Sup compared to longboard

[benjl]

Hey guys

Sorry this isn't strictly a surfing question but I am curious as I still can't surf for another 4-5months due to my injury.

Do sup's pick up small waves just like a long board, or better than a long board?
I mean the volume of my 7'6 sup is 109l compared to the volume of my 7'2 which is 47l. My 7'2 picks up just about anything so with nearly 2.5x the volume would the sup pick up even smaller ripples? It's also quite flat, volume condensed and volume forward.

Kind of curious to know how you guys have found them compared to surfing!

[oldmansurfer]

I have dabbled in SUP wave catching but from looking at where they are in the lineup they catch waves well before a longboard can. And my huge beginners SUP catches very small waves easily but then so does my longboard. I can scissors kick and no paddle the takeoff on minuscule waves with my 9'6" longboard.

[waikikikichan]

Apples and Oranges. You can't compare how they catch if your catching the way the SUP is made to ........... with a Paddle...... and standing upright. If you're asking to catch prone, your hands will be hard to get a deep stroke going. ( or just your finger tips ). It's even hard to paddle s 25" wide longboard. Yours is like 29" ?
SUP's catch better timing the wave with a arcing paddle versus straight to the beach. You want to be up to speed a little and not stroke both sides. When you stroke on one side, you have a faster recovery but the board tends to turn away from the paddle side, thus using the arcing ( wide closing radius U-turn ) will get you more waves.

[benjl]

Hey Wk, I'm assuming a sup with a paddle. Not that I would plan to manually paddle an sup with my hands haha.

Ie let's say a 0.5ft wave, a longboard would likely struggle to catch this. Have people found with their sup's that they can catch this kind of stuff that their longboards or mals would struggle with?

[waikikikichan]

let's say a 0.5ft wave, a longboard would likely struggle to catch this. Have people found with their sup's that they can catch this kind of stuff that their longboards or mals would struggle with?

If it breaks, I can't see why a longboard can't catch it. Waikiki is surfable on ankle-snappers. Beach break, i wouldn't know. And if it's that small that even a longboard can't catch, then it'll be boring just to paddling into it on a SUP and go straight. But i would say, SUP's can get on, before the longboarders even think about paddling. ( That's why most surfers don't like SUPs in the line up )

[billie_morini]

benj,
It is easier to catch small and large waves with an SUP. If you will accept some generalizations, then the reasons are: 1) You can paddle an SUP much faster than you can paddle a surfboard, 2) SUPs float better, and 3) positioning is less critical because you can see swells coming significantly better when standing and you can paddle faster.

Traditional board surfing requires many more skills than surfing SUPs. To me, that is the challenge. SUPs are too easy. This is partially why I don't like them.

If I had a serious injury like you, then I would not hesitate to surf on an SUP. However, my concern for you is you injure your leg carrying a medium to large SUPs. Or, when stepping off an SUP in shallow water. I'd also make sure the near constant rocking motion is okay for your leg. I hope it's okay because you can get a lot of physical therapy for many injuries from all the motion and movement.

My comments are based on having a 12 ft Laird Hamilton cruisng SUP and an 8 ft 9 in Paddle Surf Hawaii surfing SUP.
billie

[benjl]

Thanks for your comments and thoughts Billie, pretty much answers my queries until I can actually go and experience then for myself

I had another check up with the surgeon yesterday and were on track for getting out of the moonboot just after xmas so I'm slowly getting closer to freedom again.
I asked him about paddleboarding in the interim and he was unsure, but it sounded like his main concern was about coming off and getting the moonboot wet. His quote was 'I've never met someone who hasn't come off an sup' haha.

I ended up selling my 7'2 lastnight so I'm all gearing up for this sup phase!

[jaffa1949]

There are so many SUPs to choose from, a longer one paddles well and has lots of glide.
Narrow is less stable so you can shorten and go wider.
Believe it or not my lake SUP is only 9'8" six inches longer than my longboard but it is very wide. I almost wishboned myself when I sat down suddenly and straddled the board
But it is stable and good for my rehab. But I cannot carry it to the water as all the internal gut stitching has to heal 10 weeks before light lifting is allowed.
BTW get a good pair of polaroid sunnies the fish you see while standing " amazing"

[billie_morini]

benjl,
Christmas is not truly far away. You'll be able to hold out. The surgeon may not really know what goes on when riding an SUP. Maybe you can find a physical therapist to talk to about this. There was a Physician's Assistant that saw me through herniated neck disk recouperation. He surfed. He was active. He told me it was too soon to sit in dentist's chair or in commercial jet seat. He could tell me when it was time to try more physical activity. This kind of guy would benefit you.

As far as getting the moon boot wet, so what? We've all seen photos of Waki surfing with one. If it were me, I'd have two of them. One for dry land and one for the sea.

And, yes. It is very easy to fall off an SUP in the sea or choppy bay. In contrast, yiu can go all day on a lake or calm river without falling in. It's not much fun either. I prefer the sea and chop because it challenges.

Do you have a paddle? I learned a trick from a guy that used his SUP for physical therapy. He had a hip shattered when an automobile hit him when he was on a bicycle. He found the rocking and changing conditions in bays and sea channel were good exercise. But, he carries two paddles. One is a traditional SUP paddle. The other is a traditional kayak paddle. When he wnts to cover a lot of distance fast or the sea is very chopoy, he sits. When he sits, he draws his knees up and used the kayak paddle. Seeing was believing and I have two types of paddles, too. Depending what I plan to do, I take one, the other, or two paddle(s).
billie

[benjl]

Thanks Billie, that's probably good advice to not risk it although tempting as it is. Funnily enough.. I do have 2c moonboots! Hah!
I got a new one each time I snapped my Archillies so I could do one for sup'ing and dry land haha. I also work for a plastic film manufacturer so have plenty of bags on hand to try and keep
It dry if I did fall in.