Blue Planet Surf Sweet Spot SUP Board Review
This is written by Darin Leong (http://www.hawaiiguitar.com/), my brother and a local attorney in Hawaii.
I’ve now ridden 10-15 different boards and can summarize the Sweet Spot simply: I love this board. It does a little of everything, but most of all, it was just a lot of fun.
About the Board
The Sweet Spot is an “everything” board. Measuring at 9′2″ x 32″ x 4″, the board has just the right amount of stability for a novice/intermediate SUP surfer like myself. Even in choppy surf, you don’t have to think about balance. All your focus can be directed to getting into position and getting some forward speed to catch a lot of waves. The pointed nose makes it easier to make late drops and is also useful in windy conditions. The narrower nose is less prone to being caught by the wind, and feels like it helps keep the board driving forward. The rounded pin tail makes the Sweet Spot easy to turn, even for surfers (like me) who are just getting the hang of making clean turns on the top and bottom of the wave. The board feels light when you pick it up, although I did not get the exact weight. The “Lift SUP” handle makes carrying the board and washing it off easy. Other features include a mount on the front for a GoPro camera and a nice grippy deck pad with an image of the Hawaiian Islands. The Sweet Spot can be set-up as a single-fin, tri-fin or quad-fin. I rode it as a tri-fin.
In the Water
I rode the Sweet Spot was in nice south shore conditions. Head high waves, light wind. The first thing I noticed about the board was that I did not have to think about falling in the water. The board allows itself to turn easily, and it was a breeze getting into position. Even when you are not moving and the paddle is out of the water, the Sweet Spot remains stable. Once I started paddling for waves, it felt like I could really dig in and get some speed. The board felt like it has a higher top paddling speed than my other board with a full rounded nose. It also felt like I could get the board up to speed with just a few strokes due to its light weight and streamlined dimensions.
On the wave is where I really became attached to this board. It was extremely responsive in making turns. Typically, my backside bottom turn is slow and I end up not coming all the way around, resulting in being out of position with a complete loss of speed. Turning backside with the Sweet Spot was the first time I made a clean bottom turn setting up good positioning off the top. It was also noticeable that the board feels very smooth through turns. It glided (rather than bounced) along the waves. Frontside turns felt like a responsive easy glide, making each ride feel like I could actually do a little carving up and down the wave. I ended the session catching a bunch of waves and being absolutely stoked about the session.
Added Bonus
On another day, we took the Sweet Spot to flat water with the family. It was fun toting the kids around. Even my in-laws loved paddling the board in the safety of flat water; they loved it so much that they bought one.
Final thoughts
Based on all the boards I’ve ridden so far, if I was to pick only one to own, the Sweet Spot would probably be it. It works well in bigger or smaller waves, windy or calm conditions, and is still small enough to be very portable. The Sweet Spot is a great board.
http://www.standuppaddlesurf.net/2014/01/02/blue-planet-surf-sweet-spot-sup-board-review/
How much weight can the “Sweet Spot SUP” handle
as most adult men weigh over 200lbs
I personaly am at 220lbs
Maybe add how much weight a board can handle in artical
I am about 170 pounds, but the Sweet Spot felt like it could handle a lot more weight than me. I felt like my weight had very little impact on how the board was floating, rocking and moving.
I was also on the water a couple days ago and saw another SUP rider on a Sweet Spot. He looked to be about 200 pounds, and did not have any problems on the board. At 140 liters, my impression is that there is sufficient volume in the Sweet Spot to handle riders well over 200 pounds.
If you are on Oahu, you can also demo the board at Blue Planet. They are super nice and helpful there.
Dale,
You might also look at the Fun Stick. I tried that one as well and will post a review shortly. The Fun Stick is the same volume (140 liters) as the Sweet Spot, but it is an inch wider and 2 inches longer. I initially thought that the Fun Stick might not hold someone heavier, but my friend who is 220 pounds just tried it and his weight had very little impact on the board. I was told that 140 liters should hold up to 300 pounds, so 220 is no problem.