Beginner’s SUP

I know this has been done before, but what do you recommend. Not for me but my wife. She regularly swims in the sea with a local N Wales group and a few of them have sups.

Been told 10-11 foot and wider and ‘deeper/thick’ are more stable.

Yeah, 10-11 ft is about right. The decathlon (itiwit) stuff is good value in my opinion. Worth spending a bit extra for a decent paddle if she’s going to get into it. Avoid windy days.

For the sea you need to get as stiff (fnar) board as you can, due to the waves a softer board will slap and flex more.
I have enjoyed my blackfin and apparently the irocker is really good too. But not cheap.
As with everything it depends on how much you want to spend.
The mistral ones in lidl (might have sold out now) were given really good reviews for the price

My wife got one of these.

Wave Tourer SUP Package | Navy Stand Up Inflatable Paddle Board 10ft/11ft

It’s been great and she really enjoys using it in Lakes and tarns of the Lake District. She also did  SUP Fest on it. Although it was really cheap it has been very good. Just lacks bungee mounting points for stowing gear but she’s not missed that, tbh.

Looking at upto £500 all in. Sea and lake use.

I’d highly recommend the Decathlon Boards, we’ve got two that take a  regular battering in the North Sea.

As https://singletrackworld.com/user/andy_sweet/ said pay a bit more for a better paddle and it’s well worth investing in the dual chamber pump.

Sorry – the one my wide got was this:

Wave Cruiser SUP Package | Navy Stand Up Inflatable Paddle Board 10ft/11ft

Sorry – the one my wide got was this:

Freudian slip? I do hope she does not have access to your account or you are in so much trouble….

Did see quite a few Wave SUPS at the Lake at Llanberis the other week. Also getting camper/van envy now, especially after this weekend’s camping trip. Could get expensive.

What do the current sup crowd do with them? Bob around where they swim, go for a mooch up the coast, a bit of sup yoga?

There’s been so many sups bought in the last few years, we might just be reaching the shed clear out moment and quality brand hardly used sups start appearing for good money. I own one (actually 3 including the rigid jobbies) and it does get used but maybe not as much as it did a few years ago. I’ve got to say in a world where we hand wring about supermarket carrier bags, bring 12kg of non recyclable plastic into the world is making me a bit uncomfortable. So buy 2nd hand.

Oh, and the clued up are now using waist leashes, not ankle or calf that still come with the cheaper boards. Obviously (a bit like swim tow floats), a moot point if you are just going to sit on it a few yards from where you put in, but waist leashes on sups has trickled down from moving water to all use. Some sup clubs insist that’s what you use (and PFDs). Although ironically the latest advice in the last couple of weeks is that no leash should be used in white water sups now.

Current crowd usually bob about/mooch from what I’ve seen – nothing too adventurous (middle aged and elderly ladies) – the lady I was talking to on Saturday was in her 60’s, and had been SUP’ing 3 years. She had some lessons which really helper her ‘get stood up’ properly. She’s the one that sain 10-11ft, and ‘chunkier (wider/thicker).

“we might just be reaching the shed clear out moment and quality brand hardly used sups start appearing for good money”

This is my hope.  I bought a Fanatic Fly Air Pure during lockdown and the poor thing is looking a bit tatty now as it’s been used a lot.  It’s been a brilliant board but I’m hoping to upgrade to Ray Air Premium if one comes up at a good price.

Hatha paddle boards are nice, they have some sale on at the moment, so you can find some good deals on 10ft 6 boards, for under £400.00, paddles are decent and whole kit is well specced. Also helps that the boards can go up to 15-18psi which really helps with the rigidity and stability.

we have a 10ft6 6″ thk decathlon beginner board that is like standing on a table. kids love it for a diving platform etc. but its not manouverable and it gets affected by wind more. its old now but still great.

too big and they are too heavy to carry about. i`d not go more than 10ft6. maybe 4inch thk. decathlon are great value. we have the boggo paddles and its been great.

we also have a 10ft decathlon surf sup for fun/comedy value.

on a lake the most exercise you will get is pumping the sodding things up.

Get a couple of lessons.

Go with a group a few times.

Try different/ other people’s boards

What you think looks right on paper and the reality could be very different

Beware that like anything, the ‘best’ will be the one that the person you’re asking has.

Once you have an idea, look around and see if anything second hand comes up – it’s end of season so schools and the like will be looking to sell on and some good deals can be had. You’re likely to get better quality and it’s not adding to landfill if you can help it.

it’s well worth investing in the dual chamber pump.

It’s well worth investing in an electric pump ime.

It’s well worth investing in an electric pump ime.

I’ve got electric and 3 stage pump. I can pump one board up to 18psi and sort all my gear out, by the time the electric one has blown another board up.

but they are great for making sure the board is fully delated for a quick pack up

Even better – if you’ve got the space to store and a rack on the car, don’t deflate ’em. They prefer to be stored inflated to rolled up too.

I’ve got electric and dual chamber pump . I can sit on my arse while the electric one pumps my wife’s board up and she sorts her gear out and that is worth it for me :)

Beware that like anything, the ‘best’ will be the one that the person you’re asking has.

Just like MTBers then 🙂

We bought two of these a few years ago for about £200ea all-in inc pump, bag, paddle etc: FuNWater 11′ board. Been great for us, mostly used with a kid on board hence going for 11′. Undoubtedly there’s far better SUPs but these are good enough for us to fanny around on. Keep meaning to buy better paddles but haven’t got around to it yet.

I bought 2 earlier this year, a cheaper fanatic and a pricier red. The difference is surprising in terms of stiffness and feel. From my research avoid boards that are too thick. Red is 4.7 inch thick and you get much less windage on it. Terms use it’s a bit like the range of use on a bike as can do from very gentle paddle to quite intense aerobic. We’ve as a family used on sea, lakes plus rivers and canals. Personally lakes and sea a bit dull unless waves or very scenic. Definitely uses different muscles to biking and running but I’ m no Laird Hamilton yet !

I highly highly reccomend an intro/beginners session.  I did a great one with my OH in Sheffield and well worth the money.  Handy to tap the instructor up for advice on hardware too.

I’ve had a Two Bare Feet board for a few years now and have used it only a few times in recent years until this year.

I’ve started going much more regularly on the local river and canals and also started to play on the faster water below the weirs which is great fun. I find rivers more interesting than canals, we aren’t close to the coast so I haven’t been on the sea. At the moment I have to bypass the weirs but it is possible to do some sort of round trips using rivers & canals.

I’ve just been on a weekend’s trip from Ripon to York with an overnight wild camp which adds to the interest, although perhaps the distance was a bit ambitious at 25 plus miles over two days not on touring boards. We did it – 7 hours on the first day, 4 hours on the second.

Just done my sup 1 course, would recommend it for just things like learning various paddle strokes etc. Also the thinner boards thing came up/less windage etc,the school used red paddle 10 6 and the teacher also said decathlon were pretty good and suggested a few club sessions, as people were happy to share so you could try out boards.

You can get blue fin on eBay from blue fin outlet (*not sure if that compromises the 5 yr warranty) and there are lots of sales on now.

Edit – yeah waist leashes recommended, school used an ankle one with a waist belt.

now is the time to buy a sup because its generally a bit crappy weather from now so they sell less!

ive been in the sea till about mid november (with a wetsuit) – only stopped when i broke my foot. got a lot more interesting when it was more wavey!! i was suprised what i could actually stand up in (on teh wave board) obviously fell in alot too but the challenge is part of teh fun.

i`m not very good at moving about the board/switching to surf stance etc – need more practice!

“we might just be reaching the shed clear out moment and quality brand hardly used sups start appearing for good money”

Is that when the board washes up on a foreign shore, and sold on ebay as the person died horribly lost out mid Atlantic?

In the spirit of recommending what you have – https://mcconks.com/product-category/sale-bargain-sup-equipment-gear/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMImYTokPTFgQMVGD0GAB1xVwGuEAAYASAAEgJNgfD_BwE I also have an aquaplanet one we got for the kids to use, the McConks is noticeably better quality.

I rate McConks too, and I don’t even own one! I always think if a brand goes to the trouble of R&D of slightly more niche models (like their white water models and their wing/surf jobbies) rather than just pushing out default easy to sell starter boards they must be the good guys and their mainstream stuff should be good too.

edit – and their 14′ ‘race’ board reduced to £500 is an absolute steal. Rubbish as a race board but would be brilliant for someone with a bit of skill wanting something quicker to do some flat water stuff.

Another recommendation here for the itiwit boards from decathlon. Ours have been solid for the last few years, plus reassurance that if you have any issues you can walk straight into any branch and get it refunded/changed etc

Thick boards are not better it’s just a cheat to make a cheap board stiffer. They have more windage and will get blown about more.

Wide boards may well be more stable but they are very limiting in how efficient a stroke you will be able to do, as you have to reach out to the side further. This is especially so for small people.

Neither of these things matter if you just want to bob about. They become a pain if you have any ambitions to do any distance or speed.

There must be hunners of boards out there that got used a bit last year and once this year and people are about to sell. Fingers crossed.

I’ve got a Decathlon Itwit touring board – I’ve paddled a few Red boards and the difference is marginal IMO. Longer touring boards glide better, but don’t go so well in a slight chop.

I bought a package deal from Bluefin, 10ft 8, electric pump, kayak seat.

It’s a heavy board, I bought wheels for it, but seems to do the trick. They do lighter ones now. Supplied paddles do have a tendency to crack. I carry duck tape jsut in case.

as with all things biking/supping, it all adds up:

lesson (highly recommended), wetsuit, waist leash, pfd, neoprene socks, decent water shoes, dry robe……………. :D

Thick boards are not better it’s just a cheat to make a cheap board stiffer. They have more windage and will get blown about more.

That’s a slight oversimplification. High end touring and racing isups (well racing on an inflatable is only sort of a bit of thing) are thick – typically just under 6 inches thick. I’m not saying there is not a windage effect but in the right hands a thicker board (or rather, a higher volume board and that with mean thick as well as long) has its advantages in terms of long distance efficiency. It makes it a bit of a tanker to manoeuvre too mind! At the other end of the scale my surf sup is only 125 litres in volume and at 90kg I can sink the nose or the tail just by rocking on to my toes or my heals and it’s an absolute sod to paddle out the back if the waves are breaking a way out. But if its mostly for bobbing about on for me the biggest disadvantage of a high volume board is blowing the sodding thing up! For context a Red ride 10’6″ is 245l volume and our Red voyager 12’6″ is 360L – that’s 115 litres, 3 **** and 2 shitting hells more pumping!

There must be hunners of boards out there that got used a bit last year and once this year and people are about to sell. Fingers crossed.

This. I bought MrsRNP a Lidl/Mistral board during lockdown as it was the latest Insta fad. Me and the dog have used it more than she has! Must be lots on ebay/Marketplace?

I don’t know any better but our Lidl inflates and floats/paddles okay🤷‍♂️

Thanks for all the advice, duly noted.

Gone for a Bluefin Cruise 10.8 which comes with kayak kit (seat back and extra paddle fin).

And, further following advice, I got it from a company that refurbs them rather than buying new. Got the full kit for £208 rather than £449, which is a very acceptable price. Reviews are positive, especially for a newbie.

I’ll let you know once we get it (although it is a Christmas present) – reviews are very positive about the condition of the boards – it’s going to get scuffed on first use anyway.

Mrs Kilo has a bluefin, good boards. IIRC the stock pump wasn’t the best so even if you don’t go electric a better quality one may be worth investing in.

I’ll wait and see on the pump – does say dual action, but electric is definitely on the cards if MrsF get’s into it a bit more.

I’ve got electric and 3 stage pump. I can pump one board up to 18psi and sort all my gear out, by the time the electric one has blown another board up.

+1

Manual pumping is significantly quicker, electric pumps are probably useful if you need to get changed, corale kids, whatever.

Even better – if you’ve got the space to store and a rack on the car, don’t deflate ’em. They prefer to be stored inflated to rolled up too.

-1, unless it’s a van with a rack that supports the whole board then that’s risking it flapping about like that matress gif. Also not advised to leave them anywhere in the sun fully inflated when not in use.

Electric pumps are fine but my god they are slow. Like hand pump another one and get ready and tidy up and wait a bit and bobs your uncle it’s ready.

If you have a 20kg dog go up a size or you fall in every time she decides she fancies a stint at the back but won’t walk through your legs.

These leccy pumps aren’t cheap are they !