Should I buy a Fanatic AllWave?

[SUP-poser]

After much agonizing I decided to buy a 2014 9'5"X32.25" Allwave from JimK to replace the 10'X29.75" Surftech AST RF Generator I've been struggling with. The Surftech probably has 20-30 liters less volume than the AW, and was challenging for this 200#, 6'3", 59yo geezer in active water. The AW arrived in good shape here in the islands. The AW felt promising in the harbor, but the next time I had it in the water outside the breakwater the sets were occasionally overhead and conditions were rough. I probably wasn't able to stay upright for any period longer than a minute through the afternoon session, mounting was nearly impossible and I never managed to position for a takeoff. I wondered if I'd made a blunder not buying the 9'10" or some other larger board. Two days later (today) conditions were much nicer with somewhat smaller waves and lighter winds roughly parallel to shore. I paddled out alone after sunrise and felt much more secure and confident on the AW in the calmer morning water. Shortly after arriving at the reef, I caught the first wave I've ridden in oh, thirty years.

Can't begin to say how much this little feat improved my mood. If I'd managed to kick out and remain upright and paddling, I'd probably have been unbearably full of myself. I've reclaimed my optimism about the AW, and its suitability for me. It seems well made and incredibly light (I can easily lift it and put it on my rack with one hand in the state-of-the-art "Y" handle cavity which is much comfier than the industry standard SUP grip).

I'm confident the AW will really suit me well after I hone and improve my bracing skills and increase my lower body strength to the requisite degree for SUP (the session has to end when my skinny legs start to tremble). One minor niggle: I kinda' wish they'd tone down their graphics, the AW looks a little bit like a decal-covered Indy race car.

[APPST_Paddle]

Yeah conditions definitely make a huge difference, also I might add, I'm on the 2013 AW which appears to be quite different from the 2013 model.

[S3Dsup]

+1 on tone down the graphics - couldn't agree more.

[supthecreek]

SUP-poser... your last post fits right into what's been running through my mind today.

Flashback to my day one on SUP... in waves. I had been surfing my prone boards right up till I got my first SUP.
Zero problems paddling in flat-water.... after all, my first SUP was a Starboard Avanti 11'2 x 36  - 230 liters. A floating dock. But in glassy 1' waves, I fell 100 times the 1st day. I got 1 wave on my knees. By day 3, I was figuring out the whole "standing up while taking off on a wave" thing. It had NOTHING to do with surfing.... everything to do with standing on a paddleboard. After I caught a wave, it was surfing. Hoo boy, there were a lot of splashdowns.

Today & yesterday, I swapped with 3 people in the lineup. Boards that I could barely stand on last spring, when I was totally comfortable on my 9'6 Allwave. Today, those same boards actually felt big and corky to me. It changed my perspective of where I can go in the future. I had steadily gain balance skills without really knowing it.

SUP surfing requires a whole new set of skills when you first start... and you will progress quickly. Soon your 9'6 Alllwave will be  super solid under foot... give yourself a month... it's a whole new world

[JakeSupTX]

Glad you found one APPST. I had mine out today on the north end of Carolina beach and it didn't suck at all. Supposed to be good tomorrow morning, too.

[SUP-poser]

Though many proners (and former proners like me) seem to imagine that SUP makes takeoffs a breeze (and there are probably distinct advantages for experienced SUP'ers) as a novice I'm finding the positioning and takeoff thing is decidedly challenging. I'm either anxiously struggling to orient the board toward shore (a simple thing on a prone board), or I'm trying to mount either after falling while trying to climb an initial set wave that isn't as promising as the one I can (now) clearly see outside, or because I seem to sit and rest at just the wrong moment (especially near the end of a tiring session when the legs are getting flimsy). Also, for a novice, just trying to see the wave face and how it's shaping up is tough when turning your head aft or to the side seems like a risk. I think I'm learning to keep my cool, and I believe I'm learning to mount more smoothly and rapidly without the foot placement problems, over-controlled balance checking or leash entanglements that can complicate takeoffs, and hopefully head movement during the takeoff setup will shortly seem to be less disorienting.

I'm sure these things will get easier as I learn and get in SUP-shape, and of course the incredible mobility of the SUB feels like a blessing. If conditions aren't too rough, I can easily make the paddle out to breaks that exhausted me in my proner prime, and concerns about the post session return to shore and exit while tapped out are considerably reduced.

[SUPcheat]

Though many proners (and former proners like me) seem to imagine that SUP makes takeoffs a breeze (and there are probably distinct advantages for experienced SUP'ers) as a novice I'm finding the positioning and takeoff thing is decidedly challenging. I'm either anxiously struggling to orient the board toward shore (a simple thing on a prone board), or I'm trying to mount either after falling while trying to climb an initial set wave that isn't as promising as the one I can (now) clearly see outside, or because I seem to sit and rest at just the wrong moment (especially near the end of a tiring session when the legs are getting flimsy). Also, for a novice, just trying to see the wave face and how it's shaping up is tough when turning your head aft or to the side seems like a risk. I think I'm learning to keep my cool, and I believe I'm learning to mount more smoothly and rapidly without the foot placement problems, over-controlled balance checking or leash entanglements that can complicate takeoffs, and hopefully head movement during the takeoff setup will shortly seem to be less disorienting.

I'm sure these things will get easier as I learn and get in SUP-shape, and of course the incredible mobility of the SUB feels like a blessing. If conditions aren't too rough, I can easily make the paddle out to breaks that exhausted me in my proner prime, and concerns about the post session return to shore and exit while tapped out are considerably reduced.

Yeah, you nailed it.  I told my neighbor that learning step back dynamically while on thewater was HARD.  He just laughs at me.

[JakeSupTX]

I was told to face towards the wave and then take off a bit parallel to it once you decide to grab it. Makes it easier to see what is going on and to work on timing. Plus it's really cool when you mis judge one and you see a few seconds early that it is about to crush you. I get that a lot.

[SUP-poser]

I've been following advice I've found (mostly here on the zone) that suggests an initial takeoff path parallel to shore which naturally should progress to a shoreward turn as you paddle on one side of the board into the takeoff. However... arriving near the appropriate peak (not too deep, not too far out at the shoulder), at the appropriate phase of the break, AT the correct orientation angle relative to the wave's motion ain't easy, at least for me. I've attempted to complete a few takeoffs at a slight angle off parallel to the wave face (as opposed to perpendicular, pointed directly shoreward), so far without much success. The spot I'm mainly learning at is a fairly deep, merciful reef break without the fangs that many Hawaiian spots present to gobble kooks like me. It's wave has a rather brief ride-able period that fades in the somewhat deeper waters approaching the shore/breakwater. I think the face is rather gently inclined at peak, and an angled takeoff may not be practical due to the wave's gentle nature. It has a second reef  a little further south-east which is normally sparsely populated and great for me when the crowd is dominating the main reef (I'm not skilled enough yet to mix with a crowd). These characteristics combine to make it a perfect learning spot, because the impact zones are pretty mild after a blown takeoff and relatively easy to escape. But the spot is also somewhat demanding in terms of positioning: the face is probably not steep enough at the "moment" to permit an imperfectly positioned takeoff to be successful.

I guess these things are true at any break to some degree, I feel fortunate to have this spot to sort the SUP-surf thing out, it's really ideal for SUP in a lot of respects, the paddling and positioning process to gain the reward of a ride beats the heck out of jogging for exercise, and makes the occasional prize that much sweeter.

To get back to the Allwave, I've only tried 3 boards, one of them being an 11'X31" (may have been 32W) HYPR Kaimana that felt more stable. So I'm not an expert on a large variety of SUB's, but Fanatic's approach to the surf-oriented SUB: shorter, wider, flat deck with considerable volume, much of it outboard near the rails seems sound to me, and my initial impression of the 9'5" AW remains very positive.

[APPST_Paddle]

Yeah. I'm relatively new to SUS, but I kiteboard on a surfboard a lot, and use to longboard a bit. I've found that I have to have a certain cadence to my paddling or I get off balance.

So, basically when I start paddling for a wave, I am generally perpendicular to the wave/shore, basically straight up paddling forward. As I begin to feel the wave underneath me, I paddle one last stroke with the paddle to the way I'm going to turn. This is when I switch into stance and began going down the line of the wave. Sometimes I switch stance right before that last power stroke, either way works.

When I was learning, I definitely found it easier, especially backside, to have a slight angle as I'm paddling into position to catch the wave to the direction I'm planning on going on the wave. I still always have to have that last power stroke on the inside of the wave.

You will get it, at least you have more consistent waves then we have here in SC.

[Rideorglide]

Though many proners (and former proners like me) seem to imagine that SUP makes takeoffs a breeze (and there are probably distinct advantages for experienced SUP'ers) as a novice I'm finding the positioning and takeoff thing is decidedly challenging.

My experience exactly. I find it easier to catch waves on my prone 9'0" x 23 Ben Aipa swallowtail, than I have done starting out on the SUS journey with the 9'6" AW ... but the 9'6" AW is massive in comparison. I guess I just have to get used to the different techniques involved.

P.S. Now I have a 60-70lb furry web footed companion who I am sure will want to join in when the water warms up a little...so now looking for a significantly larger SUP/SUS to handle very small waves with Labrador retriever on the nose.

[Blue crab]

Here to revisit this thread.  I potentially have a good deal on a 2014 9'5" Fanatic and would love some feedback on whether this is a sensible purchase. 

My situation is somewhat like Zooport's when he started this post, but somewhat different. I am middle aged, 175-180 lbs.  I have no surfing background.  However, over the last few years, I've started to downwind on a fairly regular basis.  I recently had 2 SUS sessions while on vacation in Mexico. The downwinding really helped. Plenty of spills but I was able to catch waves fairly easily and had a blast. I was starting to work on turning effectively when my legs pooped out. 

Unlike Zooport, I anticipate surfing only 4-6 times per year.  The beach is 1.5 hours away and I am easily distracted by skiing, biking and downwinding.  My hope is that my time on water will gradually increase over the next few years.  Therefore, I'd like a board that is pretty forgiving and can handle our inconsistent conditions on the Washington / Oregon coast. On the other hand, my only surfing goal is to learn how to carve effectively. Wondering if the 9'5" is too long or will actually be perfect as I won't be practicing on a weekly basis.

Any feedback will be much appreciated.

[supthecreek]

BC.... you will fine the 9'5 a great, stable board that will get you surfing pretty quickly... but I fear at your size, you will soon find it too big for you. If you want to start easily, and get it cheap enough... you should be able to turn around and sell it pretty easily when you are ready to go a bit smaller. In a perfect world, I would rather see you start on a 9'1 Allwave, because it would still be more than stable enough for you and would probably be a keeper for a while.

Either board will be great on flat-water as well... they both paddle nicely and are super stable.

About this "My hope is that my time on water will gradually increase over the next few years"
believe me... when you start getting into surfing.... everything else will be moved to the back burner and road trips to the beach will become your priority.

Get something and get going.... while you're young

[Blue crab]

STC, Thanks for the input. I have no doubt you are right on about the surfing. I am already in the midst of a severe downwind addiction and what's stopping me from taking on a second drug?

[Zooport]

BlueCrab, here's a report on the AllWave after owning it for over a year.  No matter which size you buy, you will probably be happy with it. They are great.  STC has a point about going smaller, but if you only go to the ocean a few times a year, you might find that the 9'6 will make you happy.  You could go way smaller on the board too; I'm the same weight as you and I find the 8'10 to be big and floaty.  They are floaty, stable boards.  Also like STC says, the boards are not hard to resell if you want to change size, so you are pretty safe no matter which one you buy.  People love them, so they have good resell value.  I don't ride mine much anymore, but I'm not about to sell it, gonna keep it around for the days when I want to do some easy cruising.  If I recall, you are nowhere near SoCal, but if you were, I'd be happy for you to try mine. Go with your gut feeling, I doubt that you will be sorry with any AllWave.