Looking at getting my first sub 9' sup and after tring a few demos am not that close to making a decision all boards have their pros and cons but leaning towards a super pricey carbon starboard for weight. I have noticed that the sup shortboard market in the west seems to be really starboard focused while here on the east coast naish seem to me to be the mkt dominator (i could be totally wrong here). So my question is - is this difference just due to marketing or are naish just better suited to east coast surf and starboard to western oz surf conditions ( never been to west aus before) .
no brand specifically makes different boards for east or west coast, going out on a limb and also saying no brand makes boards to suit an individual. find something you like, say a carbon starbie and get on it. different smokes for different folks. sounds like you are on the right track IMHO. starboard team rider. starboard distributer west coast, naish distributer east coast could have something to do with it.
more likely due to the Starboard distributor being based in the west and the Naish distributor based in the East.
Totally as Kenoo says - Starboard is distributed by Auswind out of Perth whereas Naish is distributed by Windgenuity from NSW. I think anyone would be hard pressed to justify either brand being more suited to the other across conditions as diverse as the entire east coast or WA. And each company has such a vast range that you should be able to find a board to suit yourself and your local conditions.
LilD,
The biggest difference is the colour. You probably noticed that.
Over on the east coast there are so many crowds that the yellow colour makes the Naish popular. This is because people can see you coming when you are about to run them over in the surf.
Go yellow and you will stand out from the crowd.
ET.
You've spotted it. Naish boards are yummy yellow. They sell as well on the West coast but most owners end up with heart conditions and retire. Starby Grey and Blue are colours designed not to be seen which is why their riders over here are a lot older and can drink their weight in beer before The Doctor and still finish. They also get more girls in bikinis on their support boat which helps with marketing. I should disclose that I have a girl with a bikini on the support boat. She tells me that when the helicopters were buzzing around the captain was heard to quite loudly tell the guys to stay below deck.
