by Jack Waltour 2 years ago SUPs, or Stand Up Paddleboards, are all the rage right now. They’re basically surfboards, but they’re not limited to high-speed wave surfing or belly paddling. They’re far more flexible. In fact, they’re used for everything from surfing to yoga right now. They’re even used for fishing when you don’t have a proper fishing boat.
However, not every paddleboard is the same. In fact, some of them can interfere with the learning process, make things harder or more comfortable for you, or even prove to be unsafe.
Today, we want to go over the things you should look for in a high-quality stand up paddleboard.
1: Understand Your Usage
SUP boards are a lot more flexible than you might think. They’re not just a one-size-fits-all item. There are boards designed for fishing, yoga, racing, general surfing, and more. You should understand what you want before you buy a board. If you buy a fishing SUP, but you want to ride the waves, you’ll have problems. SUP boards are generally specialized, and they don’t work well outside of their specializations.
However, if you’re unsure of what you want to buy, you can buy a general SUP board to get a hang of the sport.
2: Materials
SUP boards can be made from a variety of materials. There are plastic boards, wood boards, epoxy and fiberglass boards, inflatable boards, and more.
The materials you choose for your SUP board are important.
That plastic SUP might be cheap, but it won’t perform nearly as well as a high-quality wood one. You really don’t want to take the cheap route, or you’ll end up paying for that investment over and over again. Especially if you use your SUP in demanding activities.
Understand what you’re buying and if you don’t want to buy it again right away, buy a good one to get started.
We recommend wood, fiberglass, and epoxy, or a high-quality inflatable.
3: Features
Every paddleboard has its own features. It’s important that you find one that has features that will match your needs.
A general paddleboard will usually be fairly barebones, but it might still have different coatings, grip materials, and lash lengths. It might even have different nose shapes to support you in branching out into different types of riding.
However, specialized boards might have very different feature sets. For example, a basic fishing SUP might require you to tie all your equipment to holes drilled through the board. However, a more advanced one might have compartments, balance aids, rod holders, and more.
You really need to break down the types of features that your ideal stand up paddleboard should have to make sure it meets your needs perfectly. If you don’t, you might end up buying a new one prematurely just to get new features.
Stay Safe and Have Fun
If you follow these basic guidelines, you’ll end up owning a great SUP that will last you for years. However, you need to practice some basic water safety to keep yourself happy and safe while you’re enjoying the water.