A different Canoe- Stand Up Paddleboards?

Anyone have intel on the best bang for the buck inflatable Stand Up Paddleboard?

I looked, and Costco had one online by Bodyglove that looked like a winner for about $500, but just as I was hitting "buy", it disappeared. I had fun on my cousin's, and was surprised at how good the inflatable was... saves room, I now have boat... good thing all around. There was another that was convertible to sit-on kayak, an idea I also liked.

Cool kayak/Paddleboard

But their shipping is one to two months, and I subsequently read that you want one 6" thick. Shopping for this kind of crap is stuff that I tweak out on, and obsessively study... I'd rather avoid that, and just have fun, but have no idea which brands are reliable, etc. Help?

Been seeing more and more of these. Can anyone communicate what the attraction is?

NOHOME wrote: Can anyone communicate what the attraction is?

What are you talking about...they're great!

Those things just look like low back pain to me. I have no desire to try it.

I have a friend who is a SUP supplier. Pretty sure he'd suggest to get a good board and not skimp. He's seen the best and the worst. If you need more info I can connect you. Hit me up at geo(dot)l(dot)rooney(at)gmail(youknowhowtherestgoes)

I grew up on and in the water.. I have sailed, powerboated, scuba dived, and surfed.. I never understood SUPs

SUPs help to build your core muscles and aid in developing balance. If you're in the breaker/surf zone you are already standing to surf waves in.

Also unlike a kayak you can get an all around tan; if you're concerned with such things.

I didn't see it until I tried it... not like I'm a freak about them or anything, but I had some fun, and I could tell it was a great workout. And, Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. This seems like a cheap and low space way of getting a boat.

I have a Bic SUP. Not an inflatable one though. Don't know anything about the inflatable ones. They are fun to paddle around on. For me the best part compared to paddling around in a kayak is that you can see a lot more fish since you are a lot higher from the water's surface. I like to paddle around following schools of fish.

Saw a couple riding them down small what water on the upper Hudson, can't imagine falling off into a rocky stream with less than a foot of water in it.

My wife loves hers. She likes to just mess around on the water and sometimes just lie down and float. It's really relaxing. I have one so I can chase her around.

We rented an inflatable first, then bought rigid ones. The inflatable was like paddling a dock, and a right bastard to inflate. The rigid are in a totally different performance category, much smoother in the water.

yeah- I think if I lived near the water, I'd go rigid, but storage and transport would be a huge pita without throwing a rack on my truck.

They'll go in the bed of a truck Ours hang from a sling (i.e., two pieces of rope tied to hooks) in our shed.

Actually, just this very minute they're sitting beside the van drying a bit - we just got off the lake.

The wife and I took a class through REI where they take you out on a lagoon to try the different SUPs. It was actually quite a bit of fun (mostly me goofing off and causing her to fall off) and a good workout.

There's at least one "take apart paddleboard" out there if you're looking for something portable. I have no idea how well it performs since I haven't had the chance to try one.

I scull on the Potomac in Washington DC. Generally in the evening around 6 I'll row from near the Roosevelt bridge about up to Chain bridge and back. It's about 6 miles and I do it in a bit over an hour. The main obstacles used to be rental canoes and kayaks, but lately have been Kayaks and SUPs. And the worst is college girls laying on their rental SUPs and dicking with their phones.

As I'm headed up-river the sun is in my eyes and despite using a bike mirror mounted on my sunglasses and frequent looks over my shoulder, these aquatic somnambulists are all but invisible. It's inevitable I'll row into one eventually. Sculls have a rubber bow ball to prevent impaling anyone you hit, but when it happens both parties will go for a swim. And it's easier to get back on your SUP and have daddy buy you a new iPhone than for me to get my old, fat ass back in my 24 foot toothpick of a boat and get the cockpit bailed.

They're a menace.

motomoron wrote: As I'm headed up-river the sun is in my eyes and despite using a bike mirror mounted on my sunglasses and frequent looks over my shoulder, these aquatic somnambulists are all but invisible. It's inevitable I'll row into one eventually. ... They're a menace.

So, you're essentially backing fairly quickly, with obstructed vision, and they're the menace?

Woody wrote: Those things just look like low back pain to me. I have no desire to try it.

It does hurt your lower back and especially your ankles. Also requires a good bit of skill to balance. That's my experience from a time I did stand-up paddleboarding on a surfboard. Moving into the wind is a total joke as well since you're the sail. Silliest way to move on water, would not do again.

So, short version: people who use them like them. People who don't use them think they're stupid and make idiot remarks about daddy buying iPhones.

If it hurts your lower back, stand up straight.

SWMBO and I have a couple. Other than the slightly dangerous choreographed routine of getting them out of our 1-bedroom, second floor apartment, they are awesome. To get them out, one of us (me) has to hang off the outside railing while holding one end of the board to get it to turn one corner.

I picked up two Great Lakes Paddleboards from a guy who was just opening a SUP shop in St. Augustine. He gave me a crazy good deal on them: $500 each. And his input on sizes and model was very helpful. Pretty much everyone told me to stay away from the inflatable boards. If you haven't already I would recommend talking to someone in a local SUP shop about what board would best suit you and what you plan on doing with it.

I don't live super close to the water or own anything with a proper roof rack so I got one of those cheapo inflatable roof racks to toss on the wife's E36. It actually works awesome.

As for paddleboarding itself, I understand why people who haven't tried it are skeptical. Before we got our boards I wasn't into the idea but SWMBO really wanted to try, so we took a local SUP tour and quickly decided we should get our own boards.

It is a good core workout and easier to balance than you'd think. Last time we took ours out to the ocean we saw two sharks, tons of dolphins, a sea turtle and one very curious manatee that wanted to know who we were and what we were doing. Got close enough to touch it.

I live on the water and it is not the easiest to get my SUP from my garage to the backyard. It is not all that heavy, but it is awkward to carry because of the shape and length. Carrying it a breeze can be fun and I usually only have to go about 20 feet from my back door to the bulkhead wall. I'm not sure I would use a SUP all that often if I had to haul it to/from the water on a vehicle and would look into an inflatable one as well.

Not sure how SUPing would hurt ones back. Feet and ankles get tired until you get used to it. The wind is funny. I've paddled in some big gusts and it gets ridiculous. Once there was enough wind that there were 2-3 foot waves from the wind. I would fight upwind from a kneeling position and then stand up and fly downwind using myself as a sail. I did about 3 laps back and forth maybe 150-200 yds and was totally exhausted. I should've had my wife video the nonsense.

I was watching a girl paddle this weekend. She was leaning forward at the waist, my back hurt for her. Meanwhile, my wife was having lower back pain and had run a half marathon that morning, and she didn't have any pain at all using her SUP.

BTW, knowing how to paddle a canoe solo helps a lot when it comes to driving a SUP. The J stroke rules.

Teh E36 M3 wrote: yeah- I think if I lived near the water, I'd go rigid...

I can understand your fondness for the water, but honestly, this is too much information.

1988RedT2 wrote:

Teh E36 M3 wrote: yeah- I think if I lived near the water, I'd go rigid...

I can understand your fondness for the water, but honestly, this is too much information.

I walked right into that.

Keith Tanner wrote: So, short version: people who use them like them. People who don't use them think they're stupid and make idiot remarks about daddy buying iPhones. If it hurts your lower back, stand up straight.

Or kneel if your back hurts and your feet get sore. I was amazed at how fun they are and very relaxing. I have three rigid boards that hang in my garage and a lake across the street. I'd go everyday if the weather was right.

I have two of the older Costco boards (I think they sell a different version now). The reason we went with the inflatables is that they are WAY easier to transport and store.

Pros:

• Easy to store
• Easy to transport
• Cheaper

Cons:

• Not as fast as a ridged
• More affected by wind
• No variation in size/length (?)
• Not good for surfing

Big Tip: They are a pain to inflate (exercise, what a drag! ). If you want to make you life WAY easier, get one of those blower type rechargeable inflaters for inflatable mattresses. Use the blower to get it semi full, then use the pump to bring the pressure up (maybe 15 pumps instead of 50!). Also use the inflater to deflate it. They, really need to be very empty to roll up.

There is a proper technique to paddling them BTW