Review: Starboard Squirt

Summary: The Starboard Squirt is a weird looking SUP. Measuring in at 34 inches wide and just 6 foot 6 inches long it has features that make it a decent river surfer, but it fails to impress when compared to other boards. Continue reading for the detailed review…

In depth review: After surfing the Starboard Impossible for a season and loving it, the similarly shaped Squirt seemed like it might make for a good river surf SUP. The Squirt is 4 inches wider than the Impossible, but has the same length of 6’6″. My hope was that the Squirt would surf as well as the Impossible, but have extra stability to make spins and other tricks easier.

Boards that were originally designed surfing in the ocean, like the Squirt, I find work best on big river waves. Waves are not typically as retentive as holes. To stay on a wave, you need a fast board.

Unfortunately, the Squirt is not a super fast board. Out of all my ocean boards, it is the slowest. When compared to the 9’2″ Riveria Nugg, the 7’2″ Starboard Rush, or even the 6’6″ Starboard Impossible, the Squirt is slower than all of them. Speed isn’t everything in a board and on steeper waves it matters less, but a fast board can mean that instead of just trying to stay on the wave you are able to generate enough speed to carve or pull off tricks.

Erin Livingston surfing the Squirt at Glenwood Springs

The width of the Squirt is one of its unique features. It does make for a more stable board, but I only found this helpful when surfing waves with a lot of whitewater or holes. When surfing holes, boards like the Glide Sesh or any of the Badfish boards tend to be a better option than the Squirt. These boards have more volume, more rocker, and are sometimes made of more durable material (I have an epoxy Squirt). There were a few times when I found the Squirt surfed certain holes better, but I ended up with a couple of chips and dings while surfing these smaller holes.

This wave in Pueblo was great for the Squirt. The nice shoulder on river left required ferrying across lots of whitewater to access.

When I go river surfing, it is common for me to bring a whole stack of boards (at least 4) and choose the best one for the wave or hole. With a good quiver to choose from, it was rare that I ended up surfing the Squirt. I found myself choosing the Starboard Impossible or Rush over the Squirt when surfing waves. When surfing holes I preferred the Badfish MVP-S or IRS instead of the Squirt.

While the Squirt can be used on both holes and waves, it is rarely the best performer on either. If you are considering getting this board for river surfing, I would recommend choosing a board that is more specialized towards either surfing waves or holes.