Different board for different conditions?

[ilmsup]

I like the looks of that board a LOT. It might be the camera angle, but the nose looks like it's got a lot of volume in it. It also looks from the picture like the dropped rail in the nose decreases the rocker at the nose. That's exactly the opposite of the Foote boards I have with dropped rails--Bill uses the drop in the middle third to tighten up the rocker at the edge of the nose by bringing the rail step up to meet the top of the deck--hard to describe and even harder to figure out what he did by looking at the board. I wouldn't expect your board to work well in offshore wind. I think the better you get, the more important your equipment is. My SUP surfing has suffered greatly from my foil addiction and now I'm a one-size-fits-all surfer. The fact that you're asking these questions means you've progressed to where you're feeling something and adding some additional tools to the belt with be worthwhile.

At the Kai level, his quiver looks like a good-sized surf shop except every board is the same color.

It is really brilliant how he gave me thin rails and added stability in the middle.  There is a lot of rocker in the front. I remember going straight down the face of a wave that I thought for sure would pitch me it was so steep.  I also remember a riding wave that started barreling and when I finished a young female paddler said,” Ï saw that!,  I’ve never seen that on a SUP.”   That being said I am not that great a surfer.  I would say I am kind of stuck in that intermediate and on a good day advanced intermediate level.  I learned late in life and dońt use nearly the performance this board offers.  I do feel I have advanced paddling skills that help me maintain my balance.  I started out SUP surfing on a 10 foot volume board with good rocker in the nose and never had any problem with wind or chop.  It was like turning a cruise ship but if I used the paddle and put all my weight on the back I could do the switchbacks needed to work a wave.  In fact I took the barge out in victory at sea conditions and actually felt a little sea sick from all the rock and roll in the ocean.   I discovered then that there comes a point where the conditions are so disorganized that you will be spending a lot of time paddling for a very short ride.

I plan on moving to Europe and don’t know if I should try and bring this board with me or not.