Looking to buy a sup but need a place to start..
I'm 6ft about 120kgs so need a big man board..
Been told the starboard avanti is probably the best go but am open to suggestions..
Are you planning to surf or stick to flat water? And if you will surf, what is your experience level, and where will you surf (big, small, steep, mushy)? There are so many boards around that it will help everyone if you can describe how you will use the board.
I live near terrigal beach but will mainly be used on flat water.. At most I'd say small surf.. Pretty much a beginner in the surf but am comfortable on flat water, so would like a board with plenty of stability.
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated..
I will let others provide the advice. I am newish to SUP (18 months) and you have 30 kegs on me so my suggestions won't be relevant. But I will warn you. You are about to start something that will change the way you think and act. I have seen it called SUPitis. Once you start you will not stop watching surf-cams, weather patterns, SUP forums, and board reviews.
hi mate
i havent personally surfed an avanti but i have seen some large guys surf them and they go very good for a large board, if you live at Terrigal i would pop into ESS at Erina and have a chat with the guys there as they are always very helpfull, they also regularly have regular demo days on terrigal lagoon which could be a starting point for some board choices, again as it is your first board i would avoid buying something brand new, pick something up second hand/ex demo etc
Jarryd
Select to expand quoteJradedmondo said..
hi mate
i havent personally surfed an avanti but i have seen some large guys surf them and they go very good for a large board, if you live at Terrigal i would pop into ESS at Erina and have a chat with the guys there as they are always very helpfull, they also regularly have regular demo days on terrigal lagoon which could be a starting point for some board choices, again as it is your first board i would avoid buying something brand new, pick something up second hand/ex demo etc
Jarryd
I agree second hand to start ,as you will change ..maybe a 10'10 naish Nalu ..has 200 litre which would be great for your weight and surfs .
but ..heaps of great boards out there...look at round the 200 litre mark .I started on a 11.6 Nalu ..I grew out of it within 6 months ,once I started surfing it, it had 230 litres...it paddled great ...but was hard to surf ..you just had to walk right up the back .to turn the big sucker.I'm a mere 95 kgs.
enjoy the search.
One of my mates finally stopped borrowing my boards and picked up a board called a Supdog-I had never heard of them before but it cost him about $700 with a paddle and cover-I think he said a guy a Newcastle sells them. I'm not sure how Kocher it is to recommend these boards, but 10'0 and mega stable-seems to cruise well and surf well. He is at Terrigal-I could ask him to give you a run on it if you like. Sorry to be a bit vague-I can find out more info if you like. I think there are plenty of good options for what you are looking for at the moment that aren't too expensive-I'm sure Mark at ESS would hook you up with something.
This is the perfect board for you.. The 9'8'' x 34'' Naish Odysseus.. Awesome board.. So stable.. and paddles wlat water great..
A few few years ago a big guy like you (and me) would be forced to buy a huge 11'6" x 30" tanker.. That was very old-school.. 
These days you can buy something so much shorter.. lighter.. and even more stable..
Surfs better.. and even paddles flat water better IMO.. Try and demo one and you will see what I mean..
If you think you need more board.. check out the 11' and 11'6'' Mana soft tops.. They are super-duper stable.
I'm 6'2 and 110 and I had a Starboard Blend. Really good on flat water and small waves. Even though only 30" wide, it was quite stable in chop. I now have an F-One Manawa 10x34 for extra stability in our crappy windswell chop. Super stable but a little slower on the flats.
A little OT, but DJ where is this surf spot? I'm moving back to Victoria in July and this spot looks heaps fun.
Cheers
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Select to expand quoteadssup said..
I'm 6'2 and 110 and I had a Starboard Blend. Really good on flat water and small waves. Even though only 30" wide, it was quite stable in chop. I now have an F-One Manawa 10x34 for extra stability in our crappy windswell chop. Super stable but a little slower on the flats.
A little OT, but DJ where is this surf spot? I'm moving back to Victoria in July and this spot looks heaps fun.
Cheers
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I could tell you.. But then I'd have to kill you.. 
.. (or others might kill me)..
PM me once you're down here and I'm happy to give you more info..
There's heaps of good places like this down here between Point Leo and Flinders..
Btw.. most short wide boards are a pain to paddle any great distance because of the amount of yaw..
The Obysseus has a ridge under the nose.. channels on the bottom.. and a big square tail making the rails more parallel.. so it tracks very well..
Cheers for the replies guys.. The info has been extremely helpful..
Went out too ess at erina yesterday and mark wasn't there.. The other ppl there weren't much help at all..
I like the look of the naish Odysseus so will definately have to give that a try..
But all the help is much appreciated
Select to expand quoteDavidJohn said..adssup said..
I'm 6'2 and 110 and I had a Starboard Blend. Really good on flat water and small waves. Even though only 30" wide, it was quite stable in chop. I now have an F-One Manawa 10x34 for extra stability in our crappy windswell chop. Super stable but a little slower on the flats.
A little OT, but DJ where is this surf spot? I'm moving back to Victoria in July and this spot looks heaps fun.
Cheers
ads
I could tell you.. But then I'd have to kill you.. .. (or others might kill me)..
PM me once you're down here and I'm happy to give you more info..
There's heaps of good places like this down here between Point Leo and Flinders..
Thanks DJ
i have an Avanti.Best thing i ever bought . i started out about 8 months ago and chose the board because it could support my weight which was a touch under 130 kegs . ive since shed 20 kegs and have moved down to an allwave 9"10 which is fantastic but still find myself going for the Avanti on most days. This board is so stable it allows you to paddle out fast without getting knocked over by white water and getting pushed back to the beach. once out there you can relax in choppy conditions and wait for your wave . i see so many people struggling to keep upright on these slick little boards in choppy conditions that they spend most of the time in the drink . i love the Avanti and would buy another one tomorrow , so i say go for it but in all honesty you really need two boards. one for the chop and one for the clean stuff . Theres heaps to choose from and which ever way you go your gonna have a blast . Good luck with the search .
My first board was the 11'2 x 36 Avanti. I weighed 125 k at the time.
Life long surfer, with a ton of experience.
I fell over 100 times the first day in surf.... even on the wide Avanti.
BUT.... by the 3rd day, it was all sorted out.
I loved the Avanti. I surfed it in everything up to 8' Hurricane swells..... excellent board that turned amazingly well for a BAB (big ass board)
It was extremely agile and easy.
The biggest problem I had with it, was the sheer size of it made it a bit dangerous... I got hit by it a lot (but that will happen with all boards 11' long)
Plus I recommend a carrying strap... at 15.9k.... it's a beast to lug to the beach
It was super nice to paddle in flat-water.... I logged a lot of miles on that board.
With no surf experience, my personal feeling is, bigger is better, especially if you are older and out of shape .... the learning curve will not be as steep.
Younger, fitter? You may be happy on something smaller.
Oh... by the way .... that Avanti got me on SUP at 125 k.... today? 96.6 K.
The lure of a smaller board is my BEST incentive to a downsized self.
Select to expand quoteJT72 said..
Looking to buy a sup but need a place to start..
I'm 6ft about 120kgs so need a big man board..
Been told the starboard avanti is probably the best go but am open to suggestions..
All the advice so far has been worthwhile. I would only add for consideration the Fanatic Fly 11'6. That was my first board and I loved it. I'm 6'4'' and at the time I weighed about 117kg or so. The Fly floated me easily and was a lot of fun. It is pretty wide and was extremely stable. I demo'd the Avanti and was almost going to buy one but liked the feel of the Fly better...that just my opinion though as there are a lot of positive reviews for the Avanti.
