Have you considered the Naish x32 8'8. It's definitely a step up while still being stable

Kiwial,

Just to really throw a spanner in the works

Just jumped off the plane in bali..and hired a sup. I wanted the Jimmy Lewis Kwad 9'5 but they only had the 9'11 left. I have a naish mana 9'5 in melbourne.

Its a 15minute paddle out to the break, long way for an old fella, I found the kwad really stable and had a lovely glide. halfway i swapped to a JL stun gun 9"7 x 136 lt. Now Iam 50 and 95KG read about 98Kg at present. I found the stun gun still easy and stable to paddle out to the break just needed slightoy more effort to paddle.. The plan was to swap halfway through the session as I started back on the kwad. The surf was about waist to shoulder high ....loved the kwad so much I was buggered by the time it came to swap so didnt bother.

Anyway the upshot is I really want to try the kwad 9'5 at 150lt or 9'1 at 130lt. As much as I hate to say it I think it is a better board allround than the mana....I found the kwad much easier to turn, faster even more stable and it felt more "flickable", not sure this is a surf term!!!

Petty there arent any dealers in Melbourne that stock them. Anyone got a good second hand kwad for sale??? So the moral of the story is take what others say with a grain of slat..unfortunaltey we are different have different skills, waves to surf and ability....try anything you may be interested in then go home and have a cold beer or two.

Good Luck,

I have to agree with Colas. We only know the boards we own & can only do the research to be able to progress and by asking others.
Age is an important factor. And as you said 55 years young would mean to me someone who is 55 years & has the ability of fitness & agility of someone at least 10 to 15 years younger.

I can relate to you. That is, I will be 55 years of age before May this year but feel like I am in my 20s when I am surfing. 40s when it comes to doing something fully strenuous like a long run! Lol!

I was a short board rider before going to SUP in my 40's to early 50's. I wasn't much of a short board rider either & found it difficult to duck dive & be able to paddle at speed compared to most others. Maybe it was my fitness?

Then my workmate introduced me to paddle surfing & now I am improving beyond my beliefs that I now think I could go back to a short board. Lol! Seriously.

On my SUP board I feel like I am back! Catching just as many waves as anyone else & my confidence level has gone up heaps, so very happy.
So back to your choice.

I was around 85 kilos at 54 years of age with average fitness when I got an Atlantis Vex Profusion 9ft 6"to learn on. Frustrating at first until I got used to balance. It turned out to be a great surfing board too!
Then I progressed to a JP Wide body 8ft 2" & loved it! No difference in balance either.
Then I got fussy on performance & control in case of those bigger & more difficult waves so progressed again to my current Sunova 8ft 3' Soul & absolutely love it!Structural & performance. Balance is only slightly less. So well worth it.

So in my opinion. If you are 85 kilos max in weight with a potential of losing some kilos then a Sunova SUP Soul, Skate or Style at a length of 8ft 3" to 9ft 6" max or other brands at a similar length of up to 9ft 6" with a width from 29" to 32".
Get a Sunova Soul 8ft 3" or 8ft 6" I love it! But will keep my JP 8ft 3" widebody for those choppy mushy days. But it is a little slower.

Good luck with your choice.