'Rothwell' started a thread recently under the same title, but his scenario was slightly different to mine in terms of body specs and location etc. I managed to resist hi-jacking his thread completely so I have started my own........
I have a shortboard surfing background and have been supping for almost 1 year on a 9'2 Allwave, and am ready to progress to a more refined board. I have said in other posts that the Allwave is a really easy board to like, it is super stable, picks up waves with ease and surfs OK too. The downside is that it is corky.
I am 6 foot, 83kg, average surfing ability. The conditions I am in are typically waist to head high beach breaks, mostly on clean days, I rarely bother if it is onshore mess.
I am looking for something with a bit more speed and manoeuvrability, without sacrificing too much stability or wave catching ability, although I do expect these aspects will be compromised a little.
I have narrowed down a list to (probably in order):
Starboard Wide Point 8'10 x 32 x 143 Litres x Thruster
JP Wide Body 8'8 x 32 x 136 Litres x Quad
Starboard Wide Point 8'2 x 32 x 130 Litres x Quad
JP Wide Body 8'2 x 32 x 124 Litres x Quad
Allwave 8'6 x 30 x 130 Litres x Thruster
I am not in a position to demo any of these, in fact I have not seen any of them in person, so I would be largely basing my decision on recommendations. It is my preference to buy second hand/ex demo, so this will most likely influence my decision anyway, although I am prepared to wait for something to come up.
Am I looking in the right direction with the boards I have listed, and are there any standouts among them for my scenario?
Also, is there much difference between the 2 starboards, and the 2 JP's? The specs are quite similar, but how do the stack up in the water?
Thanks,
Scott.
Hi Scott, I'm in the same position as you, but 15 kg heavier.
for me . It will be an 8'8" JP, A custom by woodandwater in Coffs orgo all out and get a custom L41 Original Simsup from Socal delivered to my door, They're getting more expensive everyday but they are talking about selling overseas through a dealer. Google them and check them out. Their website is excellent and they are super friendly when answering emails. Under $2000.00 delivered to the door. Check their Video's out and read some of the stuff on 'The Stand upZone' Plenty of positive feedback! I've heard the 8'10" Widepoint is still corky. Otherwise keep looking??
I'm nearly sold on the Simsup 8'8" by 33 or 32. The thin rails make them not corky and very responsive yet they are still stable. wait a couple of months and i'll probably do a review. I will always keep the 9'2"
Good luck Scott!!
Hi Scott, I went trough the same path. I surf, had the all wave 9'2 and wanted something more loose. I am also 84kg. I do think your choices are a bit large. If you surf in clean conditions you can go smaller and on the wave makes a huge different.
I am riding a quatro 8'6 128l but with rolled deck and thin rails, feels way smaller than the actual liters...when is clean I could easily go smaller...surf a lot better than the all wave. First 3 sessions I was more time in the water than on the board, but you will get use to it fast. I am glad I didnt demo, otherwise I would have gone bigger...
Hope this helps
Select to expand quotebolocom said..
Hi Scott, I went trough the same path. I surf, had the all wave 9'2 and wanted something more loose. I am also 84kg. I do think your choices are a bit large. If you surf in clean conditions you can go smaller and on the wave makes a huge different.
I am riding a quatro 8'6 128l but with rolled deck and thin rails, feels way smaller than the actual liters...when is clean I could easily go smaller...surf a lot better than the all wave. First 3 sessions I was more time in the water than on the board, but you will get use to it fast. I am glad I didnt demo, otherwise I would have gone bigger...
Hope this helps
8'0" to 8'6" you skinny B-----ds
Select to expand quoteLeroy13 said..
Hi Scott, I'm in the same position as you, but 15 kg heavier. for me . It will be an 8'8" JP, A custom by woodandwater in Coffs orgo all out and get a custom L41 Original Simsup from Socal delivered to my door, They're getting more expensive everyday but they are talking about selling overseas through a dealer. Google them and check them out. Their website is excellent and they are super friendly when answering emails. Under $2000.00 delivered to the door. Check their Video's out and read some of the stuff on 'The Stand upZone' Plenty of positive feedback! I've heard the 8'10" Widepoint is still corky. Otherwise keep looking??
I'm nearly sold on the Simsup 8'8" by 33 or 32. The thin rails make them not corky and very responsive yet they are still stable. wait a couple of months and i'll probably do a review. I will always keep the 9'2"
Good luck Scott!!
Thanks mate, interested to hear how you go if you go down the path of the JP. Interesting regarding the wide point, will be I keen to hear from others regarding the corkiness.
cheers
Select to expand quotebolocom said..
Hi Scott, I went trough the same path. I surf, had the all wave 9'2 and wanted something more loose. I am also 84kg. I do think your choices are a bit large. If you surf in clean conditions you can go smaller and on the wave makes a huge different.
I am riding a quatro 8'6 128l but with rolled deck and thin rails, feels way smaller than the actual liters...when is clean I could easily go smaller...surf a lot better than the all wave. First 3 sessions I was more time in the water than on the board, but you will get use to it fast. I am glad I didnt demo, otherwise I would have gone bigger...
Hope this helps
Thanks mate. I guess ideally I don't want to sacrifice the good points i have identified with the Allwave, but to be honest I have no idea at all the effect of dropping 30 litres or so by going to the 8'2. Whilst I am usually out in clean conditions, most of the time it is pretty small, which is the main reason I am thinking I need to try to retain a fair bit of volume. Still guessing a fair bit though.
thanks,
scott.
Hi Scott, I understand your thinking. But an 8+' board still a big board and they go really well in small surf. As long as it is clean they go amazing, you can catch anything but them they turn really well...they feel fast, responsive and alive, a lot more fun. I am actually thinking of getting a bigger gun shape for larger waves, when it gets over 1m over head my current board it is not so easy to control, due to 30" width...an usually there is a lot of water moving, so a bigger board will be better.
I've gotta say that the last couple of times in a decent swell on the Allwave, with an 8" fin all the way back in the box and paddle jammed all the way in whilst doing a hard speed generating bottom turn , one foot on the kick pad, I've still spun it out on the bottom turn.
I've looked for bigger sides than the standards. Does anyone have any suggestions besides a different board?? It has even happened on bigger waves when further down the line when going for the lip or a snap, which is even more disappointing, (not that I'd necessarily make it anyway
). STC ( Supthecreek) says his 8'10" seems to work much better in theses situations so maybe going down in length is the go. I know that rail thickness and tail width can cause these problems, jut at 100 kg I though I'd get away with it on the 9'2". Taking off on an angle stops the initial bottom turn problem, but the spinning out on hard turns down the line are another issue. Any suggestions??? At 55 I don't want people to suggest an 8'.0" Naish Hokua. I thinking custom??
Leroy.. when did you put the 8" fin in the Allwave?
I have never tried a large center fin... it seems like it would be way too much.... and probably too much flex it the bigger fin as well.
I am happy with the stock fins. I move the 5.7" center all the way forward and leave it there in all conditions.
I have never had an issue with any of my Allwaves spinning out.
When you surf a wider board with thick rails, if you do not bury the rail, the board will want to flatten out. I put a lot of weight on the rail and commit to the turn. If your rail is buried during a turn, you shouldn't spin out.
It looks from your Avatar that you do a good job burying the rail and tail... make sure you do that when it's bigger.
My paddle skims the water during a driving turn, I do not stick it in the wave... I feel like I would be pulled off the board. On a cutback or off the top you can pivot around your paddle more.
The 8'10 is much easier off the top of the wave and on cutbacks. The 9'6 had a bit too much swing weight for the top of the wave.
I don't really understand why you need to go so wide if you're surfing clean conditions.
I went from a 9'2 allwave to a 2011 starboard 8'5 pro (125l, 29' wide) and Im 6'0 weigh 93kg. The new starby 8'5 pro is a fair bit smaller volume though.
Maybe look at starboard pocket rocket? Or fanatic pro?
I surf any conditions and have continuing back and hip issues, otherwise I would occasionally surf on custom made shorter boards. I tried a mates 8'5" starboard and couldn't find the sweet spot so when I finally stood up, I'm 55, 6'1" and 98kg (I vary in weight a lot) and had to keep paddling the whole time I was out there. I don't want to work that hard for three hours!!!!!
STC the second thing I did after my first surf on the Allwave, was remove the Fanatic Centre fin and change it for the one I had in my PSH Paddler. I've tried them in various combinations but like it the way it is. My Paddler loves the fanatic fin by the way, it loosens it right up!! I do most of my turning using the rail rather than the fins, but guess what?? Lately we have had hollow conditions on the banks and the rails won't grab on a sucky bottom or top turn if I get to trim position then I'm OK. The Avatar photo is a bit of an embarrassment as I usually have my legs wider apart. I'll see if I can rustle up some photos from a comp I was in that showed my feet position a little more accurately albeit rather amateurishly.
Hey Scott,
Check my forum on the JP Surf wide body. I have no regrets since buying mine. Find it performs beautifully and at the moment I have only had it in crappy conditions. Chomping to get it out into some clean stuff!
Cmon Huey, help us out in E coast Vicco, please!
Select to expand quotePel said..
I don't really understand why you need to go so wide if you're surfing clean conditions.
I went from a 9'2 allwave to a 2011 starboard 8'5 pro (125l, 29' wide) and Im 6'0 weigh 93kg. The new starby 8'5 pro is a fair bit smaller volume though.
Maybe look at starboard pocket rocket? Or fanatic pro?
I really don't want to sacrifice much of the stability I guess. I don't want it to be too much hard work and I definitely don't want to be tea-bagging in between waves either. I am not on it alot, I think if I was surfing a few times a week I would definitely be looking shorter and narrower.
Thanks,
Scott.
Scott79, I think you should look at the JP surf 8'10. At your weight it would be perfect. It's 30 wide so still plenty stable. I'm 6'2 & 105kg & ride the 9'2 JP surf Pro & it's absolutlely awesome! Very stable, & surfs unbelievably. The only board I've ridden out of the ones you mentioned is the Starby 8'10 Widepoint. I thought it was slow & tippy from front to back.
Select to expand quotemomasfolly said..
Hey Scott,
Check my forum on the JP Surf wide body. I have no regrets since buying mine. Find it performs beautifully and at the moment I have only had it in crappy conditions. Chomping to get it out into some clean stuff!
Cmon Huey, help us out in E coast Vicco, please!
thanks, have read your thread on the JP a number of times, still watching with interest!
Select to expand quoteZeusman said..
Scott79, I think you should look at the JP surf 8'10. At your weight it would be perfect. It's 30 wide so still plenty stable. I'm 6'2 & 105kg & ride the 9'2 JP surf Pro & it's absolutlely awesome! Very stable, & surfs unbelievably. The only board I've ridden out of the ones you mentioned is the Starby 8'10 Widepoint. I thought it was slow & tippy from front to back.
Cheers mate, I hadn't considered the surf model, based simply on the description on the website.
i have never experienced tippy front to back, when do you notice it most?
thanks
