How small is your smallest SUP? Do you chase having the smallest board that rips harder than any other but its a pain to stand and or paddle? I have chased riding the smallest board possible and ended up sizing back up so that I can float around the lineup comfortable instead of sitting and waiting for a set to come. Am I the only one? Smallest board I can ride is a 85L 7'11x27 but tend to stick with my 8'2x30" for ease of paddling/standing. Wave performance has gone down but not to the point where I think it outweighs the comfort of standing.

Fitness and ability are central to the choices on a board size but for me, it's important to strike the balance between performance and stability so that you can be out the back and wait and move with relative comfort for the next wave. To be able paddle with relative ease is also important so that you can move between different breaks, paddle out the back and of course, paddle on to the wave. Conditions also play a factor. Chop, water movement, cross wind, string head wind etc. There are lots of factors to consider. So when choosing the board, I think the most important thing when riding your board is it fun. Does riding the board put a smile on your face. There are too many in the water on all sorts of water craft with a scowl on the their face frustrated on getting waves. Often because they are on a board too small for them. I usually carry three boards with me.
Naish Hokua 7' 8" x 27 96L
Starboard Hypernut 6' 10" x 26.5 91L ( my main board now)
Takayama 8' 6" surfboard

That's why you have quivers, so you can have a challenging board and a comfy one depending on the mood and conditions and crowds and physical condition and chop and...

But I would never own a board that I cannot stand up on all the time. That's my personal ethic. Stand up or go home.

If I was to have one board, I would choose one where I can always do 2 hours sessions standing up.

I finally received my 8'5 x 30 Ghost @ 118 L
While it is pretty small for my 77 years, it has sufficient volume for smaller me at 83 kg
It is pretty comfortable out the back and surfs great, and I easily do 2 hour sessions on it.

I am fortunate enough to have many boards and sizes, so I move between them to spice up my sessions.

Smaller is pretty important to me these days because challenging my balance muscles is one of the ways I move always forward at 77 years old. If I ride only easy boards, I would succumb to aging more quickly.

Living the dream as an aging SUPster on my 8'5

I'm 85kg & smallest board is 113l. I'll only use that when its clean & up to head high, or smaller with a little bit of chop & I'll get tired on it after 1.5hrs. I use it more for balance training & use the next size up (128l) when its really windy, choppy or consistently above chest / head high+. & i can ride it all day. Other boards are up to 139l sup long board. My comfort zone is 125l(ish), over 130l is too big & under 120l, unless its clean, I'll find myself sitting / resting quite a bit.

I have moved away from the small is best view & will happily give away a bit of performance for comfort & ensuring I get the waves i go for

What is funny here is what some people consider small...
For some of the best of you, you small means a board that sinks to your waist when you stand on it.
For others, small means something that you can no longer put your lawn chair on.
. Of course, a lot of it depends on your age and your weight . At 155 lb a 95 l board floats me just fine.

l

Get a SUP that is too small to paddle standing on, but that surfs like a mini mal or a longboard Get a paddle that is short enough to paddle holding the top end while kneeling down (telescoping paddles may be OK), Get a surf that is too bumpy to SUP on, and you have Surfing Melanesian style: kneelupps.info
kneelupps.blogspot.com/

I'm 15L above my min volume because boards are expensive and take up space so I can't have stability as a dimension of my quiver. Also, if I were to get a closer to ~1.0 L/kg board for glassy days w good waves, sounds good in my head, but those days are also most crowded. I enjoy struggle of small board but more so when it's empty

Too be honest if I see someone sitting or kneeling 90% of the time on a SUP I think whats the point, might as well be prone paddling. My thoughts are that you should be standing 90% of the time on a standup paddleboard. We surf mostly in choppy conditions here in Perth metro so my go to volume is approx 120 lts, any less and i seem to miss waves on a regular basis due to falls or lack of glide and or ability !!!!

Phil

How many L above your weight in KG do you guys ride?

We use the "Guild Factor", i.e the volume in Liters divided by your weight in kg.

It is kind of a standard, used also for prone surfboards. 1 Liter more is not the same for a 50kg girl and a 100kg guy.

Search for "guild" or "ratio", there are plenty of discussions about it on this forum.

Select to expand quote

VenturaShaper said..
How many L above your weight in KG do you guys ride?

The Guild factor:
your weight in kg times the following:

beginner = 1.7
intermediate= 1.5
advanced = 1.3

simple math as an example:

100 kg x 1.7 = 170 liters

it just a rough guide.
there are lots mitigating factors:
age
height
surface area of the board : square boards are more stable than pointy ones, as a general rule.

Thats a great scale Creek ,
I'm 100 kgs and 125 litre is kinda the smallest I ever go now ,but 130 is my happy
zone ,however if its a very no nose board like the SPX ,area plays a big factor ,I feel more tippy on my 133 litre 8,7 spx vs
my 8'8 flow 126 litres .both 31 wide .but nose and tail on the flow are 1inch wider
When choosing a board always look at nose width and tail width .thats what makes them tippy .