Stand Up Paddle Boarding help!

[bonerp]

Hi I am looking to get back into water sports (down tiger) of the SUP type and spent a fair few hours looking at different options.

Initially looked at a Bluefin 12ft Cruise which looked ideal and includes a kayak seat, pump bag etc with a decent warranty. Also looking at a Mcconks 12ft which I'm trying tomorrow.

I'm 6ft and 100kg so need something tank stable to use on lakes, rivers and around Poole and lochs for instance.

However a mate has said its not a known brand (even though has decent reviews) and has referred me to the usual Red Paddle /jobe type boards which don't appear to have the kayak features.

So has anyone else been through a similar process and if so where did you land (so to speak) and why?

In in Wilts around the cotswolds. Plenty of hire companies but not so many selling!

Also like the British Canoe union provides waterways license I assume the same license can be used for SUP?

thanks

Edited by bonerp on Friday 3rd May 09:30

Edited by bonerp on Friday 3rd May 13:53

[Badda]

https://supinflatables.co.uk/gladiator-lite-10-6-i...

Can recommend this co and product.

[stuarthat]

https://www.jobesports.com/jobe-duna-116-inflatabl...
I have one of these and it’s all good.

[LosingGrip]

How much do you want to spend? I got a Two Bare Feet SUP for around £300 (can't remember the exact price now). Easy to set up (I cheated and got a electric pump).

Friend and his wife got one from Sandbanks SUP (https://www.sandbankssupstyle.com). He can't recommend them enough, fantastic customer service as well.

I would recommend the lightest paddle you can get/afford. I got the cheapest as didn't really understand much about it, its light enough but heavy after a while.

[RobM77]

LosingGrip said:

I would recommend the lightest paddle you can get/afford. I got the cheapest as didn't really understand much about it, its light enough but heavy after a while.

Makes a huge difference, because you're swinging the thing back and forth constantly. Some of the carbon ones can be silly money, but we've got a couple of really affordable CF ones - we bought them from 2XS in West Wittering but you may find similar elsewhere. I'd also recommend an adjustable paddle if you're new to SUP, because you'll spend a while fiddling with the length to get what you prefer. On the subject of paddles, sorry if this is a silly thing to say, but make sure you use the paddle the right way round: the blade should bend forwards, not backwards like a scoop as you might immediately think - this is so that the blade is vertical during the middle of the power part of the stroke.

In terms of width, yes wider is more stable, but it's also slower and forces you to paddle further out from your body, which can be uncomfortable. These two factors mean that most of the hire ones are pretty horrible to paddle once you're used to something slimmer, but this does depend how good your balance is. On the other side, if you go too narrow (or too buoyant, lifting the centre of roll) then it can be annoying having to constantly balance the board; my wife's race SUP is 24.75" wide and has a huge volume, so if you're of our weight (circa 70kg) then it's so wobbly that I find it distracting.

I'd recommend hiring a few and seeing what you like. I joined a hire club for six months before buying SUPs, where I tried touring boards, wave boards, race boards, all rounders etc and it was really valuable.

[rufusgti]

Another here with a jobe 116 Duna. It's the board you want for what you describe. Very light compared to the O'Shea GT I was looking at, and comes with a 3 year warranty.

I bought mine from https://www.getonthewater.co.uk/
Owners live local to me and were Fantastic to deal with.