Beginner SUP advice needed

[sako]

Hi,

I'm looking at getting into SUPing and am currently going through the process of choosing a board

I haven't surfed before but generally have reasonable balance and skills at other water sports.  I would like a board which can be used on flat water and small waves.  I have young kids as well who would like to ride with me on the flat water, so I guess I need a board with good stability, yet at the same time is suitable for a beginner in the surf.

I weigh about 70kg's and am currently considering the Startboard Cruiser or Big Easy as well as the Coreban Cruiser but am open to other suggestions? Hobie?

I am located in Australia and don't have allot of options around to try different boards so am trying to short list a few.

I would appreciate any advice,

Thanks

[Linus]

Are you looking for a board to put kids on the board while your ride or have them individually ride the board as well?  You'll need some volume to have both on the same board.

Best,
Linus

[sako]

I guess a bit of both if possible, I'd like to take my 2 year old for a ride.

 however if it means increasing the size of the board dramatically it may be a case of them just playing around on the board In the shallows until they are a bit older.

Thanks,

[Linus]

Hi Sako,

Well, at 70kg you could personally ride a wide range of boards (a great thing), so the question really is how much do you want the board to be used for cruising with your son vs. a board that you will take our for yourself.  If it's with your son definitely go for more volume.  But if it's mostly for you and if you want your son to play around paddling on it then go for something like the 10'0 Icon.  The Cruiser (I'm the Coreban distributor so I speak in Coreban terms :-) would be great for you and your son and will be fun in small waves as well.  Hope that helps. 

Have fun!
Linus

[sako]

Well I dropped into a starboard dealer today, and was recomended the drive or the wide point.

What are people's thoughts on these boards?

I guess a lot of the time will be on flat water with a toddler on the front, but I would also like to have a play on some small waves whilst traveling.

Thanks,

[Bulky]

Wide point! Wide point! Wide point!  I just got one this season and it's a great board. At your weight you certainly don't need the big ones you mentioned first. You may not even néed the 10'5 WP--they make a shorter one.  The 10-5 will be great for cruising, but you might have more fun with the shorter one in the surf.

[Canuck Kook]

Widepoint is a great board for surfing and "OK" for flat water. If you are going to be in flat water and carrying your kid occasionally look at the Blend. It handles the surf well and will be decent in flat water.
Try to demo as many boards as possible. When you find the board that feels best you will know.
Corebans are great boards as well.
The drive is a better flat water board (and a decent board in the surf) than the widepoint but will be little tough with a kid on the front.

[sako]

Thanks guys,

I will be on flat water a bit and also want to play around with the kids on the front etc..

Will a wide point be suitable for this sort of usage as well as small surf, or do you think thud blend would be a better choice?

There are not many dealers around me, so it's hard to demo a lot of boards.

[Canuck Kook]

The widepoint is designed as a surf board - narrower turned up nose, slightly domed deck (for volume).
The blend will give you more room for a child and will have better glide on flat water. It is also a great board for surfing. If you were just interested in surfing the widepoints (10'5 or 8'10) are great boards, so is the Coreban performer.
If you were not going to have a kid on the board the drive would be ok for both.
Hopefully Linus can provide more info on the Corebans.
Both companies also have great websites.

[stoneaxe]

The blend is a great all around board and at 70kg will have plenty of volume for you and a 2 year old. It's a good cruiser especially at your weight. I'm considerably more than your combined weight and it was my go to board for surf for awhile and was fine for paddling. Surfs pretty well from the tail...especially on small waves. You might also look at the Naish Nalu 11-6...for me it has a similar feel to the blend.

[Linus]

Sako, for the Coreban's check out the Icon.  The full nose ads a ton of stability while the narrow swallow tail with it's 5 fin set up can let you ride thruster or quad (I'm loving the quad on this board - turns so good).

Have fun!
Linus

[Ake G]

I have both the Starboard 10'5" wide point and the Coreban Icon in the family. For me @ 6'3" 220 lbs I'm in love with the wide point for nearly every surf situation but also really enjoy surfing the smaller and narrower Icon in cleaner surf with the quad fins...can whip it around like a short board. Not as good of a paddler as the WP but in quad mode looser in the surf.

Try them both if you can.