I am a ex surfer.......95kg, 51 years old and slightly unfit.

I have gone from an all rounder 10'6 Gulliver to a JP Fusion 10'2, I then wanted to get something that turns easier in the surf but is still an easy and good paddler.
I prefer a small board feel to the long board feel. IE a board that turns well without to much walking up and down.

After reading many reviews as most of us do........

I purchased the 9'2 Hokua x32.
Pointed nose, thick through the middle to give a bit more volume.
Great looking board, easy to turn, but definitely was very tippy in the chop and needed some serious concentration for me not to wobble around in choppy waters. I just found it too small for me.
I think because it has a lot of V in the bottom it is not as stable as I was hoping for.
So........I sold it after only 4 weeks.

Next I purchased the exact same board but in the 9'6 170 litre model
I was worried it would be to far to large.
But........ What a great board for my age and ability. It has 170 litres but feels and looks a LOT less.
Also nice and light in GT construction.

It is stable to paddle and easy to wait for waves on the outside without wobbling.
The pointed nose seems to bash through white waters easier when paddling out.
It turns around to catch waves quickly and is MUCH easier to turn on the waves than any of my earlier boards.

Very happy with this board. It is funny how most people wanted me to go smaller and lower volume, but to me the higher volume board still turns very well and is so much more fun to surf in every day conditions. Anyway I'm sure many of you love the small boards so I wont push the point.

What I like about SUP surfing is the visibility when standing, the fact I don't have to jump up each time and the ability to surf small waves easily compared to normal surfboards. A great new water sport.

P.S Recently surfed South Sanur in Bali, the reef in front of the Mercura Hotel, The baby reef is +- 800m out to sea and was 3-4 foot perfection, long rides. Great fun.

London, you will find that the paddle helps a lot handling the bigger volume of a SUP compared to a prone surfboard. Both by the leverage of the paddle itself, and the fact that you can lean a LOT more into the turns as you have the paddle to help keep balance