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[surfingdad]

I have been riding a soft tip for a few years. Ow I am looking to get something a little smaller. I am a bigger rider 6'4 and 210 lbs. soon to be a little bit lighter around 200lbs. I am looking at a surftech spade in a 7'8. Has anyone rode one before? Any other board recommendations. The winter season is coming up here in Santa Cruz so I am looking to get a new board soon.

[surfingdad]

http://www.surftech.com/surf/surftech-spade-powerflex

[icetime]

You're a bit of a bigger surfer so you'll have to wait a little for the guys with more experience to answer(dtc, big h, uncle jaffa), not sure what you'd need volume wise, I can't give much advice but make sure to include one more thing, your experience level, how often did you go surfing during this time, are you intermediate? Also how big was the soft top?

[RinkyDink]

I have been riding a soft tip for a few years. Ow I am looking to get something a little smaller. I am a bigger rider 6'4 and 210 lbs. soon to be a little bit lighter around 200lbs. I am looking at a surftech spade in a 7'8. Has anyone rode one before? Any other board recommendations. The winter season is coming up here in Santa Cruz so I am looking to get a new board soon.

I think this board is really cool.

I don't own one, but I wish I did. You might want to investigate further. Original thread with this video is here viewtopic.php?f=15&t=26323.

[oldmansurfer]

The usual recommendation for a board from riding a soft top is to get a hard board the same size because the soft top board has more flotation than a hard board the same size. What is the size of the soft top board you have been riding?

[Namu]

Welcome to the forum, if you can give us more details we can get a better idea of whether or not that board is suitable for you:

-height 6'4"
-weight 210 lbs
-location Santa Cruz
-age?
-paddle fitness?
-how often do you surf or plan to?
-dimensions of your current board?
-what do you like and dislike about your current board?
-what do you hope to accomplish with your new board?
-do you have any other boards besides the foamy?
-have you surfed any other boards, what was that like?
-can you catch unbroken waves consistently?
-can you trim along the wave face, Frontside and backside?
-can you paddle out back on bigger days?
-short term surfing goals, this winter and one year from now?

Fill us in with some details so we can give you a good recommendation besides a yes or no answer.

[oldgrom22]

Like others have stated a bit more background info on your skillset would be helpful. I'm about the same height with about 20lbs on you and the 7'8 should work fine for you. However this is based on the assumption that you have no issues currently catching the majority of the waves you're going for and can ride both ways down the line(not straight in). If that's not the case and you're just starting to get the hang of things, I'd say a longboard in the 9ft+ range would be the way to go.

[surfingdad]

So I am 31. Right now my paddle fitness sucks. But that is changing very soon. I was a NCAA swimmer and waterpolo player. So I can get my paddle strength back very fast. I have been using a wavestorm and a catchsurf odysea. They both are 8ft. I can ride down the line but not very well on my backhand. I can catch just about any wave I paddle for. As of right now I will be surfing once a week at the least. I want to slowly make my way down to something shorter. No shorter than a 7. I am just to big of a guy for a real short board. I am loosing weight I will be back down to 195.

[surfingdad]

I have never paddled out on a big day. 6 feet or over.

[surfingdad]

I all so have used a Stewart redline 11. I loved this board and I still am thinking about getting one