My girlfriend (sub-50kg) and I (82kg) bought second hand 14' Javs a year ago as our first sups.

With the rounded edges at the back and low width at the front, they roll in sideways chop but they track very well. Tracking can actually be a big disadvantage for a small paddler in moderate to strong sidewinds. GF is very stable at her weight on it though (but not so much for me) and with hardly any weight on it she skims over the water really well. I counteract it by going forward to bury the nose or back to make it turn easier but a flatter, fatter tail is more stable for that.

That said, if you don't want to go out in winds like that, they glide beautifully on flatwater.

Also the weight of either 14' Jav or Glide when lugging it onto and off the car may be a hassle at your size.

Either models in a 12'6" might be better for you. I tried a 12'6" Jav at a demo day a month ago and was hugely impressed at its versatility. Not quite as fast as a 14' but it doesn't sound like you are looking for that.

The Glide is a downwind board, but would be a good cruiser too and has more width up front for your bag and is more stable than the Jav.

I'm still lovin' my Jav - it's a bit like taming a wild horse with its instability and has taught me a lot in a short time, but I'll need something more stable for the rough stuff. There is still temptation to get a Jav MC as I tried both it and the LE in flatwater over some short sprints and reckon by my GPS the MC was just as fast and the full carbon is more durable than whatever the LE is made of, but that is getting off topic.

Regarding the camping, you can get bungee tie downs for the front of your sup (there is post topic on this in this forum somewhere) or you could also get out the gray elec tape. Glide would be better.

You might even consider an inflatable for camping - they would save you taking a camp bed!

Happy paddling!

Thank you so much for you post Snowie. I'm still undecided. I was leaning more towards getting a 14ft but have seen a second hand 12'6 javelin for half the price of the 14ft Javelin. Thinking that could be a good option and then i can always get an inflatable at a later stage for camping or rivers etc... Apart from speed did you find much of a difference between the 12'6 and 14ft javelins? Do you think the 12'6 would be ok in open ocean if i wanted to do a bit distance paddling? or would it be too unstable?( I surf and have been suping for a while so have pretty good balance)

Thanks DJ. Great Pics Have you tried the 12'6 javelin? By the sound of what i have read on these forums the 14ft would be more suited to paddling with gear on the front. But im not sure how often i will actually go away with gear, so for paddling on the flat and a doing a bit of open ocean paddling without gear, do you think the 12'6 javelin would go ok? ( im 157cm tall, weigh 46kg and have fairly good balance) I was thinking of going for the 14ft glide but have found a second hand 12'6 javelin ( which has only been used 3 times so as new) for $600 less than what i would pay for the 14ft Glide which is just epoxy and not carbon fibre like the javelin. I have tried the glide and found it really stable and quite fast but wont get a chance to demo the javelin before buying. Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks

Thanks for all the advice guys.The NZ Distributer didn't have any 14ft boards left so i ended up going for a second hand 12'6 Javelin. Picked it up yesterday. Haven't had a chance to have a proper paddle on it yet but looks like it should go well and it's really light, so easy for me to get on and off the roof of the car.

I was damn close to buying a 14' Glide (AST) on Sunday myself. I'll let xmas pass and come back for another look. Mind you, I tried the LE and it jumped over the runners like a dog with a string of sausages. Similarly, I couldn't turn my head and see if the butcher was following me.

So what is a man to do? Go with the one who won't give you any trouble and still has a really good time or go with the pretty one that will give you heaps of trouble and will age quickly but will occasionally give you a great time? It might come down to whether I can tell my partner about how much it costs...although maybe I could get both if I keep them a secret from each other. Of course the LE will try to embarrass me in front of my friends every chance it gets. If only I could just pay for when I used it.

What would the his & hers Javs at home think? Life is so complicated.

Enjoy your 12'6"!