20 posts
Dears, I have been stand up paddling for the past 4 months on an inflatable red paddle 10'6" ride. I do most of my paddling on the ocean,along the shoreline, and occasionaly I do some longer distance day long touring.
I also have been participating on amateur racing events, that also take place on the ocean.
As far as I have realized, ocean conditions are the worst for inflatables, specially on choppy waters.
I am 5'6" and weigh 210 pounds, but I have been getting thinner and my goal is to get around 180lbs.
I want to buy a 12' 6" hardboard, better suited for ocean paddling and some racing. Considering my short experience and heavy weight, I am leaning towards a wider (29",30") racing/ touring board.
I live in Brazil and have access to brands like Surftech, Naish, Starboard, SIC and Fanatic.
I was thinking about purchasing a 12'6" Naish Glide GS, or Starboard Touring and have received great recommendations on the 2014 JM 12'6" Latitude, but cannot find any reviews on it online.
Also I have failed to identify boards designed specifically for ocean waters, instead of flat water.
Best Regards
QLD
700 posts
Cant go wrong with the Fanatic 2014....
You have a lot of boards to choose from so go and ... oh whats that word..... starts with D
1508 posts
One of the brands you mention - SIC - produces boards specifically oriented towards ocean use (as well as boards specifically designed for flat water).
There is no board that will the the best for all conditions all of the time. So you need to try a few in the conditions you are going to use them. It's little use at all to demo a board in sheltered flat water if you are going to be using it in the sea, and vice-versa. In the sea, IMO stability through additional width will often give you more real-world speed than the extra width theoretically reduces, unless you are expert. So err on the side of going wider rather than narrower until you have a lot of experience.
20 posts
Thank you all for the replies. I eill try the Fanatic as well..
Does anyone know shy can't I find any info on the Surftech Jamie Mitchell 12' 6" Latitude online ? There are no reviews at all.
The guy that recomeended it to me was so enthusiastic about it, but it seems so un popular, maybe he was just trying to get rid of something that does not sell...
20 posts
Hey guys, its me again, one last time.
I looked into the Fanatics and realy liked the shape of the 2014 Fanatic Falcon, but then I found out that the 30" wide board has last years design.
My question is. At 95kg, how much unstable the 12'6"x27.5" would be?
Also, how much worse is the 2013 design ? What really bothers me is the board changing direction due to continous side chop, and this seems the bigger problem of those cutting bow designs..
QLD
96 posts
I had the same questions about the width when I was deciding to buy my first 12,6 and when I demoed the 2014 12'6 fanatic falcon 27.25 it felt just as stable as the wider boards and is easy in choppy conditions no nose diving
20 posts
DJ, do you consider the JM Latitude a better board than the Naish Glide ? Is the price difference worth it ?
I know you advise us to demo the boards but here in Rio it is also very hard to demo the boards. Most shops won't allow you to do it, and most of them only carry one or two brands. Naish and Fanatic are not even sold where I live.
I might postpone my purchase after my trip to Cakifornia in may. Does anyone know a good shop to demo boards there ?
20 posts
Finally ordered a 2014 Naish Glide 12' 6". Should arrive anytime this week. Lets see.
I will post some pictures when it arrives.
Thank you all for the help.
