I started with SUP 2007 in sweden, and I mainly surf waves. I hade a GONG greedy (i think it was 10'2"). I didn't have much surfing experience then, except I have windsurfed for about 20 years.
At the moment I live in Sydney and have surfed (prone) frequently for about 1,5 year. I will move back to Sweden within a couple of weeks and need advice on which board I should buy.
I want a board for waves. The conditions in Sweden i pretty crapy and it is always windy and choppy. On a really good day I will surf overhead, but the normal wave size is probably chest to knee heigh. The board I had, was way to big for me, i think, it felt like a boat and as I only weigh 68 kg, I had trouble pressing down the rail (the board was from 2007, maybe boards have developed since then).
I want a board that can handle chop, but as I'm a flyweight I need something that is not to big for me and that rides well in waves.
Also, it's not mandatory, but I really want it to have insert for a sail.
contact arildkristiansen.wordpress.com/ he has a range of sups you could demo in Sweden and would give great advice.
Hard to comment without knowing your size and ability.
Mast tracks in a few brands - Fanatic, Starboard and Naish at least.
Size: 68 kg and 170 cm
ability: Not pro, not beginner..... Intermediate maybe..
I think Starboard have around 60 models so giving a brand dosen't really help.
I didn't know he rode SUP.... I do know about the shop that sponsor him for his kite performance, thou..
Hey Sweden, here's one to think about....
Amundson 10'6” x 30" x 4 1/4"
158 litres, 11 kgs
Great for riders up to 75kgs, I'm 85kgs & have no problem in flat water or the waves so you'll get plenty of floatation out of it & in no way it feels like a boat.
Great for both flat-water cruising due to the forward width, but it's also great in the surf.....very stable, making it easy to punch through the waves when paddling out & especially nice to handle when there is choppy water in the line-up. The narrow tail design & thruster set-up make it very manoeuvrable on the wave.
Also has an 8 mm Sealed Insert for attaching accessories, such as windsurfing rig or water-bottle holder.
I would have to second the 8'10 widepoint,from the conditions you describe you need stability,so something like this would be good as well for your weight,most boards for someone smaller aren't always so stable in messy conditions,I don't know what the sup scene is like in swedan,maybe try and demo one while ur still in oz
Jarryd
Chat with Ben or Henrik @ Fahlen Surf
www.fahlensurf.se/ (Varberg), they'll help you out for sure. Try ben@fahlensurf.se.
What part of Sweden you live in?
Hi sweden,
Yes, the Gong greedy is a "fish" like shape: wide everywhere, with a longboard rocker (quite flat) but some in the nose.
You can see its dimensions here www.gong-galaxy.com/magazine/pics/1-hour-4-boards/
so that you can compare with your new board
What you experienced that for your weight, you had to put all your weight on the far end of the tail to turn it, due to the wide tail and low rocker. In your new board you can go for:
- narrower tail for ease of getting on the rail
- more tail rocker for tighter turns once on the rail
Both factors decreasing speed on slow waves.
I would advise a board that would be:
[1] wide for stability in the chop
[2] not thick, because you are light, ~120l would be nice, you want thin rails to be able to bury them. Also high volume boards are actually less stable in chop (cork effect)
[3] narrow tail, because you are light
[4] short length because your waves have a short period, longers boards will feel cumbersome. 8' to 8'6" ?
@colas, thanks for that. Good information.
@ChrisParker, I'll be living south of Gothenburg, not far from Fahlens. I might try some of his boards. Henrik is a good guy and he's doing a lot for the Swedish sup community.
Have anyone tried Quatro? I think the 8'6" looks nice, but I don't know if it will be too small? (120litre, 30" wide). Its bigger brother is 9'6" x 31.5' and 165 litre.
