Longboard SUP - ideal two board quivers

Your pretty light I'm 65k so I know. Anything over 100l even spread over 10ft is going to be very reactive in chop especially with a narrower board. For bad conditions and chop a full size low rocker longboard is pretty tough to turn around and maneuver. I recommend a custom 98-100 liter 8'6 X 28 mini longboard with bit more pulled in nose not a nose rider and decent amount of nose rocker so it doesn't catch in the chop. Otherwise I would get infinity 9 x 28 new deal. These would match well with your bigger board. 29 will feel pretty big for someone your size on a longboard shape in any decent waves in my experience. If you went away from a longboard shape to short wide or more performance shape then it's a different story and you could probably go 29 without it feeling too big.

The good news is you already have some nice skills being able to ride the 10x26

I agree with the idea of having a more stable board in the quiver but I would never spend big bucks to buy a board specifically for bad conditions unless that was all you had to ride.

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slsurf said..
Your pretty light I'm 65k so I know. Anything over 100l even spread over 10ft is going to be very reactive in chop especially with a narrower board. For bad conditions and chop a full size low rocker longboard is pretty tough to turn around and maneuver. I recommend a custom 98-100 liter 8'6 X 28 mini longboard with bit more pulled in nose not a nose rider and decent amount of nose rocker so it doesn't catch in the chop. Otherwise I would get infinity 9 x 28 new deal. These would match well with your bigger board. 29 will feel pretty big for someone your size on a longboard shape in any decent waves in my experience. If you went away from a longboard shape to short wide or more performance shape then it's a different story and you could probably go 29 without it feeling too big.

The good news is you already have some nice skills being able to ride the 10x26

I agree with the idea of having a more stable board in the quiver but I would never spend big bucks to buy a board specifically for bad conditions unless that was all you had to ride.

Thank you for your suggestions!
Yes, I looked into 9x28s in different brands including Infinity and actually tried a few. The issue was most 9x28s are about 100L (abt 10L less than Highroller 10x26) and the stability gained from wider width was somewhat offset by decrease in literage. I tried Starboard 9x28 but would probably struggle like I do with NSP in rough conditions

I also trined JP 9.6x28x130L which was stable and easy to take off etc. but felt like compact Starboard 10x31 (confims that it is categoraized as all rounder vs performance).

I might want to try Kalama and Laird as I heard good things about both of them. And maybe Highroller in different size (9x28, 9x29.5).
Also, I probably want to stay in the Longboard shape for now.

Thank you again, I will continue to seek for an ideal #2 board!

Hi mate, I see a Sunova Casey Revolution in your future

I have a Revo in 10x30 at around 137 ltr's and it as stable as you would ever need. The wide parallel nose helps with stability and the pulled in tail make the board surf like a foot shorter board. It so good I rarely take either of my two lovely SMIKS off the rack these days. To the smallest wave you could catch to the largest that you want to paddle into the Revo can handle it.

I am much larger than you at 6'2 100 kg's so my board is plus 40 ltrs. So for you the 9x28 @115 ltrs should be a great fit you could go down to the 9x26.5 or up a size to the 9x30 if you really need that much stability.

I cannot praise the Casey Revo enough, it's so good that I am thinking of getting a 9x30 for myself. If you don't nose ride, the new Sunova Shorty might be a option, a little more performance perhaps with a little less stability with the more pulled in nose compared to the Revo, It's also a board that I am considering.

Hope that helps.

Steve.

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drivethebus said..
Hi mate, I see a Sunova Casey Revolution in your future

I have a Revo in 10x30 at around 137 ltr's and it as stable as you would ever need. The wide parallel nose helps with stability and the pulled in tail make the board surf like a foot shorter board. It so good I rarely take either of my two lovely SMIKS off the rack these days. To the smallest wave you could catch to the largest that you want to paddle into the Revo can handle it.

I am much larger than you at 6'2 100 kg's so my board is plus 40 ltrs. So for you the 9x28 @115 ltrs should be a great fit you could go down to the 9x26.5 or up a size to the 9x30 if you really need that much stability.

I cannot praise the Casey Revo enough, it's so good that I am thinking of getting a 9x30 for myself. If you don't nose ride, the new Sunova Shorty might be a option, a little more performance perhaps with a little less stability with the more pulled in nose compared to the Revo, It's also a board that I am considering.

Hope that helps.

Steve.

Steve,

Thank you for the suggestions.
You are right on! I was actually looing into Sunova Revo when I was flirting around for the next board after Starboard 10x31.

Unfortunately, the dealership / distribution of Sunova along with Infinity, JL, Quatro etc is weak in where I live and could not test ride any of those brands. I tested longboard style in Starboard, NSP, Laird, JP Australia, Kalama, (my friend owns) and chose NSP Highroller.

I looking into 9x28s in different brands maybe a touch wider as it would be for rough day board. I will make another try at Sunova Revo as you are not the only persons recommending which speaks a lot for the brand and the line up.

I may participate in a local SUP surfing contest in longboard style next year, so a more stable long board would be ideal to cover all conditions.

Away from longboard style and contest purpose, seeking something different that better fit the rough day condition such as SB Spice, Sunova Ghost, Infinity Escape pod, etc. for an ideal 3 board quivers may be the ultimate line up. But that would be a different discussion...

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts. Hoping to make a good decision soon.

Don't know the Sunova CR , had a Speeed and it was a good board, a bit heavy XXtec however, but very strong.
I do know chop in combination with current and for me 30 wide or even wider is the choice.
What I use most 9.0 x 32 hipster twin Smik 9.5 x 32 Spitfire Smik and my old trusty Fanatic 10.6 x 31 Stylemaster
Never feel that the boards are to wide, they are shaped very good , so rails are wet and therefore they surf great.
28 would be a workout waiting in de lineup and catching les waves so less fun for me
BTW age 62 , 90 kg and 185 cm long

Bear in mind a lighter rider doesn't need nearly as much width as a heavier person for equivalent stability. Another point, for a given shape at a reasonable intermediate volume say 1.4 a .25 inch difference in width is very noticeable, 2 inches is gigantic.

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colas said..

taitaitai said..
Sunova is not widely distributed in my country

Actually, it would be very helpful for you to mention where you live, so that we can better adapt our advice.(e.g, if you are in Europe, Gong has a extensive line of longboard SUPs)

Yes, I'm in Japan. SUP surfing population is quite small compared to surfing, probably the biggest reason for limited brand offerings.

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Kisutch said..
One factor to consider is how rough it is when not clean and you're struggling, and how often those conditions occur. Are the waves still good for surfing when it's rough? I had a larger board in my quiver for rough days, but I just started using those days as balance training because the surfing was bad anyway, it was bumpy on the wave too. But if it's hard to stand when it's anything but glassy, maybe get whatever 9x28 has lowest volume. maybe the 8x28 new deal so you'd have a little more stability but also a different feel

Thank you for suggestions.
What I would consider a clean~cleanish day is offshore / side offshore wind upto 3mm and whatever the swell size the day offers.

What I would consider a (becoming to be) rough day is when the wind approach 5m where it quickly becomes challenging even on offshore days due constantly paddling / fighting against the wind to keep the position. Simiarly on onshore days the wind approaching 5m would become more choppy and bumpy conditons to ride Highroller 10x26 at my current skills. These conditions are quite common but still surfable unless the wild picks up further or combined with currents / backwash for an additional roughness.

Yes, as you mentioned I am currently using those days as balance training days!
Mostly because the conditions shift from a farily clean to a more challenging one on a given day. I would probably stay out if the day was already messy.

Also as you suggested I was looking into longboard style in 9x28/29 8x28/29 in 110-130L range but one thing that caught my interest was Sunova Flare.

New to the Sunova SUP surf line up, and seems fit my purpose. Thanks to prior recommendations for Sunova Revo, as I bumped into FLARE when doing a search.