question who's ridden ultra flex sups by surftech and how do rate them reviews please

In a word: HEAVY.

I've got a Mickey Munoz Fun Gun which is ultraflx. The board is an outstanding design, and is unusual in that it is a bonzer fin setup. But I wonder whether the reason we didn't hear more about it was because of the construction. The ultraflx build gives a feel when surfing very much like a traditional surfboard, and it is cool in that there is no paint to chip (although the rails will show slight shatter marks if you clatter them very hard). It is also pretty strong in terms of wear-and-tear, although a pretty hard paddle hit from a friend in a wipe-out has managed to put a dint in the deck, so it's not indestructible. The waves we get round here tend not to be very big so I can't attest to whether the construction will prevent snapping under extreme conditions.

Since the board I have is a "fun gun" (although it works equally well in small waves), the heaviness of it can be quite useful when conditions get bigger and, especially, windier. There is no corkiness that you can get with some other constructions - it seems to sit lower in the water and is therefore more stable, more "part of the water". Many times in howling offshores I've been able to get into waves when my friends on lighter boards just haven't been able to.

So, it's swings and roundabouts. You don't really notice the weight at all when paddling on the water, and sometimes when pushing through it can help. And whether you mind the weight on a wave will be down to your personal preference. The conditions I surf in most often are very choppy and windy, so it can be a real advantage. Until you have to carry it up the beach...

There seems to be a trend at the moment in surf SUPs for 2013 to go for extreme lightness. There is one brand in particular (not Surftech) who have just brought out some surf SUPs which are super-light. I was startled when I picked one up. But I'm really not sure how durable they are... I think 2013 might be the year when people start to have to really make a decision as to whether they are going to put weight, durability, or price first in their list of priorities, because as they say, you can only choose two. Personally, I haven't got money to burn, I like the traditional surfboard feel of the ultraflx, and I surf in conditions where weight can often be an advantage - so I am quite happy with the ultraflx construction. But if you want the ultimate in performance and your conditions mean that that necessitates feather-weight, then you'd definitely be better be looking elsewhere.

Had an ultra flex for a couple of months and loved the flex but hated the strength. Had very bad compression around my paddle stance area and many rail chips from my paddle (Admittedly I do whack the hell out of my rails) but I have ridden a custom epoxy which was reasonably light and never had this degree of problems. I weight didn't worry me at the time but I got a similar sized Tufflite after and was amazed at how light it was.