Good day everyone

I have a question about what the difference is between a sup used for waves from 2022 and boards that are 5 and 10 year older
Has there been a lot of development?

I see the shapes have become wider, 30" seems normal for older big wave sups. Now 32" or bigger looks standard.
Is there a difference between a 10'6 footer from 10 years ago and a 9'2 from 2022 in terms of handling and stability, and how this impacts progression for a newby supper.

Has the construction improved a lot?

Does it make sense to start with an older bigger board?
Some banged up 10'6 foot to start out for 370 Eur (500 Eur for ones in better shape) and are on the market for months on end, seems like you buy one and are stuck with it or resell for 200 Eur. I understand you grow out of them rather fast.

I am stoked for you Roberto... you are about to start an amazing journey into SUP surfing!!!

Yes, boards and construction have made great advances in recent years, but you can still start out on a low priced used board. There are plenty of good used SUPs that would be great to learn on and help you decide where you want to go with your second SUP.

While there have always been wider boards available for beginners, you generally outgrew them as you progressed.
Some had good shapes but many were heavy.

If you are particularly big or older, or just require more stability than most used board offer... there are new designs that really change the game!

Here is some info if you are interested in new:

I am the Sunova mascot and have actually been totally absorbed into the company after my years of passion for their boards.
I spend much of my time consulting people on board options for beginners or advanced riders.
(Sunova's are available in many locations in Europe... contact me if you need help finding a dealer)

My life got much easier a few years ago when Sunova came out with a number of designs that not only surfed better, but they achieve great performance in larger sizes up to over 35" wide

This gave me a whole new set of options to discuss with beginners or big SUPsters. and people love them!
I finally had a range of boards that even suit my friend who is 6'11 tall. and wanted to learn to SUP surf. (Pic below)

The best news is: these bigger boards surf so well; that you will not outgrow them as you achieve higher levels of performance.

I regularly ride a board that is 34" wide and super stable, but the kicker is..this design has also won on the world tour.
The range goes from 23" wide to over 35" wide and still surfs amazingly well in the bigger sizes.

I am not saying that you need to run out and buy a new board to learn on..
But you could, and you would not have to upgrade for years.... if ever.

I do not like to give info based on words alone, so I add pics and video to help the reader make up their own mind on what they see.. rather than just what they read.
Here's a video I made recently on width and volume that goes against conventional wisdom.


I am so stoked that I now have boards that I can recommend to just about anyone!!
Good luck in your journey!

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Robertos said..
I have a question about what the difference is between a sup used for waves from 2022 and boards that are 5 and 10 year older
Has there been a lot of development?
[...]
Some banged up 10'6 foot to start out for 370 Eur (500 Eur for ones in better shape) and are on the market for months on end,

It depends on the brands. Some brands were designing excellent SUP 10 years ago, some other had more to learn.

I'd say brands refined the compromises progressively, be it in the construction between price/reliability/lightness and in the shapes between stability/performance/market needs. So modern models are most of the time more refined compromises.

Be wary on "banged up" boards. If they had dings that let in water, avoid.

Also, the SUP marketplace is a bit "past its prime" here in Europe, so it is normal for people to have difficulties selling their boards.
This makes 2nd hand boards quite attractive, as you can get them cheap. Plus the new boards are expensive due to inflation.

There are plenty of 5 to 10 years old boards I would gladly surf. I even still have a 10 years old Gerry Lopez SUP which is quite decent. Others, not so much.

There is nothing wrong with some of the boards from 10 years ago. Carbon was not really used in the boards from that era so they were all a little bit heavier than the boards of today.

Surftec brand was a very durable construction and outlasted handshaped boards. I have had many boards from all of the leading brands over the past 17 years and have both local handshaped and still a few older shaped boards on my rack.

Paddle surf hawaii (PSH) was ahead of its time with surfing shape designs (and is still a good board to surf) and the Laird Pearson Arrow 10'6 in Surftec construction is still is my go to board if I'm wanting a longboard feel that still rips on the wave. Ok its not super light carbon but its 29.75 inches wide and I can stay out longer. Sometimes a little extra weight can be a good thing . If the board has a good shape and thinner rails and is 10 years old then go for it.

Board development can only go so far now as it went through some crazy designs in the early days.

Unless you're a sponsored pro surfing a super light carbon small Sup then don't bother too much about the weight look at the shape.

Thanks all for the replies.
Learned a lot!

Will try to find a proper starting board to do a bunch of sessions to get a feel for it. After I will report back with advice for advice to buy a nice new board that will allow to progress for a couple of years!@supthecreek I looked at Sunova boards, they look solid but also a lot more expensive than for instance a starboard in limited construction (previous year model about half price of a Sunova). Looking at the price probably Sunova regular construction is of higher standard.

Which board would you recommend for a 40 year old guy, 90kg pretty athletic and good with board sports?
Conditions mostly 0.5-1.5 ocean swell in Portugal with low (morning) or medium (afternoon) on-shore wind.
In winter we have some low days but mostly 2-3m. Seems a bit steep for a sup so I use the body board in those waves or take the mountain bike.

Yeah the original surftech constrution ,was possibly the first commercial pvc sandwich,not light compared to todays pvc construction but still sought after you many ,especially in the longboard format

That's a great forum post. I came across a 2014 era PSH 9'4 x 30x 4" board recently- brand new! I'm a lightweight (70kg) and it's probably 130l. It surf unreal. Really refine low rails. A HEAP of vee from mid board and a round tail. heavy though- maybe 10.5kg.
It glides like a longboard, rolls on tail like a short board, can still pivot suprsingly well and holds in bigger stuff (Had it solid 1.5xoh with a quads).
I also recently got a 2012 GL sweetie pie (8'10 x 28.5 x 4 x 112l) as a step up. Light, but feels corky as in the water. Doesn't surf anywhere near as good for me despite being more rocker, thinner nose and tail and 20l less. Maybe I haven't found the winning fin combo yet but just doesn't feel as natural as my psh.

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thegreatsup said..
That's a great forum post. I came across a 2014 era PSH 9'4 x 30x 4" board recently- brand new! I'm a lightweight (70kg) and it's probably 130l. It surf unreal. Really refine low rails. A HEAP of vee from mid board and a round tail. heavy though- maybe 10.5kg.
It glides like a longboard, rolls on tail like a short board, can still pivot suprsingly well and holds in bigger stuff (Had it solid 1.5xoh with a quads).
I also recently got a 2012 GL sweetie pie (8'10 x 28.5 x 4 x 112l) as a step up. Light, but feels corky as in the water. Doesn't surf anywhere near as good for me despite being more rocker, thinner nose and tail and 20l less. Maybe I haven't found the winning fin combo yet but just doesn't feel as natural as my psh.

Nice! Seems like there are some good older board out there.

Some of the current SUP models are now 5y old. I think the used Jimmy Lewis and Infinity boards I have are both 5y old. If you have a decent used market, can find an older board that is still light, if you want that. I like how my friend's older heavy boards plow down the line, but they're a pain to deal with

I found this board available nearby. Is it good as a starter board to use in 0,5-1 mtr waves for a 90kg guy?

www.windridershop.com/product-page/c%C3%B3pia-de-sup-rrd-aquamondo-10-6-x-33
Catalogue (it is the 10-6 x 33 Classic):
issuu.com/robertoriccidesigns/docs/rrd-catalogue-2012-2/50

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Kisutch said..
Some of the current SUP models are now 5y old. I think the used Jimmy Lewis and Infinity boards I have are both 5y old. If you have a decent used market, can find an older board that is still light, if you want that. I like how my friend's older heavy boards plow down the line, but they're a pain to deal with

Haha that's a good point actually. I considered my Jimmy Lewis world wide a new board in comparison, but it's also prob 4-5yrs old. Used it today and it's so good! So fast and loose

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wazza66 said..
There is nothing wrong with some of the boards from 10 years ago. Carbon was not really used in the boards from that era so they were all a little bit heavier than the boards of today.

Surftec brand was a very durable construction and outlasted handshaped boards. I have had many boards from all of the leading brands over the past 17 years and have both local handshaped and still a few older shaped boards on my rack.

Paddle surf hawaii (PSH) was ahead of its time with surfing shape designs (and is still a good board to surf) and the Laird Pearson Arrow 10'6 in Surftec construction is still is my go to board if I'm wanting a longboard feel that still rips on the wave. Ok its not super light carbon but its 29.75 inches wide and I can stay out longer. Sometimes a little extra weight can be a good thing . If the board has a good shape and thinner rails and is 10 years old then go for it.

Board development can only go so far now as it went through some crazy designs in the early days.

Unless you're a sponsored pro surfing a super light carbon small Sup then don't bother too much about the weight look at the shape.

I've stillgot a Surftech Laird 10'6 and its my second one . I'd never part with it . Had the 11 footer too. Wish they still made them

Robby Naish used the Naish Nalu 11'4 when riding tidal bores.....is a really nice board that is a classic longboard shape and a pleasure to ride