For the last 6 months or thereabouts I have been gradually 'getting over' SUP surfing.
I have a 9'3 Woody Jack and while this is not in the smallest range it is a High Performance thruster high rockered, deep concave thing. The board goes amazing to be honest, very light. Point is it surfs like a shortboard, it led me back to my shortboards and now I ride them more than anything as instead of pretending to be a shortboard I find the real thing far more rewarding.
This morning however I borrowed 'Big Red'. Big Red is 12' x 30' x 5 or 6 or something. There was nobody even out at Alley it was that bad, rainy, onshore, 1 foot. So me and big red went for a paddle. This is the most fun I have had on SUP for ages. Walking up and down, trimming, gliding, catching waves that arent even waves. It was all over again the reason I started on SUP in the first place.
Comfirmed what I have been thinking. If I want to surf like a shortboard than that's what I will ride.
I'm going back up in size. It's more fun!
Im hearing ya, My fav board at the moment is a 10ft longboard style sup, my 9.3 and 8.8 are gathering dust of late, Im just having heaps of fun on the 10fter and that's all that matters
Same for me
Yesterday I took my 14' made for fat bumies out at wategoes.
Spent 40mn with 3 fins at first then took of the side fins and had the best time for 2 hours.
It was fat, shortboards or longboards were getting very few and I was gliding on every waves further out.
As you say CMC
It was all over again the reason I started on SUP in the first place.
classic boys
ive spent a bit of time on one of those 10ft mana softboards of late getting a bit wiggerdy wack on it
just getting a bit of practice in for summer for when the clubbies come and setup there flags on the only 1/2ft peak on the beach, but now i can still hit it and rack up a solid kill count with multiple head shots and double kill combos on the big bitch
actual events maynot happen but the thought is still there!!!!!!
Yeah, been on the Misses' 10 footer a couple of times and the tankers are a hoot when its micro. I still reckon a SUP is more fun 90% of the time than a shorty - here in Sydney at least. But then again for me an hour is about the norm for a surf so sitting around on a shorty watching the mals get the sets doesn't cut it
Yeah sometimes shorter isn't better. I took my 8'6 out on friday and had a shocker. Good shoulder high waves but with a really strong cross offshore wind which just bucked me off continuously. Only caught a couple of gems. Then took my 12'6 race board out in thigh high surf on saturday, caught dozens of awesome waves and had way more fun than on the shorty. My wave count has dropped considerably since dropping to a sub 9' board.
I' m hearing you .... I dusted the old 10'6 yesterday morning ,and surfed Laceys in water that had a bit of wind/seasickness on it and had a ball.
I forgot how much fun I used to have riding a bigger board.
They still have a place in the quiver.
agree totally - so many crew trying top replicate the shortboard experience - and all the frustration that entails.
They suck to paddle,
you get half as many waves,
no paddle speed,
late takeoffs,
get left behind by fat sections,
you end up surfing with the crowd.
And usually looking a bit silly while doing it.
Best to wait for the good days and surf a proper performance surfboard - SUPs will never match these for that free carvey loose fast feeling in pushy waves
for sure its the drive, no crowds and magic of big boards (10 ft plus) in smaller dribbly surf that is SUP surfing's sweet spot.
I have spoken to plenty of newbies (less than 6 months) who have already got into a 8 - 9 fter and there goes the magic. its exactly the Same mistake that windsurfing and kitesurfing made in their earlier days
we need to educate newbies that its not about being a "waterman" by using the sup in everything possible - the SUP is a tool that is best suited to expanding your surfing window of opportunity. Or flatwater paddling adventures.
I do use my sup in 'everything' do not feel out of place.
There is merit in performance SUP surfing and I was not trying to disrespect it all. It's just for me that the 9'3 seems to go best in the same kind of waves as my shorty and I am having a hard time getting motivated to ride the SUP of late. It struggles in poo.
I probably won't go all of the way back up to 12', my first ever board was 10 x 28 x 4 1/4 and will more than likely go back that far as something that can turn and surf in crud as well. It was just a great morning in the worst waves imaginable and as reflex says above it made me remember why I started on SUP to increase my surfing windows instead of sitting around waiting for good waves.
It's all about fun and if fun for you is ripping the top off it on a 7'6 or hanging 5 and doing helicopters get out there and enjoy!
I have gone the opposite a bit and gone shorter than i thought i ever would 7'3 and i'm loving it, i'm getting just as many waves still sit out with the guys on the bigger sups and doing stuff i thought i could only do on my short board!!! is it just like like surfing my short board, NO but it is like surfing a smaller SUP. I do still love jumping on a 10 plus SUP and having a ball as well which brings back the memory's of the early days but to me its all fun!!!! My advice, do it all then nothing gets boring and really anything in the water is fun
Jacko
I'm a crap short boarder but a happily competent SUP surfer. I can get off on my own and catch as many waves as I want without any conflict with anybody else. It rocks.
I love that my 8'11", 6kg board fits in my car and I can carry it easily to and from the surf over any kind of terrain or distance. On windless days I can paddle near my home and look at reefs and practice pivot turns and stuff.
I would dearly love to get a hybrid board that paddles well in flat water, is good for downwinders, and I can trim along on waves and bommies and stuff. No flashy surfing, just enjoying the swell.
Unfortunately I lose the will to live at the thought of dealing with a 14', 14kg, $2-3000 board. 
When I read this thread it made me think hmmmmm.
SUP for me is about going to the beach on any day and knowing your gonna have fun whether its 6inchs or 6ft.
Not into heaving spitting barrels (outa my league) but I appreciate the skills of those that ride them. As a rule we dont get that many here either unless you wana SUP Winki and make real friends PMSL.
Nothing beats being able to glide a 12fter onto a 6 inch ripple and just slide on down the line. Wander down the board to check out whats happening at the pointy end then wander back.
The big boards used to be boats but the designs have moved so far on now they are a lot of fun.
When the time comes I intend to plonk one of the grand kids on the nose and paddle out too again just for pure fun.
Having not ridden a short board (outa my league, and patience for the crowds ) the 9-9'6 sups have way more performance than any mal I have ridden and they just feel super loose under the foot.
I dont care what my SUPing looks like, if it makes me feel like Kelly for a couple hours and I get to share the fun with the kids and close friends I'll take it.
I couldnt see myself trading a SUP for a Mal its just no contest.
Phill
Interesting topic for me at the moment-very relevant to my buying decisions..as I am considering a second board.
New to stand up surfing -long term shortboarder/longboarder
Was a knocker! and then had a go -can't keep the smile off my face now
I am riding a naish 9.5 mana(love it) and have gone through the learning curve quite quickly and as a result have been tempted to go down in size.
Having said that I am wondering if it changes what I am liking so much ??
An example is a couple of days in Noosa over the past week-beautiful conditions for the mana,waist to head high,could paddle to Tea Tree and Granite ,caught as many waves as I could handle and had a ball.
Would being on a 9 ft Hokua(for example) allowed the same fun??...
I know you tailor the board to the conditions-but agree there comes a point to just pull out the shortboard.
Just thinking out loud....
Rod
BTW. I got rid of my mal for my new SUP. The SUP does everything the mal did but better. On windy days I can prone paddle it.
I predict that unless SUPs get lighter, stronger, and possibly cheaper, that SUP will go the way of the wally windsurfer.
We'll see them rotting down the side of houses and appearing on nature strips for hard rubbish collections.
Once the novelty wears off women, children and men motivated by the latest cool toy will not want to get the car out to transport it, use a crane to load it, and have two people to carry it to the water.
A bloke once compared surfing a 11'6" sup to doing wheelspins in a van.
"It's fun cause ya not supposed to."
Jason
I agree that having a bigger board can provide lots of fun and waves. I just got a Whopper as my summer board and flat water cruiser. It surfs well in small waves, you can walk up and down it, my wife and friends can ride it, its not too big to carry or store and its so cruisy having a stable board to paddle. I also think that this feeling was one of the reasons I got into SUP. My quiver is a 9'6 PSH and my Whopper. A race board would be nice but not too fussed about racing. I can put my Whopper on the car every morning and either surf or flat water paddle. I'm not worried about going fast on flat water. Oh, yeah and I can take the dog on the Whopper as well !
Gezz, you were all going on about going shorter not long ago, Now you want a bus 
But in saying that i would also like a 9'5 round nose for rough days to go with my 9'6 ripper
or a nice paddle on flatwater
in the mind maybe
I always do Starboard element 9'8 would be good or a psh 10
So many days here that a good waves, Just to much chop and current about
Would be nice to have two options is what i would like
Hey Legion,
I got a big chuckle outa that on a pain in the ass Monday afternoon
Most of the boyfriends take one look at my ugly chrome dome and run anyway.
I think the last one said "Oh, he's your dad bye" (Shhhhhhhhhhhhh just the way I like it.)
Phill
since all you guys want a longer board, whos looking for a 9.8 Chris Garret
happy to be dropping inches as I dont own a SB or mal. (Never have.....)Like Jacko I have a mate on another 7.3, he has no problem getting waves....just bring a rain coat
