Great all-around downriver board! - Hala Atcha Inflatable SUP Board

I came to the Atcha after paddling another popular whitewater board for a couple years.
At first I was not convinced that this is the board for me—as a somewhat big guy (6'1", 210 lbs) I felt a little unsteady, and I also was also not used to running a center fin. After getting used to the Atcha for a couple months, though, I don't think this board can be beat for downriver paddling. Once I became accustomed to the enhanced rocker, I found it much easier to both catch waves and execute successful ledge drops. I now find myself catching waves on the fly where before I had a lot of difficulty catching any waves at all, even after eddying out.

I prefer to ride using a single set of low-profile (orange) fins positioned in the front fin slots, along with the center stomp box fin. This combination helps me track while avoiding the dreaded "Superman" (where the board stops when a fin hits a rock but you go flying). The foot index, located just in front of the stomp pad, makes it easy to feel where my back foot should be placed without having to look down when trying to surf standing waves. Lately I have been using the angled stomp pad in the back of the board to sink the tail of the board as I pivot. I find myself riding in a much more surfer stance that I did on my previous board, which helps with the catching waves on the fly. I am very happy with my Hala Atcha and I expect that I will get many years of use out of this awesome board.