I'm looking to get into supping following a bad foot/ankle injury. The aim is to sup for a bit until I can surf again and then use the sup in summer when the waves are tiny.

I'm a competent surfer aged in my early 30's and only weigh around 65kgs.

I've used a SUP twice, once in waves and once in flat water, both times were on a 9'2" I think. I'm wondering what sort of board and volume range I should be looking at. I'm aiming to use it predominately in the surf/ocean, maybe the river a few times when starting out if my foot is not ready for waves yet.

Would appreciate any advice. Cheers

Hey W,
I'd look at something like a 8'11 Jimmy Lewis Striker or a 9'0 Smik Mini Style Lord or Mini Hipster Longboard (at around 29" width). The One Bolta 9'0 is another that would be sweet for you.
All are about double your weight in volume. The striker is a great all rounder - which you'd allways keep in your quiver. The Smik's are sweet also and probably have a slight edge in surf performance due to thinner rails and more rocker. Bonus for you is they are based in WA. The One Bolta 9'0 is another shape that would be sweet - another great surf focused all rounder.

There is no bad choice of the three.

In late 30's I found that starting at a volume 2-x my weight was comfy (until I got real tired) and that I could step down in volume pretty quickly from there, think I bought a 1.6x after 3 or 4 sessions. For me, I was psyched that I could borrow my friend's board for that introductory period, and then buy a board that was a bit smaller. I think that's the optimal way to do it, but not always feasible and maybe dropping volume not as important for your scenario.

I am a little heavier/older than you and also a competent surfer. I started on a 8'5" Jimmy Lewis Destroyer @130L. Quite quickly got used to it and wanted to downsize. I am now on a 7'7" @100L. If you went for the 7'7 or even 8'0 you may struggle the first couple of times but should get used to it. You would find the 8'5 easy quite quickly

Don't mean to be a negative nelly but mate you do realise how much impact and weight and movement is put on your feet and ankles when you sup in the ocean and waves. You might want to try hiring one first and paddling through swells and chop before you spend your hard earned because your ankles and feet do carry a heavy load. Everything amplifies when you're going through the learning process also. I've done the tendons in my right ankle and strengthened things up with a physio's help so it may be worthwhile pursuing if you haven't already, I was taped and braced for ages and took it easy.
It's a great adjunct to surfing and they compliment each other well but that's another story. Width, 32", and length, I reckon 9', are going to help out most, especially if your rehabbing a foot injury and learning at the same time. If you like it progress from there or flick it and go back to surfing. Just on the back end of the beginner stage and still surf more than sup but fkn love supsurfing so hope you enjoy your journey

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backbeach said..
Don't mean to be a negative nelly but mate you do realise how much impact and weight and movement is put on your feet and ankles when you sup in the ocean and waves. You might want to try hiring one first and paddling through swells and chop before you spend your hard earned because your ankles and feet do carry a heavy load. Everything amplifies when you're going through the learning process also. I've done the tendons in my right ankle and strengthened things up with a physio's help so it may be worthwhile pursuing if you haven't already, I was taped and braced for ages and took it easy.
It's a great adjunct to surfing and they compliment each other well but that's another story. Width, 32", and length, I reckon 9', are going to help out most, especially if your rehabbing a foot injury and learning at the same time. If you like it progress from there or flick it and go back to surfing. Just on the back end of the beginner stage and still surf more than sup but fkn love supsurfing so hope you enjoy your journey

yeah no thats true. I'm a few months out from a severe injury and went ok in some flatwater on a 9'2", but yeah I guess supping in the ocean is another story in terms of strain on your ankles.

I was planning on picking up a secondhand board on gumtree, not going to drop $2k on a new one at this stage ha.

I might be better off just surfing on a softtop/mal given you are laying down paddling the majority of the time. Its just really hard to pop up with this injury which is why I was thinking a sup might be the go. I think in the long term the sup would be really good for developing that ankle strength but don't want to do too much too soon

I'm a newbie to SUP. But I windsurf, wing, windfoil, trail run and MTB.
NOTHING is as hard on the ankles as balancing a SUP in swell, especially with a little chop.