SUP ATX

[dannyo]

Hey folks, I'm new here.  I've been out a few times on flat water and am looking to get a board.  I live in Austin, so most of my paddling will be inland, fly fishing and family related.  The reason I ask about SUP ATX is that they are somewhat local and have demos pretty much every weekend on Town Lake (main lake that runs thru town...actually, it's the Colorado River).  I've scoured the net looking for reviews to no avail.  Not one.  However, I did see a mention on this site, and somewhat negative for that matter. 

Has anyone paddled one of these?  Does anyone know anything about 'em?  They have a screaming deal going on right now, but just want to make sure it would be worth it.

Thanks for the help.  I'm glad to be a part of this place.

Danny

[juandoe]

Hi Dannyo,
Austinite here too.  Haven't tried the ATX boards but I would encourage you to talk to the guys at Austin Paddle Sports.  They are demoing this weekend too.  check out the group at meetup.com.  I personally ride Starboards and the dealer in town can order you boards, at least I think he is still selling boards.

[dannyo]

Thanks Juan.  I actually called Austin Paddle Sports a week ago, but they don't have regular store hours.  I guess I will just have to go to the demo or schedule a time to go to the shop.  Do you paddle town lake or elsewhere?

[juandoe]

I am on Town Lake pretty regular.

[juandoe]

tried the Sup ATX yest.  Decent intro level board for the price.

[dannyo]

Cool, you got to try it.  I actually went down there right before work and didn't get a chance to try it.  I did, however, get a chance to put my hands on it.  I was pleased with the finish of it and it seemed like a decent piece of equipment.  Like you said, it's very hard to beat the price of the package right now.  I still have some thinking to do, but I'm pretty close to buying 2 of 'em.  One for me, one for the wife. 

[pigdog]

I actually just got two of the SUPATX boards. I live in california and they work great on the ocean for flat water paddles and wave riding. I was suprised how well the board performed given its name "Lakerider"  Me and my wife got in the water for less with supatx than if we would have gotten just gotten one board and paddle from other manufacturers.
Here is some info I received while corosponding with the folks over at SUPATX before receiving my boards.

Our boards are hand-shaped epoxy/EPS boards that come ready-to-use with the fin, installed traction pad, built-in handle, air breather valve, and leash plug. We glass the boards  with a double 6oz layer of fiberglass and epoxy on the deck and single 6oz layer on the bottom.

We offer 11' and 12' boards.
The 12' board is 31" wide, 4.5" thick, and approx. 29 lbs.
The 11' board is 31" wide, 4.5" thick, and approx. 27 lbs.

We also offer a soft top board.

The Softtop 11'11" board is 31" wide, 4.5" thick, and approx. 31 lbs

Our paddles are 83" long and are very easy to cut to size. They have a blade size of 9.25" in width and 17.5" in length. The total weight of the entire paddle is 30oz

[Caribsurf]

I am always sceptical from 1st or 2nd posts glorifying equipment..too coincidental for me.  Suddenly everyone out of the wood work has a SUP ATX AND a first post and loves the board.   

[spindrift]

I would like to hear comment from some one familiar with SUP design and epoxy vacuum bag construction that can address the price difference between boards from China selling for $700 and those selling for twice that.  All claim some form of R&D design or pro shaper input.  All appear to have similar construction.  I'm not trying to call out the cheap boards as crap or the expensive boards as over-priced marketing.  It would be great to understand the unvarnished basis of the apposing price points.  What makes an all round 11 to 12' board a keeper vs. one that will be on Craig's list?

[Easy Rider]

I am always sceptical from 1st or 2nd posts glorifying equipment..too coincidental for me.  Suddenly everyone out of the wood work has a SUP ATX AND a first post and loves the board.   

Same thought.

[thirdcoast]

I have a 12' SUP ATX board and it's decent for the price.  It's a real stable flat water board and is great for that.  As I said in another post it's thin in the nose and it nose dives in waves over waist high easily.  It also dings pretty easily compared to my other two boards (I also have a NSP 11' and a JLS 12)'.  Their paddles are great, espically for the price.  The ATX was my first board, I figured for the price of the package I wasn't putting a lot of $ at risk to see if I liked the sport.  If you're going to surf it though, I'd consider another board like the NSP (rounder nose and more rocker).  Hope that helps.

BTW as far as construction all I know is the ATX board I can see the glass under the resin, my other two are solid white epoxy.  The ATX board dings and the other get scratches and small chips; I prefer the white epoxy or tuflite (my longboard is made out of that).  SUPs are long and heavy compared to surfboards, no matter how careful you are you are absolutely going to hit it on something (or with the paddle).   If you buy a traditionally glassed board get a big tube of suncure!

[dannyg]

Hmmm, no posts anywhere on the net, 8000 facebook fans and then, wham....tons of suspiciously good praise as first and second posters?  Whatever SUPATX is, I wanted to buy one ( for my wife) and they are sold out of every color and style through May and beyond.  They were okay via email (after I checkout out and thought I had one coming) and told me of the status but I was a little terbed that it did not say it was out of stock before I tried to buy it (only in an email later).  Not good eCommerce etiquette, if and item is out of stock it should say that on the site instead of trolling for orders and hoping once taken the person will hold for the board if they get the news later.   

[Easy Rider]

dannyg - a little searching on this forum should find you some posts about past dealings of this company.

I am following what my mom taught me and not saying anything.

[thirdcoast]

I hear you but for those of you on the left and right coasts, you have no idea how little choice there is to buy a SUP in Texas.  You're either going to pay a lot or order and wait awhile.  The surf shops have just caught on in the past year or so.  There's one place in Houston with a over a dozen boards, one guy in Galveston, and the guys in Austin (unless you want to drive to Port A or South Padre).  The good news is no crowds here...

[SUP Sports ®]

If you get stuck and can't find quality boards, or selection, give us a shout out...
We've been shipping boards all over Texas for years...dozens into Austin for our clients on Travis and Lady Bird lakes...in fact, we have a visiting client in town right now from McKinney north of Dallas...

Freight transit times for SUP's is no more than 2-3 days...