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Travel, Trips, Destinations / Re: The state of SUP surfing?
« Last post by surfafrica on March 28, 2024, 10:20:29 PM »
 
The SUP scene that I have seen first hand seems more popular in SoCal than NorCal.  The beaches got hammered in SoCal this winter, messing up some of the beach breaks, but SUPs still work.
Don't worry about what what other people are riding, ride the equipment that feels good to you. 
Stoked on your El Savador trip.  Welcome back.

Ya, SoCal seemed to be a real mecca back in 2014-2018 when I was really active. My shaper was based out of Carlsbad and I made a couple trips down to pick up boards and surf around the area. Met some very cool people on those trips. I'm glad to hear the scene is still strong there.

The state of SUP will have no influence on what I choose to ride. My big decision is only what SUP to bring. I'm not worried, but more curious how things ebbed and flowed while my head was in the sand.

...and thanks....I'm so thankful to be back in a spot where I can froth again!
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Travel, Trips, Destinations / Re: The state of SUP surfing?
« Last post by sflinux on March 28, 2024, 07:36:41 PM »
I haven't seen much of a shift in CA.  Like any sport that explodes in popularity, there is going to be a healthy decline.
I was at a break a few weeks ago.  A guy that resembled Bob Miller was out on the original Laird SUP with his dog.  It was like he was on a conveyer belt paddling to the outside peak, then riding the wave all of the way in, never he nor his dog dropping in the drink once.  It was like he was in the carpool lane in terms of right of way in the crowded line up.
The SUP scene that I have seen first hand seems more popular in SoCal than NorCal.  The beaches got hammered in SoCal this winter, messing up some of the beach breaks, but SUPs still work.
Foiling is fun, there is a reason why people are addicted to it.  But it all comes down to what equipment works best for your local break.
Me personally, SUP has taken a bit of a dip, due to an uptick in my prone surfing.  I tend to gravitate to the best equipment based on the current conditions, which could be SUP, prone, or kite. 
Don't worry about what what other people are riding, ride the equipment that feels good to you. 
Stoked on your El Savador trip.  Welcome back.
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Travel, Trips, Destinations / Re: The state of SUP surfing?
« Last post by B-Walnut on March 28, 2024, 04:42:26 PM »
I took a year off to focus on getting my foil skills up. After 150 sessions on foil I wondered "will I still enjoy sup surfing?"

All it took was one wave to feel the magic again.

Foiling is great, I live near the Columbia River Gorge so being able to make turns 30 minutes from home (vs 2 hours to the coast) is awesome. However, there's nothing quite like actually feeling the wave. None of my SUP buddies stopped while I was getting my foils skills up, so not a big change here.
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Travel, Trips, Destinations / The state of SUP surfing?
« Last post by surfafrica on March 28, 2024, 12:57:26 PM »
Hi all,

I've been away since 2018 (both from SUP and this forum). Had a few surgeries and recoveries I needed to take care of.  I'm looking forward to getting back out there, but am curious to hear from you all on what the state of SUP surfing is these days. At my local spots up here in Canada, I'm seeing less SUPs out in the lineup. On my recent trip to El Salvador, I only saw two other SUPers out over a 10 day period.  I also stayed at Alex's hotel (the local legend SUPer down there) and he said he hasn't SUPed much at all over the past few years.

It also looks like this forum has really morphed much more into a strong foiling forum since I was active back in 2017/18.

How's the SUP surf scene down in SoCal where it used to be flourishing (Carlsbad, Sano, Dana Point, etc)? Is it declining elsewhere?  Or is it strong as ever?

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Travel, Trips, Destinations / Re: I needed that! (El Salvador)
« Last post by surfafrica on March 28, 2024, 12:48:57 PM »
Cool to see you back, and back at it !

Thanks! It's great to be back!
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Travel, Trips, Destinations / Re: I needed that! (El Salvador)
« Last post by surfafrica on March 28, 2024, 12:47:46 PM »
You are a brave soul indeed lol. El Salvador is full of cobble and massive rocks. So many point breaks lead to shallow depths of rock, it's a intimidating place. I surfed that area 10 years ago and was blown away by all of the spots within short distances of each other. I've heard Playa El Tunco is all growed now. Way to crush it!

Thanks! Ya, lots of rocks in that area for sure.  I was SUPing with two guys from Miami (only 2 SUPers I saw all trip) and one guy broke a leash.  His board got swept into the rocks. They didn't have booties on so I swam in to get his board (I've had enough urchin encounters to have no shame wearing booties in the tropics!). Board was fine thankfully.

And ya, El Tunco is a pretty busy place relative to the rest of that coast.  Visited for 20 minutes and then moved on!
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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Durable Hand Wing Material
« Last post by B-Walnut on March 27, 2024, 09:48:36 AM »
Alula is light and strong, but not particularly durable. I've seen a few Allula wings that appear to be delaminating. I don't know if that's the right word for what is going on, but it doesn't look good. The newer fabrics have a lot of promise but designers don't seem to be able to get the best out of them yet. I bought a new 4.5 F-One V3 when my V2 F-one disappeared. The new wing has some nice design features and lots of high-tech fabrics. But the center of effort is far forward that the wing can barely be depowered. I might push through and learn to use it, but I found my V2 4.5 and I'm back to using that so it isn't getting much of a chance.

The delam issue did happen with some of the original Aluula wings. I haven't heard as many issues with the newer ones. The biggest thing with aluula is that they cannot be packed up wet. That's a disaster for them. However, if properly dried and repacked they seem to be incredibly long lasting from all reports that I've heard. I just bought the 3m and 4m Ocean Rodeo Glide AA so I'll keep detailed wear notes on them and report back in a year!

I tried the small v3 strikes. 2m and 3m. The 2m was okay, needs a minimum of 35 knots to ride but is nice at that speed. The 3m though, least favorite wing I've tried. Incredibly twitchy with a narrow wind range.
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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Durable Hand Wing Material
« Last post by PonoBill on March 27, 2024, 12:18:20 AM »
Alula is light and strong, but not particularly durable. I've seen a few Allula wings that appear to be delaminating. I don't know if that's the right word for what is going on, but it doesn't look good. The newer fabrics have a lot of promise but designers don't seem to be able to get the best out of them yet. I bought a new 4.5 F-One V3 when my V2 F-one disappeared. The new wing has some nice design features and lots of high-tech fabrics. But the center of effort is far forward that the wing can barely be depowered. I might push through and learn to use it, but I found my V2 4.5 and I'm back to using that so it isn't getting much of a chance.
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Travel, Trips, Destinations / Re: I needed that! (El Salvador)
« Last post by Dusk Patrol on March 26, 2024, 11:53:49 PM »
Cool to see you back, and back at it !
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Travel, Trips, Destinations / Re: I needed that! (El Salvador)
« Last post by 503Foil on March 26, 2024, 10:37:14 PM »
You are a brave soul indeed lol. El Salvador is full of cobble and massive rocks. So many point breaks lead to shallow depths of rock, it's a intimidating place. I surfed that area 10 years ago and was blown away by all of the spots within short distances of each other. I've heard Playa El Tunco is all growed now. Way to crush it!
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