hey guys I'm buying 2 sups tomorrow for myself and my fianc?,I'm looking at either the evoke or halo or maybe even the jp fusion,I'm 85kg and she is 58kg,we have both been in the water a few times but nothing crazy,I'm looking at learning to surf and do flat water,I was thinking a 9"2 evoke for her and a 10 for me?any thoughts?thanks in advance for the advise.also what board will be best for durability?

Evoke carbon is my pick,
I had a jp fusion 10'2 ast it was a boat and chipped really easily.

I now own a 9'2 evoke carbon. Really durable does not chip. I weigh 93ish kg and find the board fine for my weight. If you are anywhere near the sunshine coast you are welcome for a test.

Thanks mate,I'll def be keen to join you for a sup,would the 9"2 bamboo be ok for my fianc? for flat water cruising and maybe she will do waves later?and I was thinking a 10 or 10"6 for me?but I haven't really tried any wave riding and we kitesurf,I don't even surf so not sure what size evoke would be good for me and if I should go carbon or eps

I had a Fusion as a first board and found it stable and easy to catch waves, was a great learner board. Can't comment on the evoke though I never tried one.

Sweet thanks for advice,we heading to the good coast this morning to go check out the boards,I'm just confused as what to get as the evoke is 400 cheaper than the jp but if jp is a better overall board I would get that,and not even sure what size I should get

Also any other brands I should check out today while I'm looking?

Ok sweet def keen to give them a test,is that sunova?what would a package deal be in them?

Kyle, you can't go wrong with the evokes mate. Carbon for yourself if you want to surf it just for the extra strength and the bamboo for the mrs for flat water. Ive surfed a 7'11 carbon now for years (I'm 93kgs, but surfed all my life) and have kept upgrading through the models (not the green one though and still on the previous orange as no $$) as they are solid, excellent price and great service. They are just as well built as the big name boards, maybe slightly heavier but half the price.

Dont get a 10', the 9'2 will float you no worries as I've got a couple of mates at 115kgs who surf 9'2.
Good luck,
cheers Geoff.

Thanks for advice mate,on my way to tsbw now,might get that carbon as it's still cheaper than the jp

I just got an Evoke carbon 9'2. I'm 5'11 and 93kgs. Have spent 12 months progressing on an 11'6 sunny king but wanted something specific for waves.

Finally got to ride it (on flat water) today and am super impressed. Great build quality. Nice and wide and stable and floats me no probs.

Definitely recommend this board

Nice work mate,yeah we got one evoke 9 2 and a halo for messing around on,did a bit of flat water paddling today and will try some waves next weekend and see if I'm any good,haha

Nice work mate,yeah we got one evoke 9 2 and a halo for messing around on,did a bit of flat water paddling today and will try some waves next weekend and see if I'm any good,haha

Just relating to Jacko's comment above --- I have a ONE SUP, and it is a fantastic board --- price point is brilliant -- might not be quite as cheap as the evoke and halo....but in IMO, the performance upside would make the ONE well worth considering --- that's an independent analasis for ya! --- yikes, just noticed you've already purchased.....sure it will work well....but for future reference and others -- the ONE's are extremely good boards.

Thanks mate,yeah I looked at a couple boards but just didn't have the cash to buy 2 expensive boards,so these boards will be good as first boards,once I start smashing the waves then I will upgrade my board.i find it had to spend over 1500 on a set up,haha

Select to expand quote

kyle1988 said..
Thanks mate,yeah I looked at a couple boards but just didn't have the cash to buy 2 expensive boards,so these boards will be good as first boards,once I start smashing the waves then I will upgrade my board.i find it had to spend over 1500 on a set up,haha

What sort of paddle did you end up with? That also makes a big difference in the surf.

We got carbon adjustable

Select to expand quote

kyle1988 said..
We got carbon adjustable

Great paddle, but highly recommend you gaffer up the edges to protect it, you and the board. They're unforgiving compared to cheap plastic blades. Never did any damage with a plastic blade but cracked the rail on my Evoke like a hard boiled egg shell on the first day out in a freak fall.

**** that's no good,yeah I'll do that,how are the evoke carbons?

Select to expand quote

kyle1988 said..
**** that's no good,yeah I'll do that,how are the evoke carbons?

Mines tough as

Select to expand quote

kyle1988 said..
**** that's no good,yeah I'll do that,how are the evoke carbons?

I'd say the evoke carbons are easy to get on and off the car .

Aside from that it's taken me a while to get to being able to work on my back footwork which is the key to surfing the evoke which is very different to the longboard SUP I learnt on.

Ok sweet yeah I just got the bamboo evoke and a halo that I will switch between myself and my fianc?,I will probably start in the halo and then move to the evoke and see if I enjoy it,if so I will upgrade to the carbon, otherwise I might give the jp or sunova a go,but this is all way in the future,haha still need to learn to surf a sup

Good work Kyle,
definitly tape the edge of your paddle as discussed above I put 3 layers on mine. 1 layer each favoured to a side side (2/3 down the side with the last 1/3 over the edge if that makes sense) and the last layer central over the edge of the paddle.
I also put rail tape on all my boards, either rail saver pro or ion brands which both come from the same factory. Just protects your investment more mate!!
Have fun paddling!!

Select to expand quote

kyle1988 said..
Ok sweet yeah I just got the bamboo evoke and a halo that I will switch between myself and my fianc?,I will probably start in the halo and then move to the evoke and see if I enjoy it,if so I will upgrade to the carbon, otherwise I might give the jp or sunova a go,but this is all way in the future,haha still need to learn to surf a sup

TBH the only reason I bought the carbon is because it was about 1kg lighter than the cheapest Evoke and easier to carry over a distance. It's unlikely I would notice any performance difference at my skill level.

In terms of progressing on the Halo or Evoke I recommend getting it out in small/flat days to get your balance and being able to paddle and turn in a hybrid surf stance (one foot slightly back at least). Then watch a bunch of youtube videos on paddle technique to progress that which will make a massive difference to catching waves especially on the shorter Evoke. Once you're on the waves then the promo surf video for the Evoke is good to watch what Jarrod does with his back foot to make it turn. There's also another good Clayisland youtube video with the footwork slowed down so you can see what's going on because it's not as intuitive as a longboard SUP.

What I love about SUP is that there's always something to learn, and if you learn to use your core paddling then even if you have a rubbish day on the waves it's still more enjoyable and just as beneficial if not more as going to the gym because you're working a bunch of stabilising core muscles that most people never exercise properly. Enjoy!

Hey Kyle, I'm also about 85kg and bought a 9'2" Evoke Bamboo about a year ago as my first board. I'm lovin' it. You've made a good choice.

I spent a few months getting my sea legs in on flat water and learning how to paddle well and since then I've been taking it out in the surf. After getting a bit bored with prone surfing in anything other than really good surf, I'm taking the SUP out in all sorts of surf and feeling like a grom again. I'm just now starting to seriously think about what my next board will be but I think the Evoke will still be challenging for maybe another year or so. My wife takes it out on flat water and loves it too.

My one tip would be to swap the fins out for something more performance oriented. It makes a huge difference to how the board surfs. I went for these www.wetfins.com.au/surfboard-fins/longboard-fins/shapers-fins-5-25-s9-2-1-futures-black-x-large/

Enjoy!

Thanks for the advice boys,will def be taping up the paddle,we have put tape on our boards,so if it doesn't rain this weekend I might drive to the Gold Coast and try play in the ocean,we went out last week,my balance is pretty good as we both kite,wakeboard etc but turning the feet quickly to catch a wave etc is going to take some practice

Are you guys riding these 9'2" Evokes as your first SUPs ?

ive been given an old beater for free - I think it's 9'11 and reasonably wide but weighs a ton - has been full of water many and repaired more times than we know.

im wondering how long before I find my legs. I fell off 4 times this morning on flat water when a smallest ripple caught me off guard.

Im 6 foot and 89kgs and want to understand roughly what I should aim to buy when I want to buy my first sup. That price point works for me. My goal is simply to catch a few waves and get out on the water more. I've been kiting for 8 years and kite foiling for 3. Took me 10 hours to learn to foil (Self taught). Right now supping seems way harder.

Hey mate I think get a lighter board that isn't full of water and yeah I was on the 9 2 and we have a 10 halo,the 10 halo is super stable and a lot easier to paddle,I will start waves with that board and when I get a little better then I'll give the 9 2 a go,if you kite etc you will get it pretty quickly once you get the balance,but I would recommend the 10 from my little experience I have had.not the 9 2

Hey mate I think get a lighter board that isn't full of water and yeah I was on the 9 2 and we have a 10 halo,the 10 halo is super stable and a lot easier to paddle,I will start waves with that board and when I get a little better then I'll give the 9 2 a go,if you kite etc you will get it pretty quickly once you get the balance,but I would recommend the 10 from my little experience I have had.not the 9 2

HI James, for stability, the width and volume make more of a difference than the length, then if you want to surf it you need some curve in the rocker and for the tail to be pulled in. You clearly have some balance experience, so I'd be looking at something around 32" wide and about 150+ litres but with a surf outline and rocker.

Select to expand quote

jamesperth said..
Are you guys riding these 9'2" Evokes as your first SUPs ?

No. You could but progression is harder. I had a range of beginners one around your weight on my 9'2" board on the flat without issue, but I think the shorter boards are harder to progress on in waves because they don't track and glide as well as longboards and they're more skittish on the waves - but that might suit your background.

Seeing your in WA I believe from friends that YOB are good for demos at least on the flat. Based on their range if I was going for a first board that I didn't want to outgrow quickly I'd try something like the 11' x 30" Sandman which is pretty close but lower volume than the 11'4" x 30" and 10'6" x 29" longboards I learnt on. They glide and track better than the short boards and are easier to move around on the wave without being able to do all the fancy shortboard moves which you can't do for ages anyway - but they're not tanks like the 33"+ wide high volume boards so they will respond once you've got the hang of it. Once you do get to the fancy footwork point then you'll know if you want to buy a short board to complement the longboard one for different days rather than just selling the longboard.

Select to expand quote

jamesperth said..
Are you guys riding these 9'2" Evokes as your first SUPs ?

You can definitively have a 9' board as your first SUP. But it must be stable, that is wide at the nose and tail, and with a flat or concave hull. The PSHs like the one you show in the picture were awful for beginners, because of their somewhat pointy nose, and especially their V along the whole length, beginners had awful wobbles on them. For good SUPers, they were nice, as they had a great and smooth rail-to-rail, though.

At 100kg After 3 times on my first longboard-shaped 9'6" x 155l SUP, that I found too slow for me, I spent 18 months on a 145 liters 8'11", but which had a flat hull and a wide nose and tail, even though it was not very wide (only 30"). And the parallel rails give very little row effect for the size.But I only recommend beginning on a 9' SUP if you already have a surfing background. Otherwise you will progress faster on a 10'+ board.

A pic to give you an idea of the outline: