Finally got out on them today, few hours spent exploring round the islands and shallow bits on the sailing clubs lake.

Sorry to dissapoint the misseries but no one died, the board didn’t explode, the paddle didn’t collapse and we didn’t need to call the safety boat.

Sorry to dissapoint the misseries but no one died, the board didn’t explode, the paddle didn’t collapse and we didn’t need to call the safety boat.

Laugh now, but just wait till the morning when your arm bursts from Wellington’s Ooze.

Didn’t die either. Did get a bit harder when the wind picked up at the furthest point from the launching point. Didn’t fall in. Much easier on a lake than the sea. No ‘buzz’ like I’m used to with other sports, but a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours on a windless day. Didn’t feel like exercise, but heart rate above 100 for the whole outing and got to parts of the reservoir I’d not seen before. Looking forward to finding a new stretch of water to explore. Also found my long lost water bottle from a hairy moment sailing a while back. Result.

As for the board itself, Feels similar to the much more expensive (to buy) ones that we’ve rented a few times. Kids looking forward to the freedom this will give them on the water in warmer weather.

Where’s that? I want to guess Scalling Dam but that’s barely better than a guess.

Where’s that? I want to guess Scalling Dam but that’s barely better than a guess.

Hi – Grimwith Reservoir/YDSC, Yorkshire Dales.

We got ours out for an hour the other weekend in a local reservoir where we swim occasionally.
I’ve never done it before. I fell in a lot but am still alive.
What happens next?

Hi – Grimwith Reservoir/YDSC, Yorkshire Dales.

Dammit that was my 2nd guess, I keep meaning to come up for the Blaze open but it never quite lines up conveniently.

No surprises

🤣

Reservoir

Can somebody please clarify something about reservoirs, and only if you actually know, rather than the standard “OMG you’ll definitely die” replies.

I’ve not taken my kayak on a reservoir even though I’m surrounded by them. Whenever I mention doing this to people I get this thing about the water board suddenly drawing off water, and I’ll be instantly sucked under water and held next to a grid until dead.

So what truth is in that? Is it like “a swan will break your arm” every single time you go to close to a Swan? Or is it more nuanced? Like, I know that they do draw off water, that’s the whole point of a reservoir. But is it so instant and violent, that I’d definitely be instantly sucked under and die? Would there not be human activity around the reservoir for such an occurrence? As I would then not even take my kayak in in the first place for fear of hassle about trespassing. How come all the licensed fishermen on their boats don’t get sucked under all the time, but only those on the water without permission? Ladybower for example. Do they draw from a certain part that can be avoided etc etc?

Firstly, reservoirs are always private property. Ditto gravel pits*. Lakes can be private property or it might just be the shoreline that is (in which case you just need to find a bit of shoreline that has access). Licenses might also still be required.
Ladybower IIRC was always a no go.

Resevoirs that do have access tend to have restricted areas arround the dam and any infrastructure. This can be to protect you from an overflow, or might just be to protect the dam from erosion from people walking on it.

The pump out tends to be from a structure on the bottom of the reservoir. There won’t be any noticeable current on the surface from it.

If you use resevoirs you sometimes spot the point where water is pumped in or recirculated as patch on the surface where the water is rising up. But it’s barely noticeable when you pass over it.

*our sailing club leases a gravel pit from Prudential, over the last couple of years “wild” and “open water” swimming allong with paddle boards have become a bit of a PITA. You can join the club and paddleboard. But you can’t just turn up and not contribute (and swimming is just banned as it doesn’t mix with boats racing). The trespassers then end up getting the club in trouble for not looking after the SSSI, because they land on the islands disturbing the ground nesting birds.

@jambourgie
Look up Sheffield outdoor plungers (SOuPers) on Facebook.
They have done loads of stuff to promote safe access to reservoirs. They had some zoom talks in lockdown including one about tresspass with the guy that wrote that book recently.
As Sheff is miles from the sea but surrounded by resevoirs it’s a much discussed topic.

Thanks for the info guys, interesting stuff. And I’ll check out the FB group as I’m Sheffield based.

My photos above were taken on redmires reservoir for instance

Yeah, I’ve had my eye on Redmires as it’s local with easy car access. I sometimes go running up there. If you see a guy in a yellow kayak come and say hello.

Certainly will. If you see a guy walking a deerhound type lurcher called Albert round there that’s me. It’s more my wife that swims.

Time for a gloryhole vid (no sniggering).

I live in Spain and have been keeping an eye out for when these appear here, it’s usually a couple of weeks behind. Lo and behold they are available this week, for the princely sum of €399!!
So basically double the UK price so either there’s been an almighty pricing cock-up in the UK or they’ve decided that demand in Spain will be stronger and priced accordingly. Bugger, I was looking forward to trying this.

Thanks to this thread I bought a Sport Pursuit 10’4” SUP for just over £200. I’ve been out on it several times now and I love it! We live on the edge of Oxford and there are lovely quiet parts of the Thames very nearby.

My wife enjoys it just as much as I do so we now want to get a second one, and I’m wondering how much we’d gain from something a bit better than the one we have. There seems to be a big jump from the cheap ones from Sport Pursuit and Decathlon, up to ~£800+ for Red and other brands. Is there anything in between, and/or does it add much to the experience to spend that much more? All I can really find in the middle ground is Decathlon – are they worth the extra over what I already have?

@lorax
There are other brands about but personally haven’t really tried many.

You’ll probably not tell that much of a difference across the mid range boards if but will when you have a go at the different types e.g. an all round vs touring (think using an MTB on the road)
So it really depends what you intend to be doing long term.

I’d suggest finding somewhere local that does tuition/hire and trying as many different ones as you can.
I think the investment would be better placed to start with.

Piston – the Spanish Lidl basic one is 299e, equal to uk 199 GBP one. The 399e Spanish one is longer and thinner, still a good deal v decathlon.

The carbon paddle at 64e is good too, don’t think they did it in uk.

The Lidl Spanish prices are still good as they include a leash and pump, which decathlon don’t. Quality seems good, 2 air chambers in case of a puncture.

https://cool-snow.co.uk/products/2-x-coolsurf-sail-paddleboard-inflatable-sup-104?gclid=Cj0KCQjw5PGFBhC2ARIsAIFIMNfzUsc4-Ws4rmbwp2TVlK49bO2rcrrrtO5bkwb7cwINvnGxEh5kQ08aAjpeEALw_wcB&variant=33269258715189

About a million folk failing to stand up on these at the local loch yesterday. They just seemed to be inherently unstable.

The hire O’Shea’s seemed to get folk up and standing pretty quick.

I had a borrowed kangui that is owned by a 60kg woman and it seemed super stable even with my near 90kg heft on to

Thanks @LAP13, good advice! I’ve booked in for a lesson with my local SUP club and can try out different boards there.

I guess I might want to go somewhere more adventurous on holiday, but the overwhelming majority of use will be on the Thames in Oxfordshire – pretty gentle paddling on a small, quiet river. I suspect the one I have is fine for that, and I may well be better off not spoiling myself with something better 🙂

@trail_rat That’s the board I have, and I weigh about the same as you. I’m quite a numpty but I’ve now done multiple trips on it and somehow still haven’t fallen off, so it actually seems quite stable to me – but perhaps I’ve just not yet experienced challenging enough conditions…

I’m no expert on sups. (Infact I’ve never done it before)

They just looked to be significantly less stable than all the other boards on the water. Judging by how difficult it looked to get stood up on one.

Maybe all the other people were expert sup’ers

I’m no expert on sups. (Infact I’ve never done it before)

They just looked to be significantly less stable than all the other boards on the water.

Maybe all the other people were expert sup’ers

There was alot of this coolboards out though was cool to see so many folk on the water

Dunno, saw a guy on a SUP the other day whilst in my kayak. He looked a lot more stable than me! But yeah, my first time in the water and he might’ve been a veteran. Maybe I’m a lazy git but would still prefer a sit in kayak.

Maybe I’m a lazy git but would still prefer a sit in kayak.

Much as I enjoyed my foray sup’ing I think I still want a 2+1 sit on top kayak . Just seems more useful in more situations for us as a family than a SUP.

@lorax if you can get yourselves over to lake 32 at Cotswold Water park they have the McConks boards to hire out. Nice place for a paddle and decent boards in the mid price range.

Also meant to say, look at ex rental at the end of a season and also second hand – there are loads of groups on FB for gear selling pages

Thanks again all – I’ll see what I can find @LAP13, and CWP sounds like a good plan @chowsh.

@jambourgie and @trail_rat – I love canoeing (as discussed in this recent thread) but even with my new lighter weight Apache it is still a bit of a slog to get it round the side of the house and onto the roof of the car, and then to launch at the other end, especially if I’m on my own, whereas with the SUP I can be on the water within 10 minutes of shutting the front door. So for a quick evening trip it’s just much more practical.

I was pretty sceptical about SUPing, but I’ve surprised myself, and it turns out it’s actually quite a different activity from canoeing. Paddling along in my canoe is gentle and relaxing, whereas paddling a wobbly board while standing up seriously focuses the mind. But I think that’s the point, at least for me – it’s a great distraction from the stuff that normally fills my head for work! I’m really enjoying having the option of both 🙂

I was out with my boys on the Loch on Saturday. The new Lidl board got it’s maiden voyage alongside our Aqua Marina Fusion. The Lidl Board is much higher volume overall, a good 2-3 inches wider and is much more stable.

Paddling along in my canoe is gentle and relaxing, whereas paddling a wobbly board while standing up seriously focuses the mind

I can pretty much switch off my mind on my SUP. It’s one of the reasons I do it, it’s the most relaxed time of the day.

@Mister-P I think I misrepresented things – I find the SUP very calming, in a mindful sort of way. It’s actually my hindbrain that’s focused (on
staying upright), which leaves my mind free to watch the herons and listen to the wind in the trees…

Been to two Decathlons today trying to find a floatation vest for MrsRNP but the cheaper ones are all sold out (its probably a fad so dont want to spend the money on the CO2 inflating one)

Been looking at these on Sportpursuit. Anybody else got one from there or have any thoughts.

@stevenmuir I bought one of the sport pursuit ones and have used it this week. We also have an Itiwit from Decathlon to compare it to (4 years old model).
The SportPursuit (coolsurf) compares well to the Itiwit. It’s a little narrower, so not quite as stable but tracks better because of the 3 fins. The pump, leash and big feel a bit lower quality, but as I got it for sub £200 (bought with a 20% off code earlier in the year) vs £375 ish for the Itiwit I’m not complaining – and it all works as it should. Defo worth the money IMHO.

Been to two Decathlons today trying to find a floatation vest for MrsRNP but the cheaper ones are all sold out (its probably a fad so dont want to spend the money on the CO2 inflating one)

@rustynissanprairy and anyone else who is looking at floatation devices without some info, Don’t get the CO2 inflating ones unless you are very unlikely to fall in.They give life jacket rather than buoyancy aid support. The former rolls you onto your back and is much harder to swim with. They are designed to make things easier if you are going to be rescued or are injured. Stick with a foam and bodyweight appropriate buoyancy aid if you are planning on or likely to get wet. Also pretty sure you’re weekend’s over if you use a CO2 based life jacket – you have to get them repacked and recharged professionally. Can’t say for sure on this last point – never had one go off. Best bet is to do some reading around “lifejacket vs buoyancy aid”. HTH.

The ones on Sportpursuit only look to have one fin.

The one I looked at last night on SP had 2. Really tempted by aqua marina beast, anytime have one?.

Also pretty sure you’re weekend’s over if you use a CO2 based life jacket – you have to get them repacked and recharged professionally.

No the cylinders are easily replaceable and the vest just folds back up.
We have 6 vests/jackets in the boat and I weigh the cylinders every couple of years, to check that they’ve not leaked, and any that are low get fired to check the vests are ok also.