs (200€ for sweden I think, you have to mail then for the Germany prices). Ff the board is damaged by transport, Gong can only offer paying for repairs + lost value, plus you dont get to try them before purchase like with a shop, unless you have some people with Gong boards nearby. This is why it is normal you may not heard of Gong out of France. (and may not want to buy one). Also, until recently Gong refused to advertise, and still refuse to appear in any cross-brands catalogs and tests.

This said, the Gong shaper is a longboarder at heart (doing contests when young) and had always proposed very innovative and original longboard SUP shapes... even if there were very, very few buyers (some models had less than 5 buyers). For instance, here he exposes - in French - the differences between the shape of 4 models of longboard SUPs www.gongsup.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=62345#p62345

PS: the "caribou" line (bamboo with carbon deck & rails) is going out of production, with great prices on the remaining models while there are in stock...