After looking at all the reviews, shop and brand hype and talking with some experienced short board SUp'rs I can say I am totally confused as to what to get next.
9'8" starboard fish is feeling a little cumbersome and sluggish of the bottom and top of a wave - want something a little more like my Merrick Biscuit in a SUP - but a bit concerned about going too short. Paddled a 8'5" pocket rocket and was surprised by the stability. I am around 87kg's (with winter coming and lots of Coopers stout expected to be drunk that may hit 90)
Question is is 110 litre/ 8'10" just too much hard work or are you better off comprimising on a 9-9'3" narrower SUP.
It's doin my head in!!!
Any thoughts - I know this will have a thousand differnt opinions - fairly limited with demo's (haven't tried to hard yet to arrange something)
Cheers
I have a Ron house 9'1 and a DC 8'10 you can try. both very good boards. The swells lining up friday at Victor. 4' with a light off shore. I'll be there morning and arvo
IMO you can throw the whole litre thing out the window.... some small volume boards surf crap and some large ones surf great. Really is best to try before you buy. My widest board is about 28, the board before that 27 and a bit and my next board is 27. But have surfed a 30 that went great. if your a bit stout but want short and good surfer, maybe try the Mctavish 9.0. Mate has a Naish 9.3 and 8.4 and loves both, untill he got the 8.4 the 9.3 was his go to sup and he had about 4 different to choose from.
then even the Surftech Jamie Mitchell at 9.8 surfs well
options options options
serg
Stefan,
Cant agree about your DC 8'10'. Sure the new DC shapes are good but IMO that one aint
Good luck with you 8'2 x 27.5 
Ruusssh,
Plenty of boards on the market, dont rush in, take you time as you have many good options. My tip, try everything and try before you buy. That can take a bit of organising.
hey russh, just got a laguna 9-2" goes great welcome to try, also got some psh demo's around state titles time. cheer's
Hey Rush,
What is your height and weight and what type of breaks and conditions do you love to surf?
Phill?
Try a short 28 wide board as the 9 8 starboard you have is one of the most stable boards around.
Thanks Phill
This looks good coming to a PSH store near you
8-9 Ripper 8'9" x 28 1/4" x 4 1/16" Comp Pro Vol = 119L
In comp construction I think they look like this - AA would have more details
Its all good guys - don't want to cause friction amongst the forum - had a few contacts from crew locally and am gonna do my best to try some gear over next few weeks.
Sure is a lot too choose from. Not a lot different to trying to choose your next sail board and sail
Cheers for all the responses - there are some great lookin boards out there
I find with SUPn that Its great to be stoked with another surf sport and be keen as to improve in something new - I feel like a grommie again!! (sure don't look like it )
Make sure you try a 8'4" Naish as well, I had one go on one and really liked it. I tried the 8' 10" and wasn't so fussed - but hard to tell from a 10 minute surf.
I reckon the new PSHs will be awesome as well.
If you like shortboard type surfing stay away form the flatter wide nose SUPs.
I'm a custom fan but there are so many great production boards out there which make great stepping stones to your ultimate board.
Cheers Piros - buying a custom these days would be easier than when I bought my last board as so much is cad designed, stored etc and tweaking them would be much simpler I suppose
Must say I don't quite get the red thumb treatmet on your post - do crew think your pimping the brands or have you been bad in another life.
I must be missing something
Now to load the car and head for a paddle - 3-4ft at down south with light offshores - should be worth a drive
Hey rush - do not be afraid of being comfortable on a board in regards to stability. I have seen so many people get rid of their very stable board because everyone is telling them its too wide and wont perform and then they go short and narrow and struggle every day and regret selling their very comfy wider sup. If you are comfortable on the board and are catching plenty of waves but are lacking something in performance then firstly look at your fins and borrow some others and experiment a bit before getting rid of your sup. also get someone to give constructive feedback on your surfing style - maybe it needs some adjustment as well.
I also fully agree with husq (serg) in that you may not need to go small to get performance and you may well find a bigger board - say 9.6 to 10.0 that will be perfect for your needs and give you the increased performance you need without sacrificing paddle speed and comfort.
Take your time looking about and like I say play with fins a bit in the mean time and every time you are out and there are other sups around ask for a quick spin and get a feel for other boards and see what feels good for you.
hey russh, looking good for a paddle sunday down south? I'am working call in you are welcome to try 9-2'laguna, 9-3'dc or 9-6'psh wideripper. cheers
Bring on the on the RED thumbs, but definitely try demoing a Naish Hokua 8'4".
Yes I ride for Naish, and this board is insane!
As said above, try everything you can before buying.
JB
