Stand Up Paddling

[Broosta]

Anyone tried it?
Any opinions on it?
I'm struggling here on the east coast with the worst waves in my 25yrs of surfing here, and I am thinking that SUP might be the answer to staying fit (actually make that getting fit again!) and staying stoked with surfy stuff.
What say you?

[Roy Stewart]

You seem like the right type for it

[Broosta]

Is that in a good or bad way ?!

[Phil]

hey broosta, hope life is treating you well bud. theres some amazing footage of SUP's on youtube with guys ripping on them, they look pretty fun and can make the most of the smallest of waves. im having chris build me one

[twerked]

i've tried it, not sure how i feel about them. they're cool, but just too much work for me. flatwater, i'd be okay with it, but trying to surf em in small scale stuff, i'd rather just have a regular longboard. the vantage point of standing is pretty awesome though. prepare your core muscles for a beatdown

[drowningbitbybit]

they're cool

fun, perhaps. good exercise, definitely. useful for when its flat, yes.
But cool? No.

Expensive new toys for balding, overweight, middle-aged old men

[Broosta]

hey broosta, hope life is treating you well bud. theres some amazing footage of SUP's on youtube with guys ripping on them, they look pretty fun and can make the most of the smallest of waves. im having chris build me one

Alright fella, I'm good. Yeah I've seen some of the youtube stuff - SUP big busy Pipe !
I think I'm gonna get one to fill in the big gaps in my water time. I want one with a mast foot slot for windsurfing too so I really don't miss out on water time!
What size are you getting? I'm thinking of a Starboard 9'8" rounded pin. I had a go on a Mistral 11ft job and it was really nice to be on the water and there was a half ft swell which I had a go at which was ridiculously fun to play on.
I think that is the magc word 'fun', thats been missing from my water time recently.

[Broosta]

i've tried it, not sure how i feel about them. they're cool, but just too much work for me. flatwater, i'd be okay with it, but trying to surf em in small scale stuff, i'd rather just have a regular longboard. the vantage point of standing is pretty awesome though. prepare your core muscles for a beatdown

Yeah you're not wrong about the muscle beatdown! I had a go for about 2hrs mainly just paddling along the flats but with the odd ankle slapper coming through and afterwards I felt like I'd been run over, all sorts of aches I've not had before, and not least he calf muscles followed by just about everything. Loved it!

[Broosta]

they're cool

fun, perhaps. good exercise, definitely. useful for when its flat, yes.
But cool? No.

Expensive new toys for balding, overweight, middle-aged old men

I heard uncool is the new cool , but then again I'm too old, overweight, bald and skint to really worry about all that anyway!

[libby]

Hey Broosta

Ignore them, there is at least one seriously sexy guy on a SUP at Saunton I think they look like awesome fun

[Broosta]

Alright there Libbs, well thats good enough for me then .

[twerked]

they're cool

fun, perhaps. good exercise, definitely. useful for when its flat, yes.
But cool? No.

Expensive new toys for balding, overweight, middle-aged old men

haha. i'd say i agree, but there are some really good stand up paddlers out here that charge some serious waves, and that's pretty cool

[O_Danny_Boy]

i think they look kooky

around here its usually the kooks who have them, buy a log

[parrysurf]

they're cool

Expensive new toys for balding, overweight, middle-aged old men

Hey!!! I resemble that remark!!!

Truth... I don't look, feel, or try to be cool when on my SUP. I do it for the core exercise, and balance training. I use it on days when the waves are tiny and I would have a weak session on my regular surfboard. These are the same days I go to the skate park, it gives me another option, depending on the weather.

On my last SUP session a bitter sitter yelled at me while I was sliding by him " Get a bigger board!!". On my way back out I stopped to tell him that I would by a bigger board...... but hiring a caddy to help me carry that thing around was out of my price range.

I do like SUP it is challenging, fun, and is great for the core!

[parrysurf]

Oh yeah, I only take my SUP to beginner spots...and or micro size days.

mad respect to those SUP chargers who surf big waves on them!

[tautologies]

hey, I'm doing it quite a lot. Don't worry about the haters, they have no clue.
Before you start have a look at these (the bible for behaving in the line-up): http://www.paddlesurfhawaii.com/default ... m&C_ID=314
I have a full quiver of boards, anywhere from 12ft to 9'6''. It just depends on the waves. I had my 11'4'' out in some ankle snappers today. Although not challenging, it is still fun.Then after picking up a few waves, just paddle to the next wave.
If you're looking to do both regular paddeling and surfing small stuff, check out the 11'4''
( www.naishsurfing.com ) if you want a board that handles more like a long board check out the 10'6'', if you want a ripping board, check out the 9'6'' or 9'3''. On that site there is a video where they are surfing Jaws on a SUP....
I have a few of the Naish boards and a few of the PSH from http://www.paddlesurfhawaii.com I have the Ripper 9'6'' Super good fun, and the board is very agile. Works great also in big waves.
Now, if you are looking for a surfing board. It is not with out reason this sport is taking off. Just remember to surf with Aloha. Don't be one of the guys that takes everything...

[parrysurf]

Haters in force!! 1 foot rollers light crowd, some rod called me out said to leave the beach sup not welcome here.

I said and kept paddling.

What a tool bag this guy was...I am sure this will flare up again at the same spot.
Bastards sipping on haterade!

[Broosta]

I'd just like to add to this thread (after necro-ing it of course!), by saying that whilst SUPing is good for fitness bla bla bla it also massively destroys your surfing ability! It does this by making you have to decide which board to take out on a surf session and you end up by never using your surfboard in case the waves are xxxxx. But I'm probably worse off here by living in a xxxxx wave location...
The thing with surfing is, you have to do the hours grovelling in xxxxx waves to get any good at it, and using the SUP instead for these conditions means you become a xxxxx surfer! Of course this would not happen if where you live is an awesome place to surf...