Wood is good! – Blu Wave Woody Wave Rider Pro 9.6ft
Blu Wave SUP is a popular Canadian-based stand up paddle company, now being distributed in the UK by Bluewave Leisure. This year they’ll be supporting the UK SUP Clubs race series – a big tick in the box for UK paddlers.
The company’s Wave Rider 9.6ft is a sexy looking bit of kit with its svelte profile, orange rail lines and bamboo deck. To boot, it’s as light as a feather, for a relatively big performance surf SUP, and we were amped to take it for a spin.
At 29” it isn’t the widest stick on the market and those with less than accurate footwork may find locating the board’s sweet spot tricky at first. Give it time, however, and you’ll soon have it dialled in and be sweeping out to the peak, climbing froth and dropping in with ease.
Catching swells is easy enough, with the Wave Rider displaying a decent level of glide. It won’t pick up waves super early – the Blu Wave’s rocker will put paid to that – but paddlers with good technique will still find themselves into some juice with enough time to set a rail.
Biting hard as you crank one out of the trough, the Blu Wave’s speed back up to the lip (and down the line) is impressive. Feeling loose and nimble under foot, banging one off the top, arcing a cutback or simply flying into the next section is super rewarding. With the persona of a smaller surf SUP you’d be forgiven for thinking you have less foam under your feet.
The Blu Wave 9.6ft Wave Rider does need a bit of punch from conditions to unleash its full potential but doesn’t stall if waves are small. For lighter riders it’d make a great all round rip stick while heavier weights would have great fun in solid conditions or have it as their go to bigger wave stick.
CONCLUSION
A great looking stand up paddle surf board, the Blu Wave Wave Rider 9.6ft is a sexy wave tool that’d make a perfect quiver board for medium to heavier weight riders. Daintier paddle surfers will find the 9.6ft more of a longboard style SUP for less hectic conditions or serious chargers would find the Blu Wave sits well as their bigger swell step up weapon. Surfing versatility never looked so good!
Further info :
www.bluwavesup.co.uk/product/the-wave-rider-pro-9-6/
Price: £850
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