SUP boards that surf

Hey guys, decided to join this lively forum and throw in my two bobs worth.
I have been a Seabreezer since it was born - to fuel my wind and surf habits, but recently I have found myself on it every day feeding the SUP addiction (hey, if you dont get SUP, don’t do it - its gong to get crowded).

First up though I should lay my cards out - I have a vested interest in SUP - I sell the suckers and teach SUP at our Sailing school - Balmoral Windsurfing and Sailing School on Sydney Harbour and around Manly. So I am a SUP surfing addict - thanks to my friends JB and Adam from Naish for getting me hooked ( awesome boards)!

We sell and ride all the top brands and read all the reviews and they are pretty much 'on the money' for getting out into the surf with a paddle.

it seems to me however that no one has really dialled a board that really surfs - most boards ride like big Mal's. A recent trip to Hawaii opened our eyes to a whole new way of surfing with a paddle. There we found guys who do nothing but SUP, they surf, they shape, they go out and surf again. C4 is definitely on the money and their new boards RIP ( if you can get your hands on one). The other boards we were impressed with were from Paddle Surf Hawaii - shaped by Blane Chambers. We were blown away by their performance – they absolutely rip. The PSH team reads like a who's who of surfing legends and Tom Carrol has just ordered a custom board from Blane.

Ok, we were so stoked we also put our hands up to be the agent for PSH boards in Australia so yes, I am going to give them a push. But hey, there is plenty of that going on here any way so I figure I might as well join in.

These boards are not going to be your first board, there is nothing over 10'6 and 9-10' are the most popular sizes.

Anyway don’t take my word for it - check them out at - www.paddlesurfhawaii.com and come by ( if your in Sydney) and grab a demo and write a review.

It will change you mind about the surfing possibilities of SUP forever!!

If anyone out there has ridden anything else in this league - let us know, becasue at the end of the day - its all about the stoke!

Andrew.A
www.paddlesurfing.com.au

PS: I will post some pics in the Photo section

Boards that really surf, IMO (from what I have tried) the Naish 10'6" is by far the highest performing SUP still achieving the advantages of SUP (being able to catch waves early, and having expendable power even on small waves). From what I have ridden any of the SUP's that are under 10' lack speed and drive for catching waves leaving the rider in the line up with the surfers (IMO, you may as well be normal surfing).

However, I do believe that a new bread of surfer will emerge from this resurge of SUP. Surfers that want to ride SUP as their primary form of surfing. It will be these SUP Surfers that will suit the funky 9'ers and fish style boards as they do not wish to surf with the prone paddling style, And to satificfy the urge to get really radical (what a surfer gets when shortboarding or performance longboarding) this new bread of SUP Surfer will need small specialized boards.

A word of advice, to those of you that have seen/been people trying to SUP on boards that are too small, you will know of the frustration involved, having to resort to prone and knee paddling to get through the waves and really taking away from what SUP has to offer. I strongly recommend using boards of more size when learning. Get in touch with your local dealer and check out whats available, let them know what you want SUP to achieve in your riding. And then let them help you select a board that suits your weight, skill and desire.

SUP is nearly too much fun! and you really must try it to believe it.

Regards,

JB

"anything too much less than 28 QUICKLY becomes a pain in the ass to ride "

Then my arse must be hurting sooo bad..(with my NSP at only 25 1/2")....Ooops...That sounds bad doesn't it..

Great pics AA..Those PSH boards sure look nice..

DJ

Agreed. Would anyone (non industry) who can ride - like to ride and review a 10' or 10'6 PSH board?

I'll also throw my hand up......Any chance of getting a board to Melbourne?

DJ