My opinion is that the boards haven't changed that much over the years. I doubt majority of people could tell difference between this years model and last years model in performance The board you are looking at on gumtree to me looks ok if you want to flat water paddle and small wave surf. You would probably benefit from a better paddle but. You could update later when you have more cash
You would probably be better to stick to better brand name boards Bic were a pretty good brand in windsurfing years ago.
Have heard of a a couple of stories of the cheaper on from the internet not being of good quality but I have no experience in this but. Could be just some one who is hard to please too

They do get walked on, crashed into roof racks, left sit in the sun all day and knocked about quite a bit. Not keen on buying secondhand myself and buying online, well, anything could turn up at the freight depot.

Have you checked out your local surf shops? We have one nearby that's just opened, sells plastic kayaks and knock offs of the big brand sups, last week he was selling boards that look identical to my 9.5 allwave with paddle for similar money to what you want to spend. At least you can poke and prod, get a feel for the weight of the board if you buy from a local shop.

The bic looks alright, maybe swap the bag and aluminum paddle for a carbon paddle?

It's a tough question - what do you want to do with the board. My thinking was buy a cheaper board develop my skills etc etc. I wanted an all rounder and I wanted to surf it. The guy in the shop did a job on me and sold me an 11 foot NSP with a carbon paddle. 2 months later I still had the paddle. The NSP was OK on flat water but a total dog in the surf, it wouldn't turn just wanted to go straight to the beach and I know how to ride a long board. Lesson learnt don't trust the manufacturers advertising or the guy in the shop, a demo wouldn't have helped because I was pretty hopeless at that stage.
After helpful advice from this forum and a good deal from the local guy out at Raglan we ended up with a 10' Naish Mana GT for me and a 9'5 for my wife. Still got them 12 months later - could have saved a bit of money if I had have been a bit smarter to start with.
My point is a bit of careful research, some questions on this very helpful forum and some demos even might lead to spending more initially but saving in the long run!

You shouldn't go too far wrong with a 10-6 from one of the major brands. If you want to know who the major brands are, look at who advertises on this site. Naish, Fanatic, Starboard, JP, Jimmy Lewis, Surftech etc etc

Boards have changed...but my 2009 Blane Chambers PSH AA 9x28 is still quite the keeper.

SupsailDave said..

Piros said...

SupsailDave said..
My opinion is that the boards haven't changed that much over the years.

You can't be serious there has been massive development in boards and that's why you can find some bargains in brand name boards that are a few years old. Because the boards have changed so much. The original Corebans are still kicking around and good boards , you can pick those one up pretty cheap and also the original PSH models ,add those to your list.

For my own interests. What are the MAJOR changes over the last few years They all look pretty much the same to me. Maybe construction styles and materials have changed but the boards are pretty much the same shape???

No way!! Pros is right. Shapes are refined every year making the boards perform better and better. Constructions get lighter and in some cases stronger too.

Eric b I have been SUP for around 2 months and have recently moved to daily use with my board in Feb. After a few months of research and deliberation (and a lot of help on these forums) I chose a new board as I had the cash and was able to splurge for a decent brand package. I will reiterate that buying from a shop is a good experience if you do a bit of basic research and homework on the brands. Being a newbie I also looked at what the sydney schools were using.
I bought a starboard avanti and a naish odysseus for my dad. If you live near the water say within 5km then a fibreglass board is great and practical to take on and off the roof racks otherwise I might suggest going inflatible. just about to go inflatible myself as the sup bug has hit hard.
After a month of riding here is my experience, i am living at forster so have ocean and lake at my doorstep.
When learning the lake/flatwater is fun and easy espically light downwinding. The ocean is harder and trying, leg tiring and surfing waves is very tiring getting up and onto the board after being pushed off by the waves tires you very quickly.
I was lead towards a long board that I could use for all three and am very happy with the Avanti, I started only being able to ride it for around 10 minutes and can now ride it for around an hour moving along the board to change my feet positions.
Being your weight and size I would recommend a few loans from a shop on a weekend or weekly basis as you have a lot of boards to choose from.


All great advice above but I would stress two things buy from a shop if you are buying new and also as a beginner consider stability and lightness as you need to lift the board up quite a bit and in windy days.

Also being large, heavy boards sup's do get banged, walloped, dropped, left out in the sun, marked and bumped so be aware a second hand one has likely had all of these done to it.
It is highly addictive so enjoy the ride.