Author Topic: Looking to buy my 2nd board for paddle surfing  (Read 8954 times)

miker

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Re: Looking to buy my 2nd board for paddle surfing
« Reply #15 on: January 28, 2017, 10:32:37 PM »
Good to hear your reasoning for the lower litre suggestions.  I can flat water train on it here in Union Bay any time to get used to it and bring both boards with me so I guess I can go with your suggestion and try a bit less float.  Besides, I'm down to 210 now and targeting 200lbs longer term.  And a sub 9'6" board gets on planes easier for travelling.  Even if I struggle for a bit with it, I know my brother would want to try a smaller board now and I would swap with him any time.  He rented a smaller board once in Tofino and had a tough time, but that's just one day in surf with a lot of cross chop.  I'm sure with more flat water and chop training around here we'd both be moving into more manoeuvrable boards if we had them.

Bowerboy

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Re: Looking to buy my 2nd board for paddle surfing
« Reply #16 on: January 29, 2017, 06:44:55 PM »
I am in a similar position. I recently tested the mid 9 foot boards including the allwave, hypernut 9 etc. I settled on the naish quest 9'6. So far it has proven to be a very strong board. The new construction technique makes it very robust. At 173l 9'6 and 32.5 wide it is very close to the allwave. However for the same cost the deckpad is way better, and the rails are more refined. Also the rocker shape seems to balance glide with stability and ability to turn making a very stable balanced package.

surfafrica

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Re: Looking to buy my 2nd board for paddle surfing
« Reply #17 on: January 30, 2017, 08:29:16 AM »
Even if I struggle for a bit with it, I know my brother would want to try a smaller board now and I would swap with him any time.  He rented a smaller board once in Tofino and had a tough time, but that's just one day in surf with a lot of cross chop.

Oh man, you can sometimes find terrible cross-chop along the Tofino breaks.  And it can be hard to predict.  I once had a session on a 7'6 that was so good at NC that we ditched our ferry reservation to have a second session after a food break, but when we returned, the cross chop turned on so much that I could barely stand on an 8'6 that was usually very very stable for me.  I always bring 2 boards out there knowing I may need the most stable one for any given session.

When me and my buddy first bought our SIMS, our first weekend in Tofino was a disaster.  We could barely stand up--and the conditions didn't seem too bad.  There was just something about the cross swell and rock rebounds that ended up being really wonky.  It totally spooked us--we both thought we bought the wrong size of boards.  But a couple of weeks later, we tried again and it was night and day different.  We had no problems. 

Every time we take a trip to surf in the tropics, we grow to appreciate just how tough Tofino can be at times. We love it there....but it doesn't always come easy.
50 years old, 5'7", 150 lbs, intermediate
Infinity RNB: 7'6 x 28, 95 L https://goo.gl/SqlWR4
Kronos LB: 8'10 x 26.5, 84 L https://goo.gl/4iQdps
Kronos Nano: 7'4 x 26, 81 L https://goo.gl/kAM8W6

miker

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Re: Looking to buy my 2nd board for paddle surfing
« Reply #18 on: January 30, 2017, 12:37:51 PM »
Oh man, you can sometimes find terrible cross-chop along the Tofino breaks.  And it can be hard to predict.  I once had a session on a 7'6 that was so good at NC that we ditched our ferry reservation to have a second session after a food break, but when we returned, the cross chop turned on so much that I could barely stand on an 8'6 that was usually very very stable for me.  I always bring 2 boards out there knowing I may need the most stable one for any given session.

When me and my buddy first bought our SIMS, our first weekend in Tofino was a disaster.  We could barely stand up--and the conditions didn't seem too bad.  There was just something about the cross swell and rock rebounds that ended up being really wonky.  It totally spooked us--we both thought we bought the wrong size of boards.  But a couple of weeks later, we tried again and it was night and day different.  We had no problems. 

Every time we take a trip to surf in the tropics, we grow to appreciate just how tough Tofino can be at times. We love it there....but it doesn't always come easy.

I know, right?  Some times you get some chop at 90 degrees to the swell and it's almost big enough to surf on it's own.  It can be really challenging with 1-2' chop pretty much stacked on each other waiting for good swell to come into the transition zone and build up.  It makes it just that much more energy draining if you need a rest after paddling out.  It's days like that when I appreciate the barge I currently have.

I see a ton of videos of people paddle surfing these glassy conditions with a beautiful shoulder high swell and a solid 20 seconds plus period and I wonder if I'll ever see those conditions in Tofino, and it also some times makes me wonder if everyone understands the usual conditions you get in Tofino when they make board recommendations.

SUP Sports ®

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Re: Looking to buy my 2nd board for paddle surfing
« Reply #19 on: January 30, 2017, 05:26:03 PM »
Aloha miker,
With over 4 decades of surfing, over 3 decades of windsurfing...and, a dozen years of standup paddlesurfing under my belt up and down the coast of North America and far beyond...(including Tofino before it became a hipster spot and was featured in Outside Mag...;-), I have experienced superimposed chop on the wave face...sometimes, it can even be used to your advantage to get in early on a wave...it's actually a good technique to develop and practice...

That said, I have spent considerable time developing the Hammer line of SUP boards to have superior primary and secondary stability...one of it's many key attributes...and, why it was recommended by me and several others...

http://supsports.com/standup-paddle-boards/hammer-series/

One of many client testimonials...this one from a fellow countryman of yours who also surfs Tofino...

9/18/16
Subject: Jammer SUP


I am from the west coast of Canada and I surf mostly in Tofino and Ucluelet BC , but travel a lot around the world to catch waves.
In December 2015 I was on a surf trip to So Cal and the waves were not very good so I decided to try a SUP and maybe buy one in the future if I like the experience.
I went to all of the SUP shops in Santa Barbara and by far the best crew is the one at Standup Paddle Sports.

They give me a different board to try every day to make sure I felt the difference(s) between them.
Since that day I bought 2 boards from them ( 1 Hammer 9,5 x 33 and a Jammer 8,6 x 33 )and I am in the process to order my 2nd Jammer ( probably a 7,11 x 31,5 ).
There is plenty of reasons why I stick with the shop , this is some of them. ( friendly people , very fast to answer any questions , professionals , very good product , possibility of hand made SUP full carbon for under 2k , and the best part of that is ….they make the coolest and most user friendly wave catcher on the market…. the JAMMER ..;)….

The website can be a bit confusing , but they have sooooo many pictures and ideas for a new SUP…can’t complain about that, just take your time to navigate and you will see its NOT complicated at all…

PS sorry for my english I am french

Enough said , see you in the water…

Cheers
Fred Roy (BC Canada)


http://supsports.com/customer-testimonials
Mahalos...{:~)

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surfafrica

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Re: Looking to buy my 2nd board for paddle surfing
« Reply #20 on: January 30, 2017, 07:47:38 PM »
Wardog, don't confuse beards in Tofino as hipster. Up here, it's simply insulation.

It's funny you mention secondary stability on your Hammers. My buddy who rides a Stoke always talks about that on his board. And you can see it. He looks like he's about to lose it and then something catches. Works great for him.
50 years old, 5'7", 150 lbs, intermediate
Infinity RNB: 7'6 x 28, 95 L https://goo.gl/SqlWR4
Kronos LB: 8'10 x 26.5, 84 L https://goo.gl/4iQdps
Kronos Nano: 7'4 x 26, 81 L https://goo.gl/kAM8W6

miker

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Re: Looking to buy my 2nd board for paddle surfing
« Reply #21 on: January 31, 2017, 03:53:06 PM »
Aloha 'auinala Wardog:

Thank you for taking the time to provide some background on how your boards handle the chop.  I do like a nice stable platform, both to rest up outside the break and to get on a wave in the some times challenging (for me) conditions.  Tofino really has become a bit of a hipster town over the last 20 years or so.  It was much more peaceful back in the 70s before they paved the road, but also much more remote.  If only I surfed back in those days.  I'll probably email you with some questions in the future about your boards.

Me ka ha`aha`a,
Mike

wrybread

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Re: Looking to buy my 2nd board for paddle surfing
« Reply #22 on: February 01, 2017, 05:30:59 PM »
I didn't read every post here, but hopefully someone mentioned that 34" is far too wide for a surf sup. I think 30" is the widest that works, maybe 31". I don't know where you are in your technique progression, but the usual spiel is that beginners don't know how to brace on their paddles yet so they need a board that's so wide that they balance on the board entirely. Soon you learn to lean on the paddle so you can go narrower and smaller. Not saying you haven't learned that, just mentioning it just in case.

My first good surf SUP was a Jimmy Lewis Hanalei, which was 10'6 x 30". It was easy enough that I didn't have to struggle too hard, and surfy enough so I could have a ton of fun even in bigger surf. After a season I never rode it anymore since it quickly started to feel like a pig once I could ride higher performance boards, but it was my go to board for that first year. So personally I'd say something in that size range is what you're looking for. If you get shorter, try to demo it in chop before fully committing to buying it.

 


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