hi all you mana riders out there. ive just ordered a mana 10 ast and was wondering what feedback i could get on the good and bad points of the board.ta
There's no bad.. It's all good.. 
Mine's the new bamboo.. www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/Beautiful-bamboo/?SearchTerms=new,bamboo,mana
They are a great board.. The AST is a bit cheaper than the bamboo but doesn't come with a board bag and has slightly different fins.
DJ
Have recently purchased an AST 9.5 Mana and cannot fault it at all. The AST is very tough and is noticably lighter than the bamboo or older sandwich construction. The AST colour is also in my opinion a nice change to the old all over white. Just wait till you get the thing in the surf - YOU WILL LOVE IT. Oh- and regarding the fins - I honestly reckon the fins with the ast are better because it gives you a bigger centre and smaller sides and has a more drivey feel and hold in the surf and maybe a bit better tracking in the flat.
We have a 9'5" - great board initially to get the hang of SUP on. Lots of volume makes it super easy to paddle, catch waves and get your groove going. The major limitation is the type of surfing you can actually do on it - its a massive board with large tail area with loads of volume. It also has a habit of digging the nose in when paddling for waves if you are not almost dead straight. Lots of people say that the boards are not designed for steep drops etc because of the low rocker and round nose.....personally I have no problems with it in this respect. I find it handles late and steep drops with ease - you can get the speed wobbles though. All round I think its a great board and you will have loads of fun on it. Also they are super tough - we have had one ding in 12mths of use. Enjoy.
The 10 mana is a BIG board also. It will be probably more stable than the nsp but won't paddle as quick due to the fact that it has way more rocker than the nsp. The rocker on the mana's make them fantastic surfing and learn to surf sups and in the surf the mana's are way easier to turn and much much less likely to nosedive than the nsp. The mana despite its huge volume and width will feel noticably smaller than the nsp when you jump on it and in rougher water and surf it will feel so much easier to handle and paddle out through small broken waves. You will love it.
Agreed, owning both of these the 10' Mana is actually much more stable than the NSP but also considerably slower. If it's not for speed you might consider a smaller Mana
