Hi guys I'm kind of a newbie SUPer, been at it only about 6 months but loving it.
I've been riding a 9'2 x 29" 125L YOLO Board, I actually really like the feel but it's starting to feel huuuuuge (which I guess is a good thing). I am 63 kg and almost always ride horrible beach break wind chop, being in southeast florida where we don't really get ground swell.
Most of our waves here are either (a) big and blown out, IE take one whack and cruise toward the beach in the whitewater, or (b) drop in and pray you don't bury the nose and die, turn and shoot down the line at 2 million kph and ride off the back
So I'm thinking I'd like something a bit smaller that I can throw my limited weight around easier with, and prevent dying when its low tide from nosediving
How small is too small? should I be looking for something in the 7' range or is it better to stay larger for wind chop? Current board I'm looking at (it's the right price, too) is 7'2 x 25" at 72 L, thinking that might be a little small... but it's still a lot more volume than a typical "longboard" so I'm not sure.
Cheers for any advice :)
Shot this video last week if it helps get an idea of wave quality. It's our off season so in the winter they look the same just bigger.
For Florida conditions this is the board you need: www.gong-galaxy.com/magazine/pics/1-hour-4-boards/
Ask a 95 liters , would be fine for your weight, have fun
On lower tides the waves end up having quite a bit of pitch, so much that that's the reason I'm considering length to be the primary concern here, it's hard to drop in and turn down the line before you hit the bottom of the wave and explode
I figured a board that small might need a bigger wave to really get going, would a shorter board with more volume be a bit better in this scenario? I see quite a few companies are putting out something along the lines of 7'6 to 8'0 by 32", 110-120L. My current board is 125L and it has more than enough glide and float. Do you end up losing a lot of wave-catching-ability if you keep roughly the same volume but go down in length?
hi mate
i would probably advise against going that small, more so for the conditions you describe being pretty windy and bumpy you want a bit of stability, you could easily go that small but your probably not gonna have to much fun cause your gonna be in the water a bit, instead of just thinking about cutting inches off every where you have to look at the design, you probably want around 90l maybe a little more to be comfortable instead of 9l, you could probably take an inch or two off of the width, maybe look at some boards like these, starboard 7'7 or 8' pro board, or a Naish 8' or 8'3, they will give you that extra bit of paddle which is always good, and also stability, just demo if you can, if money is an option you could always consider second hand as there are great bargains to be found, just keep having fun
Jarryd
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Very small SUPs look fun but the smaller you go you will find getting them going hard work. I reckon if you are going very small you need a wave that breaks/pitches otherwise you'll never get the wave - short SUPs don't have speed so you need to have a wave that can pick you up and take you.
Good advice here from Slab. At your weight the Naish Hokua 7.6 would be a great beach break board but be aware these boards take a bit of getting used to because they don't paddle straight (yaw effect). You could also look at the new Starboard Airbornes for a bit more stability than the Naish or if you want something that paddles a bit straighter you could look boards in the 8.5 range. Maybe the Starby Pro or the new Naish Mana.
Hi Dyyylan,
Im 65kg and ride a 7'7 92litre starby Pro. I can paddle it in up to 20 knots of wind but it does get difficult and involves a fair bit of falling off. it handles both short punchy waves and bigger stuff as well. I would definitely check out the new airborn starbys for the conditions you are describing. Good luck
Dyyylan,
I am also a south Florida sup surfer, fort lauderdale to be exact. I know the conditions all too well. I am now riding the fanatic prowave 8'10 ltd. I absolutely love it for our conditions. Before the prowave i had the allwave 8'6. the extra width was nice but i wanted something lighter weight and aggressive when the waves turn on.....if we get any tropical activity this year. Not sure if you have ever windsurfed before, but pretty much the entire fanatic line can rig a sail. Overlooked feature that is a blast when the wind turns on and the waves are still junk. The HRS price point is hard to beat, and from the looks of it this years model have the ledge handle, why every board doesn't blows my mind. see you out there.
Dyyylan, don't forget to check out the JP 8 8, or 8 2 surf wide body or surf series.
I have found the 8 2 and 8 8 to be great performers
my last ShortSup 6'9"/28.5" 85liters homegrown...
First, a disclaimer: I am a Gong ambassador, thus I will take examples out of the Gong line I know a lot. But this is just to give you pictures and dimensions in real boards, so that you can find similar shapes at your favorite brand/shaper. I am am not trying to sell you Gong gear... which isn't available in the US anyways :-)
Dylan, at 63kg, for chop I would advise a volume of 63 + 10 + 30 = 103 liters. I.e., between 100 and 110 litres. 30 litres is your "buffer" (extra flotation) to dampen chop. For glassy conditions, you can get away with a "buffer" of 10, i.e. 83 liters. For your conditions, I would not go below 98 liters. Too much flotation (over 120 litres), and the board will feel corky, and will be less stable once you learn to balance when rails go underwater. Better add width and length for comfort than volume after the minimum is there.
For the width, it depends on your height. I would advise against going narrower than 30" for a 6' guy. Me, at 5'5" would not get under 29". I can balance on narrower boards, but they feel dead in windy waves and are too tiring. Narrow is for fast waves. Pros can use 25" (or less) boards, but they are paid for it :-)
Then, the shape: you want a fast rocker (flat) and width in the tail and nose to extract all the power of the wave. Not as round as a noserider nose, some kind of semi-pointed nose. Wombats, Eggs, Simsups, all these kind of "fun shapes" are good. I would be wary of round outlines that may be a bit limited in speed to maximize surfing time in your closeouts.
Finally, the length. If you already know how to shortboard prone, how to "pump" the board by small turns to gain speed, you will wants as short as possible to be able to throw the board around to create speed. Also, being patient enough to train to master the row on sub-7' on flat water is mandatory. But the shortest the board, the slower the paddle, and it can be hell against the wind. basically the ranges are:
sub-7': insane fun, especially if you like mastering new things. very slow paddling. Like the "ONE" (my favorite board for less than waist high waves) pointed by Kami in the 2nd post. A favorite for most people is: www.gong-galaxy.com/magazine/pics/1-hour-4-boards/
7'2' to 7'6": a good compromise. Still fun but paddles better. example: www.gongsup.com/OD-7-2,1290.html?lang=fr Can be a do-it-all board.
7'6-8'0: "I don't want to spend time learning a new paddling technique: give me instant fun". More glide, less "pumbability". example: www.gongsup.com/+PROTO-8-1-Fract-GONG+.html This is the board I ordered for my 60kg daugther, intermediate surfer (slow turns, does not pump), but not willing to suffer on a SUP.
Awesome, thanks for the math!
Luckily I am a kitesurfer first, so if it is super windy I will be kiting :) But there are so many days where it is 10 knots and head high, that are really fun for SUP.
I think I have enough to make a decision... just have to find a board now. Nearly impossible to find anything under 10' here 
You've gotten a heap of advice. The trend for stability is wider +-30" and thinner. I think you lose on both sides if you have one board
for smooth and choppy water.
I'd stick with a US delivered board, cheapest for you. You have many sup suppliers ready to help you, outside of the states is much harder.
I just wanted to follow up in case anyone finds this on the googles who is thinking about sizing down for similar conditions.
I ended up picking up a 7'8 x 29 x 4.75 off ebay. I've been riding it for a few weeks now in everything from ankle high to almost head high waves.
Impressions from pulling it out of the box: wow, it fits in my toyota camry with the fins on, and I can close the trunk! Stoked already...
The board has a little nose rocker but is a little flatter than my previous board through the middle, and just a bit of tail rocker. Overall it is a lot flatter. I set it up as a quad, and this thing catches small ****ty waves easier than my 9'2 ever did, I'm guessing because it's just so much faster and I can sit right on the peak and hop into the waves. Catching anything waist high plus all the way up to head high is super easy, barely have to paddle since you can sit so much closer to the peak and just drop in and shoot down the line immediately. This was really my primary concern, I figured getting a shorter board would make it harder to catch waves, but with the combination of less rocker and easier positioning in the lineup its actually way EASIER to catch waves.
Cutbacks are unreal, the quad feels loose and super drivey, so I can really get out in front of the wave and get vertical before it closes out.
So far I haven't found anything I don't like, I am pretty convinced that short and thick is the way to go for windchop/beachbreak conditions, I'm having more fun than I ever did on the long sup and feels pretty much just as stable and easy to paddle.
Short SUP is the future. GONG shows the way. I don't have a Gong board but I shaped a very similar 7'4" x 31 1/2. Even 1 foot waves become fun to ride on. The board just pics up the wave and off you go. Once having speed maneuverability is available thanks to the short length.
Bigger waves: these work too -as the board is shorter less nose dives.
Short SUP is the future and sorry for all the other 'big' brands but GONG created the Short SUP
Select to expand quoteJohn4F said..
Short SUP is the future. GONG shows the way. I don't have a Gong board but I shaped a very similar 7'4" x 31 1/2. Even 1 foot waves become fun to ride on. The board just pics up the wave and off you go. Once having speed maneuverability is available thanks to the short length.
Bigger waves: these work too -as the board is shorter less nose dives.
Short SUP is the future and sorry for all the other 'big' brands but GONG created the Short SUP
One has to question the lack of availability of these shorter style sups, that is the Simmons or Gong variety, here in Australia.
Is there any reason why suppliers have not embraced this style of sup over here?
Cheers Ozzie
Select to expand quoteJohn4F said..
Short SUP is the future. GONG shows the way. I don't have a Gong board but I shaped a very similar 7'4" x 31 1/2. Even 1 foot waves become fun to ride on. The board just pics up the wave and off you go. Once having speed maneuverability is available thanks to the short length.
Bigger waves: these work too -as the board is shorter less nose dives.
Short SUP is the future and sorry for all the other 'big' brands but GONG created the Short SUP
Gong make great designs - it is a shame that their construction doesn't match up to the design.
Select to expand quotedyyylan said..
Hi guys I'm kind of a newbie SUPer, been at it only about 6 months but loving it.
I've been riding a 9'2 x 29" 125L YOLO Board, I actually really like the feel but it's starting to feel huuuuuge (which I guess is a good thing). I am 63 kg and almost always ride horrible beach break wind chop, being in southeast florida where we don't really get ground swell.
(...)
How small is too small? should I be looking for something in the 7' range or is it better to stay larger for wind chop? Current board I'm looking at (it's the right price, too) is 7'2 x 25" at 72 L, thinking that might be a little small... but it's still a lot more volume than a typical "longboard" so I'm not sure.
Cheers for any advice :)
Hi Dyyylan,
It's all a matter of will and determination.
I'm 6'3 and 101kg and just ordered the Starboard 8'0 Pro at 96ltr.
It's quite a workout, but once on a wave it completely pays up for it.
I just arrived from the Starboard International meeting and for someone your weight, i'd say that the 7'4 x 28 1/2" Airborn at 85ltr would suit you fine on windy conditions. It's a super thin board (3.3" or 3.4") and it will feel like not a lot of float in the beginning but you should grow into it.
My wife had a blast on it (she's 55kg), and though it was her favorite board amongst hundreds of boards, i'm trying to convince her getting a 7'4 x 25 1/2 Pro at 80 ltr as we surf a lot on good clean conditions.
Select to expand quoteghost4man said..
One has to question the lack of availability of these shorter style sups, that is the Simmons or Gong variety, here in Australia.
Is there any reason why suppliers have not embraced this style of sup over here?
These designs work wonder for "crappy" waves, so in places with imperfect waves, there is no question about it, and people are easily convinced of the merits of these designs.
In places with consistent good waves, nearly any kind of board works, and you have room on the face to turn a longer board, so you have to put some time getting used to the paddling technique before being able to have the benefits balance the drawbacks (slower paddling speed). Also people are more conservative: if traditional SUPs work, why try new things?
We have the same in France. ShortSUPs are well received everywhere, except in the southwest, home of consistent good waves (Hossegor / Biarritz). They are definitely fun in good waves too, but the enjoyment gap between a 6'6" and a 8'6" SUP become smaller with the wave quality and size.
And perhaps the most important factor is that the first time you try a ShortSUP, you may think "no way I am going to get confortable with this thing". So if you do not have examples before your eyes that people can actually enjoy these boards, you may not persevere enough to begin to enjoy them. We were lucky in France that a fun event was organised in 2010 where "normal" people could try all these new toys and post their impressions about them, to bootstrap their use. But they suffered a hate campaign from other brands on other forums ("these things will never turn").
Also, I am sure the ShortSUP will be part of the future of SUP, but not the only option. I will try to post an interesting new development, consisting of SUPing surfboards with just enough volume for SUP, but similar widths as surfboards.Select to expand quoteSlab
Gong make great designs - it is a shame that their construction doesn't match up to the design.
Gong boards are not PVC sandwich since 2010, so they are definitely stronger than surfboards (especially in rails), but must be handled like surfboards, not sailboards. Dropping them on the road from 1' height will ding them (is this what you mean by construction?). When I give advice to people, I emphasize this fact, and recommend other brands if they feel they might bump them a lot in rocks, stairs, car, etc... Also Gong has different constructions, with the heavier ones ("epoxy" line) being stronger than the light ones, but not as strong as sailboard-grade PVC sandwich.
Yes Colas - they are not PVC and therefore not as tough..but tough enough for general surfing. I know Gong is trying to improve the strength of their boards - and they have in places - but they are not known for quality construction and quality control...just ask repair shops in the south of UK...plenty business there. I've bought Gong before....they surf very well no doubt about it....but it is annoying how easy they ding or compress etc. You have to prepare for that..I suppose the price reflects that.
Select to expand quoteSlab said..
I suppose the price reflects that.
Price, and perhaps more importantly, volume. The difficulty (for all brands) is trying to reliably produce a lot of boards, cheap enough and solid enough, while keeping close to the specified design. Some brands find it the hard way: one had prototypes in made in China that were good, but once they ordered a container, half of the boards had quality issues. I guess (only a guess) that's why PSH called it quits.
Anyways, I was fortunate to ride the new 100% carbon (no glass anywhere) PVC-sandwich-on-top Gong XTR (no sandwich on the hull to avoid the "rebound" effect in chop), and progress seems definitely on the way :-)
Select to expand quoteghost4man said..
One has to question the lack of availability of these shorter style sups, that is the Simmons or Gong variety, here in Australia.
Seems innovation is coming: www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/Tullys-Tunnel-Rat-Project-is-here/
This "Tunnel Rat" looks sexy as hell!
Select to expand quoteghost4man said..One has to question the lack of availability of these shorter style sups, that is the Simmons or Gong variety, here in Australia.
As Colas said, the short wide boards are super fast in less juicy waves.
As the waves themselves become faster and more consistent, the board no longer needs to create the speed and you can use a more traditional surf shape.
Funny thing is that the traditional surf shape is less stable, so in better waves I end up riding a less stable board.
Great to read all of this, i am a newbie too, so helps me get on board, think I will go with a JP surf wide body after mastering the 10'2' types that i havee hired..thx BWs
