hi all,
is there much difference in the quality of boards at the lower and higher $$ end's of the scale? obviously this is the case with a lot of things. but is $500 or $600 more, going to get a board of significantly better quality? or are you just paying for the name?
in looking at boards i've had one place suggest an 11' NSP (around $1300), while another place has suggested a Naish or Starboard 10' or 10'5" (around $1800). i have no issues spending more if it really is worth it.
cheers
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Hi Adssup
if you dont mind spending the money get A custom made
that way you get what you want
I personally like Dale chapman boards
but if you just want a board to begin and learn on the or 12ft or 11ft supatx are good quality and great value
it depends on what you want to acheive
I have 5 Dc boards and if you buy a custom your sup orting australian made
or pick up a bargin on seabreeze buy and sell 
and yes there are differences between boards but there also a lot of differences in profit margins as well
happy Easter
When you're talking the big name brands vs cheaper brands, we could argue all day about whether or not the higher price/value is evident in superior design or construction. However there is one thing you do have to keep in mind and that is a Naish or Starboard is going to hold better value for re-sale than an NSP. Also, when considering a custom, there are very few local shapers whose boards have decent re-sale value. DC certainly, but not many others. Just something to consider.
g day mate, if your really concerned , about forking out your hard earned clams on a sup , which is fine, I apoor man pays twice right , so go though this simple mental check list , 1 do I, can I,have I , or intend to surf !!!!! 2. do I, have I, have I, had any water experiance, eg wave ski , canoe ,etc etc what I mean too say is do you have a water sport back ground 3. what is the most appealing part of sup riding , distance training, river paddling , exploring , fishing , something the kids can cut sick on!!! or something that simply gets you out an about for a bit of me time once you have gone though this process and with a bit of foot work , your board will emerge from the pack , and will paddle off into the sunset happier ,change in your pocket
The quallity and finish of the big brands (Naish/Starboard/Coreban/PSH) compared with the cheaper boards are obvious in the shop.. (if you know what to look at).
But it's not just the looks.. It's the shapes.. and the weight.. I have nothing against the cheaper boards but if you can afford the big brands I'd go for them.
Demo if you can.. The 11' NSP is a great board but boards like the 10' Mana and 10' Whopper are even better (imo) with the NSP being more old-school in shape.
DJ
will keep it for longer, but definatly test as many as you can in all conditions
will keep it for longer, but definatly test as many as you can in all conditions
Regardless of what brand or type of SUP, keep this in mind.
If you buy cheap, you are getting cheap!
It's the same in any industry not just the surfboard industry.
$1000 Sup = Cheap, still yet to see a good construction at that $1000 mark & heavy.
$1200 - $1500 = Mid range, much better in weight and construction and resale. A sup that won't fall apart in few weeks.
Over $1500 = Even better in construction and alot better resale, a board that won't fall apart in few months.
Hope that helps you out. Regardsless of what ever shop you talk to or whatever brand you are looking at buying.
Pretty much what Tryfan said aswell.
Do your research and talk to people and shops about what you want out of your SUP. Don't fall into the Cheap trap! It will cost you more long term, trust me i've seen it happen alot.
XX angie
If I only knew back when i was starting out what i know now I could have saved myself thousands. The fact of the matter is. You spend $1800 on a board then ride it twice. That board is now worth $1200. Well its worth more but you will be lucky to get $1200. I have bought and sold a lot of boards in the last 12 months. I took a $900 loss on a 6 month old custom in excellent condition just yesterday. IMHO you spend more you lose more. Chances are if this is your first board you will want to upgrade pretty soon (the sport is addictive). My advice to you is buy a brand name board SECOND HAND. ie Naish, Corban, Starboard. Let someone else take the new buyers loss. Then in a few months when you have figured out what you want you can go and buy new. You will learn a lot in that time too. 
Spot on Milko, so with all these boards you have bought and sold over the last year are you any closer to finding the board that you want to keep,whats the latest?
cheers for the replies.
you've pretty much confirmed what i expected, but just wanted to get an idea from people not pushing a product. i know some products increase in quality up to a certain price point, then they just get prettier.
i'm happy to spend up to $2k on a board. i've started demoing a few and am not in a particular hurry to buy, so happy to try lots and see what fits. i'm definately open to the 2nd hand option as well.
it'll kind of be my 2nd board. i'm currently using a soft top for flat water paddling. have had it in protected areas in the ocean and it's like standing on a cork. great for my balance but not a lot of fun and would be useless in any amount of swell.
looking for something more surf oriented, even though i will still use it in flat water for fitness and after work chill out. if i outgrow whatever i buy, my wife will end up with it.
at 6'2" and 98kg it appears i'll need something around the 10' to 11' range. has been quite a few years since i did a lot of surfing, so am kind of starting again from that side of things and treating myself as a beginner surfer. having said that i think i will progress fairly quickly, esp as i can get out at least 4 days a week, when i get a suitable board.
cheers
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Select to expand quoteOh Angie pangie
A remark on price alone is total rubbish
I understand you run a shop
I suggest you read the supatx website and find out why they are great value and not cheap
Ive paddled most board brands and even in the $1800 mark there are differences in quality.
I would aggree with miko most people should buy there first board 2nd hand from seabreeze and let some one else take the loss ,
the reason im sticking up for the supatx is not that I have a couple for sale it is that I have them in the surf club for all members to use and as the board and ski coach I see how much enjoyment the members get out of them, and so far they have taken a lot of abuse by many different ages and with no issues to the boards at $950 with a paddle there great value and i would say the surf club members are the norm for first time supers
good luck adssup in finding aboard that suit you
I think I have stired up a few shop owners.
but hey as I say If im going to spend big dollars I want it to stay and be made in Australia
if I cant afford it well no different to the car thing I will accept imported boards 
angie pangi said...
Regardless of what brand or type of SUP, keep this in mind.
If you buy cheap, you are getting cheap!
It's the same in any industry not just the surfboard industry.
$1000 Sup = Cheap, still yet to see a good construction at that $1000 mark & heavy.
$1200 - $1500 = Mid range, much better in weight and construction and resale. A sup that won't fall apart in few weeks.
Over $1500 = Even better in construction and alot better resale, a board that won't fall apart in few months.
Hope that helps you out. Regardsless of what ever shop you talk to or whatever brand you are looking at buying.
Pretty much what Tryfan said aswell.
Do your research and talk to people and shops about what you want out of your SUP. Don't fall into the Cheap trap! It will cost you more long term, trust me i've seen it happen alot.
XX angie
Select to expand quoteODSUP said...
Oh Angie pangie
A remark on price alone is total rubbish
I understand you run a shop
I suggest you read the supatx website and find out why they are great value and not cheap
Ive paddled most board brands and even in the $1800 mark there are differences in quality.
I would aggree with miko most people should buy there first board 2nd hand from seabreeze and let some one else take the loss ,
the reason im sticking up for the supatx is not that I have a couple for sale it is that I have them in the surf club for all members to use and as the board and ski coach I see how much enjoyment the members get out of them, and so far they have taken a lot of abuse by many different ages and with no issues to the boards at $950 with a paddle there great value and i would say the surf club members are the norm for first time supers
good luck adssup in finding aboard that suit you
I think I have stired up a few shop owners.
but hey as I say If im going to spend big dollars I want it to stay and be made in Australia
if I cant afford it well no different to the car thing I will accept imported boards
angie pangi said...
Regardless of what brand or type of SUP, keep this in mind.
If you buy cheap, you are getting cheap!
It's the same in any industry not just the surfboard industry.
$1000 Sup = Cheap, still yet to see a good construction at that $1000 mark & heavy.
$1200 - $1500 = Mid range, much better in weight and construction and resale. A sup that won't fall apart in few weeks.
Over $1500 = Even better in construction and alot better resale, a board that won't fall apart in few months.
Hope that helps you out. Regardsless of what ever shop you talk to or whatever brand you are looking at buying.
Pretty much what Tryfan said aswell.
Do your research and talk to people and shops about what you want out of your SUP. Don't fall into the Cheap trap! It will cost you more long term, trust me i've seen it happen alot.
XX angie
hi odsup, i think angie knows a bit about atx boards . they were selling them, not sure whether they still are.
atx boards are glassed light. for experienced users of paddle boards surfboard etc- not a problem. the first time ever budding waterman/woman/surfer tend to ding them up a bit.
having said that, i see plenty around and if you treat them nice- lets face it, they very good value. however retailers can well do without the dramas of customers bringing boards back even if they have accidently abused the boards
cheers
cheers
Select to expand quotelaceys lane said...ODSUP said...
Oh Angie pangie
A remark on price alone is total rubbish
I understand you run a shop
I suggest you read the supatx website and find out why they are great value and not cheap
Ive paddled most board brands and even in the $1800 mark there are differences in quality.
I would aggree with miko most people should buy there first board 2nd hand from seabreeze and let some one else take the loss ,
the reason im sticking up for the supatx is not that I have a couple for sale it is that I have them in the surf club for all members to use and as the board and ski coach I see how much enjoyment the members get out of them, and so far they have taken a lot of abuse by many different ages and with no issues to the boards at $950 with a paddle there great value and i would say the surf club members are the norm for first time supers
good luck adssup in finding aboard that suit you
I think I have stired up a few shop owners.
but hey as I say If im going to spend big dollars I want it to stay and be made in Australia
if I cant afford it well no different to the car thing I will accept imported boards
angie pangi said...
Regardless of what brand or type of SUP, keep this in mind.
If you buy cheap, you are getting cheap!
It's the same in any industry not just the surfboard industry.
$1000 Sup = Cheap, still yet to see a good construction at that $1000 mark & heavy.
$1200 - $1500 = Mid range, much better in weight and construction and resale. A sup that won't fall apart in few weeks.
Over $1500 = Even better in construction and alot better resale, a board that won't fall apart in few months.
Hope that helps you out. Regardsless of what ever shop you talk to or whatever brand you are looking at buying.
Pretty much what Tryfan said aswell.
Do your research and talk to people and shops about what you want out of your SUP. Don't fall into the Cheap trap! It will cost you more long term, trust me i've seen it happen alot.
XX angie
hi odsup, i think angie knows a bit about atx boards . they were selling them, not sure whether they still are.
atx boards are glassed light. for experienced users of paddle boards surfboard etc- not a problem. the first time ever budding waterman/woman/surfer tend to ding them up a bit.
having said that, i see plenty around and if you treat them nice- lets face it, they very good value. however retailers can well do without the dramas of customers bringing boards back even if they have accidently abused the boards
cheers
cheers
No worries Lacey
maybe the boards I got for the surf club were glassed stronger as we havent had any problems yet and clubies arnt the best at taking care of boards I also take my 45kg dog on the 12fter catching small waves
anyway I think i have done enough PR for supatx
My wife just told me to get off the computer
I hope theres a good wave tommorow we have a southerly blowing so hope the swell will increase get out on the Dc8.8 and enjoy the water
if you hear anyone traveling down south over Easter Im trying to get
the Dc12.6 i bought off seabreeze down here 
cheers Lacey
Hi adssup i am new to this great sport and have read a lot of the reviews and the general flow seens that you start off on a bigger board and work your way down in size as i have and i have been at this this for 4 months,i worked out quite early that i was more interested in surfing the board ,i went from 11ft to9ft and are looking at sup 9 now,buy the way the 11 was a supatx and i had a lot of fun on it.So i guess i am saying you might want to look at saving yourself 1 step down in size save some money and look for something like a second hand Mana 9.5 which has a good name, you can cruise on and surf it.
Good Luck
Some members input on the Mana below
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/Review/Naish-Mana-10-should-i-go-the-95/
When you buy from any shop you will pay for brand name and business costs. Its always hard to take the advice from a surf shop salesman or women? no offence intended but most I have delt with are no different to used car- salesmen
I do agree that big brands do invest in trailing their designs and materials. But its no secret that other brands just wait till they arrive on the market and then copy them.
So this leaves the materials. These days leading brands try to make a point of difference using the construction or materials, stating that they are superior for reasons bla bla bla.
Questions....
Are the materials of the brands sitting in the lower end of the market that inferior that they are only worth half the price of a leading brand?
Or are these new products/companies taking less margin (less greedy)?
Do all the cheaper boards (bellow $1000) have half the life of their fellow leading brands.
Are they really that much heavier because of inferior materials?
I will point out though that I did see alot of fly-by night brands hit the market in 2010 on ebay and for sale on this site. Most of these sups were poor chinesese products.
Thats not to say I havent seen some amazing chinese boards. In fact me and my mates sold our Naish SUPs that cost $1800 each new and traded in for slightly smaller boards. We paid half the price because we found a guy who was selling private Chinese made. At first I was a bit hesitant but we checked em out and found ourselves a bargain. Great shape and glass finish was not bad at all. Six months on and my board still has held up super. Looks as good as the first week I rode it.
Thats my experience, so, remember the best boards are the ones that you have the best times on. and for some its an even better times knowing you got a deal.
The number of options out there can be quite daunting even for a more experienced SUP'er, which I'm not.
My advice would be to develop a relationship with your local shop and find someone you can trust. I have the benefit of having that relationship through my long time in Windsurfing.
They can narrow down the choice and get you demoing some boards that would be a good option for your needs / size.
I was looking for an allrounder that I (at 90kg) could use and my partner would like at less than half the weight, both beginners. I demoed and bought a Fanatic Fly 10'. It is great in flat water and small waves are good as well. The quality of finish is very good, so far longevity is good.
Looking for a second board so we can both paddle at the same time, I was reccommended to try a starboard element 9' 8". It was a great reccommendation once again. We liked it straight away, it had similar allround performance like the fanatic, again the quality looked great. Some pics below during the testing.
Hint, if you plan to take your dog out then the Starboard was a better option. it has a non slip skin on the front of the board. Gives the dog some grip, he's left a few claww marks on the front of the smooth fanatic!
If your're in Sydney I can reccommend Windsurfnsnow for good advice.
