Author Topic: Recommendation for SUP board - Flatwater (somewhat of a newbie)  (Read 3872 times)

ricardolung

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Need your help in recommending a SUP :

I live in Michigan and have been SUP'ing for a couple years now. Love it and I'm looking to purchase a new board this year. I've been on more entry level boards, 28"-34" in width (Imagine Surf, Tahoe Zepher) and have no issues with stability.

Looking to get something a little lighter, faster and somewhat durable. Plan on trying out a couple flatwater races this year. I'm 5'11", 170-175 lbs.

I'm familiar with the BIC Ace-Tec construction but I'm wondering if there's a slightly lighter alternative to that model. I realize that I'll likely have to sacrifice a little durable for performance but I don't want to have  to be repairing my board all the time....family of 4 here.

Any comments on the following boards to fit my needs in the $1500-$2500 range?:

1. Bark Competitor AST
2. BIC C-Tec models
3. BlkBox TekBox models

Thanks!

SlatchJim

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Re: Recommendation for SUP board - Flatwater (somewhat of a newbie)
« Reply #1 on: March 03, 2015, 08:22:09 AM »
I have only advice: buy local and talk to your shaper before you buy. (I do out here, and local knowledge is worth more than you can imagine)  These guys are zoners and there stuff is right in your wheelhouse and neighborhood.

BlkBox
http://www.blkboxsurf.com/sup/custom/

sterbo

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Re: Recommendation for SUP board - Flatwater (somewhat of a newbie)
« Reply #2 on: March 03, 2015, 03:15:22 PM »
I been lusting lately for a SIC X-14, either TWC
http://www.sicmaui.com/x-14-0/X-14-T/detail
or their Pro version SCC
http://www.sicmaui.com/x-pro-14-0/X-PRO-14-S/detail

Sweet rides...

Area 10

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Re: Recommendation for SUP board - Flatwater (somewhat of a newbie)
« Reply #3 on: March 03, 2015, 03:37:08 PM »
I been lusting lately for a SIC X-14, either TWC
http://www.sicmaui.com/x-14-0/X-14-T/detail
or their Pro version SCC
http://www.sicmaui.com/x-pro-14-0/X-PRO-14-S/detail

Sweet rides...
I love my X14 SCC. Worth getting the lighter construction if you can, it does make a difference.

Easy Rider

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Re: Recommendation for SUP board - Flatwater (somewhat of a newbie)
« Reply #4 on: March 03, 2015, 03:56:29 PM »
Support your local shop - and buy what they sell.
It will support your local community / economy and will keep your local shop alive.
Easy Rider is the name of my store in Edmonton, AB, Canada.
My name is Warren Currie . . . and we SUP Surf indoors . . . in a shopping mall!

sterbo

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Re: Recommendation for SUP board - Flatwater (somewhat of a newbie)
« Reply #5 on: March 03, 2015, 05:18:51 PM »
Support your local shop - and buy what they sell.
It will support your local community / economy and will keep your local shop alive.
Seems rather a rote response.
We're not talking perishables; rather it's products that locals everywhere work on to survive.
I'm all for the former but our world, our community, is now global. Sure, it's easy to walk down the street and see our friend's shop and want to do everything we can to support them, and I'm down with that. But the bottom line is that our money, our support, takes care of families across the globe - a globe that each day becomes ever so much more what you seem to define as 'local'.
The kids everywhere who hope and dream just as we do. They're local, and it's a beautiful thing my brother...

pdxmike

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Re: Recommendation for SUP board - Flatwater (somewhat of a newbie)
« Reply #6 on: March 03, 2015, 06:12:06 PM »
Support your local shop - and buy what they sell.
It will support your local community / economy and will keep your local shop alive.
Seems rather a rote response.
We're not talking perishables; rather it's products that locals everywhere work on to survive.
I'm all for the former but our world, our community, is now global. Sure, it's easy to walk down the street and see our friend's shop and want to do everything we can to support them, and I'm down with that. But the bottom line is that our money, our support, takes care of families across the globe - a globe that each day becomes ever so much more what you seem to define as 'local'.
The kids everywhere who hope and dream just as we do. They're local, and it's a beautiful thing my brother...
You can buy the board from the shop in Timbuktu, but first you'll probably want to stop by there and demo it, and ask them about what they think will work best in Michigan conditions.  Also they may have some knowledge about the races you mentioned.
« Last Edit: March 03, 2015, 06:15:27 PM by pdxmike »

Area 10

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Re: Recommendation for SUP board - Flatwater (somewhat of a newbie)
« Reply #7 on: March 03, 2015, 06:45:21 PM »
Support your local shop - and buy what they sell.
It will support your local community / economy and will keep your local shop alive.
I go to the local dealer who has given me best service in the past. I ask him to get me what I want. He gets it. I buy it. Simple.

We don't really have shops that hold stock here. Maybe one or two boards that they risk being stuck with at the end of the season because most brands have brought out a new model only 6 months after last years' stock has arrived.

For most boards and most people worldwide, the chances of getting a demo are pretty small. In the US maybe. But in most places in the world the dealer is just a conduit and it's much less obvious what they are offering you that should deserve any loyalty. I'm just an amateur and in Europe I generally know the ranges of each manufacturers' boards or paddles better than the distributors or retailers do. It's me who is educating them, not the other way round. Sometimes I have to struggle to persuade retailers to source me boards because the margins for them are small. It's ok if you happen to want a board by one of the few major windsurf brands who have distribution set-ups here. But otherwise sourcing a SUP is a long, painful, expensive, and risky business, and it is hard for either the retailer or the customer to feel good about it. It's common in my paddling groups to have to wait 3-6 months for delivery of a board, by which time it might be the old model.

So if you are an old-style local retailer who holds stock that people can actually see before they buy - and maybe even demo - then hats off to you. But before you get too high and mighty with customers on a forum, please consider that many - perhaps even most - people in the world don't have access to such a facility, and please judge their forum posts in terms of that context, not necessarily yours.



zirkel

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Re: Recommendation for SUP board - Flatwater (somewhat of a newbie)
« Reply #8 on: March 03, 2015, 08:54:38 PM »
I live in Michigan...

No Brainer:  #3

ricardolung

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Re: Recommendation for SUP board - Flatwater (somewhat of a newbie)
« Reply #9 on: March 09, 2015, 02:34:09 PM »
Thank you everyone for your input. I can't wait to get out on the water!

 


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