Hi Spencer, i think i am well qualified to comment as I have had one and do have the other.

I started on the Nalu, and its was good for FW but never could get comfortable surfing it, I was always falling off due to the stability and I called it corkiness, for me it just didn't turn, but it was my first board and to the credit of the person that sold it too me, it did what i wanted got me up and catching small waves (albeit in a straight line!)

Mid last year I bought the Avanti and its a BIG board, but only when your on land, on the water, its super stable, and for the difference is that it turns, big time, so my surfing has gone forward in the last 6 months. When your on a wave if you step back you can pretty surf it like anything else as all the volume is out of the water.

The only detraction is it can be hard to get out the back at times in certain conditions.

Having come forward in surfing, i am somewhat interested to go back to the Nalu and see if my opinion has changed with my ability. But I suspect the lack of width would still cause issues in all but ideal conditions, and that could just be a me things.

I'm 115 kgs and am going to demo a couple of boards in the next week to see about going slightly shorter and narrower to overcome the getting out the back issue. Progression I think they call it!

Attached is a vid of me surfing the Avanti a couple of weeks ago (be nice it was my first vid on the GoPro!)



For your criteria, I think the Nalu would have the stability in FW with your dogs, but for my 2 cents worth the Avanti surfs better

As everyone says try and demo if you can.

The comments of my emanate friend Sir Cartoon are duly noted, and I would not disagree with his Atlas recommendation, except that it well.......doesn't turn

As for me ATM its a Gerry Lopez 10 x 34 in about 2 hours and a JP Fusion 10'8 x 34, the Allwave should come into the mix but i suspect it might be the 9'6 in 12 months time......walk on water would be interesting but demoing one in Sydney is nigh on impossible.............and you know what they say DEMO DEMO DEMOlish

Great vid! Good to see a few of us (ahem) 'larger' bodies enjoying the waves instead of the majority of the vids showing unfed & malnourished groms!

Not to sound condescending as I'm also a hefty lad that's been only SUPing a short while (and also not sure if those tumbles off the back of the waves were deliberate), but bending the knees will remove most of those tumbles...and whilst I'm handing out advice - as for getting out back, I have a 11'6" Nalu & a 9'8" Stonker custom - although the smaller board is slightly easier to get out into the big stuff, I've found that a surf-stance when approaching a breaking or broken wave will get me over it in most cases regardless of the board. Even if I fall off, it's normally after the wave has passed under me, so I don't lose ground. The Nalu has a big rocker and although it is narrow(ish), it can turn well if you get right back over the fin.

The Nalu is really a small (1'-2') wave board, and although I reckon that a good SUP'er could get it ripping in decent waves, I agree that there are better large boards around. I doubt that there would be many boards with such a large range although I've been wrong (many times) before.

Hey Greg.. Loved the video, it made me laugh out loud a couple of times.. some great bails there. At around 3.10 i was like WTF?! haha I'm laughing just thinking about it. In fact just having fun like that, the sun setting man it just made me want to get out there.

hi thanks for the info and you givng it a go
if you avanti is up for grabs send me a message.

HumanCartoon said...
Spencer I'd also seriously consider the Starboard Atlas at 12'0 x 33". Super stable, tracks and glides surprisingly well and I've surfed mine up to 3-4ft (although it doesn't turn brilliantly). It's even a respectable "social class" racer with a change of fin. With all due respect to my esteemed colleague from the Shire, the Atlas will be a much better flat water performer than the Avanti (which is more surf-oriented) and will still give you plenty of small wave fun. At 125kg mine carries me and my 9yo (35kg) son just fine. Compared to the 11'6 Nalu the Atlas is also WAAAAY more stable and much better behaved in side chop. I've had few approaches to sell my Atlas since I've had it but it's a keeper, just too fun.

And Shire man, while we're on the topic...if you're looking to go down a notch from the Avanti, do yourself a favour and demo a Fanatic Allwave (if you haven't already) I'd suggest the 9'10 for you or at a pinch you might even go the 9'6. I friggin' love mine. Can also recommend a 10' x 34 Walk On Water that I tried once as well worth a look.

Mr Cartoon is spot on in his summation of the situation. The 9'10" Allwave is an amazingly stable and extremely manouverable SUP. I'm thinking about going back up to either the 9'6" or 9'10" and getting rid of the 10'2" PSH Paddler and possibly the 9'2" Allwave, purely for quality and weight reasons, (the low quality of my surfing and the weight I've been putting on!!!) I reckon for me the 9' 6" was comfortable doing everything. I'll keep dreaming on. My neglected friend Matt 18 Has given the JP's a good wrap and they seem to have all the good things of Fanatics also at a great price. Probably worth a demo. Just like big boards can also be surfed in waves many shorter boards are great on the flatwater unless you want to race or Downwind them. There you got my tuppence worth whether you liked it or not. Now where was I? That's right! I wish I could surf like Kelly Slater, I wish I could surf like Kelly Slater, I wish I could surf like Kelly Slater.............