G'day breezers I would appreciate some advice re:- my next board. I've been surfing my Mana (10' X 32 210L) now for about 14 months and while it has been a great first SUP to get me up and going in the surf I'm now looking for something with less volume and more agile performance.
I'm 56 years old and at the moment 92kg and 187cm although 100kg+ is not unknown territory for me ha ha ... For the purpose of this exercise I'll work on 92kg.
Most waves that I surf would be up to a bit over head high. I've had a few waves on a Laird Pearson 10'6" X 29.75 X 4 3/8" 154L and found that it turned way better than my mana and I was quite happy with the stability but it was longboardy in feel and I guess I just need to experience a range of different boards to understand what is possible and get a happy balance between my ability and board stability. I'm not interested in anything that requires me to paddle around crouched over with my feet submerged in the drink.
Based on what I've read on here, some of the boards that I would like to try are :-
JP Australia
Surf Wide Body 8'8" X 32 136 litres
Fusion 9'8" X 31 152 litres
Surf 9'6" X 31 146 litres & 9'2" X 30 136 litres
Laguna Bay
9'2" X 30 X 4 3/8
NSP
9'2" X 29 1/2 X 4 1/8 127 litres
9' 8" X 32 X 4 5/8 167 litres
10' X 29 X 4" 143 litres
I live in the Wollongong area (prepared to travel to Sydney if required) and would like to know where I could try some of these boards and any others suggested by the breezers - all comments/ suggestions are welcome.
Ken M
Yep, agree Cartoon I would like to try out the allwave and maybe the 9'3" prowave as well
Hi Ken
I can only froth about the JPs cause that's all i can froth about the rest are poop................
Ok I am biased, love my JP and know a few people who think the same. I have the big daddy of the fusions not those junior versions you are quoting but those other people have some of those lite weight models for svelte SUPers like yourself and they are frothing too.
For JP and Fantic - call Sam at Wind Surf and Snow Collaroy he has some demo boards - tell them the WreckingBall needs to PAAARRRTTTYYYY (they will understand)
For Surftech - try Cronulla SUP
For NSP - try Eastcoast Stand Up Paddle Barden Ridge
Not sure if the last 2 have demo boards but they are good guys and will look after to you as they can I am sure........
But the JPs - dem de best 
Hi Ken
I am your height, weight, almost your age and had the 10'Mana as my 1st surfing SUP.
Next 9'5" mana, not much difference.
Next 9'2" Laguna Bay custom, 135 l, big difference, surfable, nose rides excellent.
Now 8'6" Deep custom, 120 l, similar difference again to Laguna. Very loose and manageable. Surfs like a short board in comparison.
I have found that once you get to these smaller boards that the 'low in the water' thing aids in stability, I find riding higher volume boards doesn't necessarily improve stability.
Hi ShireSUP,
Thanks for the info I will follow up. I havent seen the JP's in the flesh yet but I'm keen to have a look and a paddle.
Hi Doc,
The smaller boards sound good, can't wait to give them a go!
Does anyone know who would have Laguna Bay demos in Sydney/Wollongong? Are they associated with Surftech? I see they have their own website but have a Surftech range?
Select to expand quoteworrier said..
Bit oldernow but the JL quads are worth a look
w
Yeah worrier I will try to look at as many as I can .... just not many demos in my area ... every demo is a bit of a logistical exercise
I was out having a SUP with a mate today, a beginner who has just bought himself a Atlantis VEX Profusion 9'6" 30 X 4 5/8 148 Litres. We swapped boards for a while and although more tippy than my Naish Mana I went OK on it. The surf was pretty ordinary but the board did all that I could expect. Has anyone heard anything about these boards?
Select to expand quoteKenM said..
I was out having a SUP with a mate today, a beginner who has just bought himself a Atlantis VEX Profusion 9'6" 30 X 4 5/8 148 Litres. We swapped boards for a while and although more tippy than my Naish Mana I went OK on it. The surf was pretty ordinary but the board did all that I could expect. Has anyone heard anything about these boards?
G'day mate, Just bought a JP Fusion 9'8", too early to give a real appraisal yet, but I will say it has more of a short board feel and has plenty of stability for my 88kgs. As for the Atlatis sups, see this: www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/Review/Atlantis-sups-Anyone-tried-them/#1266887
Hey Ken,
I,m from the gong too and same weight ,same position as yourself,Looking to come down from my 10,6 to a more surf orientated board .
I know what you mean about the demo days , they are few and far between in this part of the woods.
We missed a starboard demo day at Huskison ,sat and sunday this weekend, I was booked in but something came up and had to cancel. I ,m hoping they will run more as the weather heats up later on. I,m putting off purchasing a board until trialling the starboard , I like the sound of the comments being made on this forum.
I,ve trialled the 3 hokuas 9ft ,9,5, 9ft 10 only in flat water at a Cronulla demo day , which was good .The guys were very helpful but again hard to judge as only in flat water, I found could paddle all of the 3 sizes but just don,t know how I would go in the NE onshore slop we get day after day in summer, whether you offset some performance for stability and ease of paddling.
JP AND OTHER BRANDS still havn,t seen or had the opportunity to trial ,maybe with summer round the corner other agents will come on board and offer more demo days trials.
Redfezz
Gday Redfezz,
I havent tried the Hokuas - some of the chat on here indicates that they are a bit tippy in sloppy conditions - I would like to give them a go too if the opportunity presents itself.
I travelled up to Collaroy today and had a demo on the JP Australia Surf Wide Body 8'8" X 32 136 litre. I took it out at Long Reef in 2 to 3 foot lumpy mediocre conditions for a couple of hours - note to myself never demo a board on a weekend again in the big smoke - too much for this lad from the Gong. While everyone was Ok and I didnt have any issues, its just a bit of a strain being on a new more challenging bit of kit in a crowded break and there was just nowhere to get away from the crowd.
I did manage to get some waves and I did like the board. At this stage of my SUP skills development I do think the 136 litres is about as low as I would like to go. I found after the 10' Mana getting the forward and aft balance right on this 8' 8" board took a bit of familiarity and adjustment - especially on takeoff. Once on the wave you only needed to think about turning and its done - it would have been nice to take it home for a week to give it a good workout in my own backyard. This board is still in the running but I intend to demo a few more before making decision.
I want to demo more boards 9' to 9'6" about 30" wide and down to about the 135 litres mark. I was looking to demo the JP Australia Surf model but there wont be anything about to demo for a while. I might go up again midweek some time to have a go at the 9'3" Prowave.
The hunt goes on!
Select to expand quoteKennyK said..KenM said..
I was out having a SUP with a mate today, a beginner who has just bought himself a Atlantis VEX Profusion 9'6" 30 X 4 5/8 148 Litres. We swapped boards for a while and although more tippy than my Naish Mana I went OK on it. The surf was pretty ordinary but the board did all that I could expect. Has anyone heard anything about these boards?
G'day mate, Just bought a JP Fusion 9'8", too early to give a real appraisal yet, but I will say it has more of a short board feel and has plenty of stability for my 88kgs. As for the Atlatis sups, see this: www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/Review/Atlantis-sups-Anyone-tried-them/#1266887
Gday Kenny,
Keep me posted on your progress with the JP Fusion. All the feedback on them seems good. Did you look at the Atlantis VEX Profusion SUPs as an option when you bought the Fusion?
Well I've made my decision, a little earlier than I was intending, to pick up an Atlantis VEX Profusion 9' 6" X 30 149L. I would never have considered this board only that a SUP beginner mate of mine bought one, we swapped boards a couple of times and it just felt right for me. The 30" width and 149L volume are a step up from my Mana but manageable. I had it out in waist high clean conditions at my local beach on Monday and it performed great. I can't wait to take delivery of mine and get out there with it.
