Long time surfer and owner of a 9.6 x23 wide point starboard sup. I always hated the widepoint as its super slow and steers like a bus in the waves so in the market for a new SUP is Starboard still the way to go?
Starboard was never the best brand.
And no brand is/was the "best" brand.
"best" is relative to your expectations: availability in your country, your level, your waves and conditions, and of course the famous compromise price/lightness/durability where the optimal is different for everybody.
And the fact that you are not satisfied with your current board should be an hint that maybe it is not "the best" :-)
Triggering and catchy title! It's working I'm clicking on it, but I have to disagree with the title and go with Colas opinion politely.
One small thing, that maybe isn't fair to point out but your wide point of 23" isn't really wide, in our sup community. I think there is a small typo.
One thing I could add is that the feel of a board to one and the other does not depend on the brand. There are so many factors that come into play with e. g. the rider (experience, weight, height, agility, fitness, age, etc.) and with the board (shape, length. width, volume, fins, etc.).
Determine what you want, to learn, the basics are for example not on a pro board that is super small. You have dailed in the turning and you like to cruise around, maybe a longboard shape is your type of board. Do you have the turning under control and do radical turns, do you like to accelerate down the line maybe a low-volume shortboard sup is what you are looking at.
Good luck with the search for the right board and brand, it's an incredible journey to find the magic board and it's appreciated here to discuss it.
They talk about trying to be more "eco" with their production and I think the factory is pretty decent in terms of safety, workers etc. Also they sponsor some top riders which helps produce comps and videos for our entertainment and advances sup riding progression. The website is helpful in terms of board selection. The boards are generally well reviewed and they've been around quite a while. So in my mind they are a good brand, how far that goes in your board selection is a different issue. Sounds like you need to try a smaller and or surfier board period, if you can stand and paddle on it. I try and find my dimensions and then match that to a production board or order a custom. Some brands have dimensions not available from others.
I never tried a starboard though so everything is just my impression from afar. I think the spice is closest to what I would be interested in.
I think it's safe to say that only the past ten years they have probably been in the top ten globally for SUP. dependable brand and have made some nice production boards over the years. I also had a few wide points 9/5 8/10 and 8/2 and they served me well during the early years. The carbon construction was one of the best being light and strong. They priced themselves out of the market a one point with the top end boards but now normalised the pricing I see
It was arguably up there 2013-2014 when using carbon pvc sandwich the light strong starboards some of us will remember,IMO the current carbon boards are heavy!I have had a few I think there is no pvc in the build anymore,therefore much heavier ,and not as durable,just saying 
Select to expand quotereddemon said..
Long time surfer and owner of a 9.6 x23 wide point starboard sup. I always hated the widepoint as its super slow and steers like a bus in the waves so in the market for a new SUP is Starboard still the way to go?
At 9,5 x33 wide it would steer like a bus ,starboard make good boards ,I found the sizes limiting though ,
They tend to dominate in the Supboardermag reviews, which aren't perfect but are maybe better than forum reviews which are often initial impressions and perhaps affected by psychology of just having dropped a bunch of cash on something and needing to like it (I do this)
They tweak models year-to-year, so might need to consider the year of board you're looking at, at least for their Pro shortboard.
Jimmy Lewis and Infinity getting closer in price, but I think the Starboard Blue Carbon is like 25% more than any other board on market
Met a guy here who loved his Starboard longboard but it came with a leak or something on the fin box, but they replaced it.
People seem to love the Wedge as a stable board that can still turn well. I've only rode a friend's wide point and yeah it was fast but so hard to turn.
Like others mentioned, like most brands they might have a gap in sizes where you fit in. I would have strongly considered their new Spice when it came out but they jump from 6'9" to 7' 11".
Good luck
I've tried most of the big name brands and currently have a Starby in the quiver..it's a dependable good surf SUP and easy to use. Well made too..it's a Starlite version. Good value in imho. Just bought an Infinity and it is better in nearly every way but way more expensive
Well they may or may not be the best "brand", but in Australia if you want their best flat water boards you can't get them because the importer is going to bting them in. I have wanted one of the new Zero Sprints and was informed they are not bringing them in as they are too expensive...
So even if they do make the best boards , in Australia they are not the best brand as they don't surply their customers what they want.
There 2014 builds were their best build ,being closed cell foam /full pvc/ carbon construction ,so strong and light,but not many could afford them! Just shy of 3 k in 2014 !IMO some of those boards are sought after classics
to this day
I owned one 8'10" Starboard for a couple of months about 8 years ago which was a decent intermediate board and have since surfed a few other Starboard models that did not match up against what I feel are better designs from companies like Sunova and Infinity.
I would suggest trying some different brands and not limit yourself to Starboard. Avoid the mistake of equating higher price with better performance.
