MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
I had a SUP lesson/hire session on the river Sunday just gone, really enjoyed it, been toying with getting a canoe or kayak for a while, but these, although a bit of a novelty, seem good fun and quite versatile.
How much does the assembled STW collective think one needs to spend to not get a total P.O.S?
For info the one I felt happiest paddling was 10' 6" long and 34" wide - https://redpaddleco.com/en-gb/board/106-ride-msl-sup/
Decathlon ones always a good price, no idea if they're any good but would have thought they'd be good for starting out.
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/inflatable-107-sup-2017-blue-id_8387659.html
I'm at a similar stage of the buying process. They key things to consider are what will you do with it, and what might you do in the future. A board suitable for surfing on is very different from one you can paddle across flat water. One you use 3 times a year is different from one that is going to be used every week.
The Red ones are the safe bet. Very well made and have great resale.
We have one of the blue and white £320 Decalthlon ones, runs at lower pressure than the red but no flex as it is much thicker. Takes longer to pump up (bought a 12V pump) but is very stable and I take the dog on it with me so the extra buoyancy over the Red Paddle one helps. We even used it to support our large 3 man open canoe after capsized it on a river trip. It has a large single fin which is cheap to replace, makes it very good at tracking but is easier to catch on rocks and you have to be careful not to put it down on the fin.
My only criticism is the paddle. The decathlon 2 piece blue paddle is too small, spend more for a lighter paddle with a larger blade. Others have mentioned it seems a bit narrow too and other boards are more elliptical and wider in the middle, it's not bothered me.
I was looking at a Bodyglove iSUP in Costco - fill kit with paddle, pump, repair kit etc for £399. Looks pretty good actually and i liked that the central handle splits to hold the paddle which makes life easier.
Also Sports Pursuit have some currently on offer, the ones with the foot bar and D rings for a back rest to let you use it like a sit on top kayak looked quite good but not seen them in the flesh.
If I was buying again it would be a 10'6 Red Paddle as I think they do handle well and are a safe bet but new they come it at about £800+ IIRC.
PS I did fancy one of the red paddle ones with the windsurf mount, probably a complete jack of all trades but tbh I am never going to be a big wind surfer but it would be nice to have a play with one. It hikes the price up to over £1k.
I'm in a similar position. I thought about the Decathlon one as it seems to have good mentions on here, but it doesn't come with paddle so you'd need to spend a bit more.
Hatha boards look good - http://www.hathaboards.co.uk
but not tried one.
After having used them on holidays and borrowed friends ones for a while we got our own a couple of months back.
I think it depends what you plan on doing with it as to how much you need to spend. Also your weight. I am currently 16st (the shame) and getting a board that was stiff enough with me on it was key. Also , we decided that we were more the destination SUP user interested in going places rather than playing in small waves etc. So we went for the Red Voyager 12'6. In comparison to the ride you mentioned it has a lot more volume but also tracks straighter and glides faster. It's no race board in terms of performance or (lack of)stability but is noticeably faster. It is not so manoeuvrable though. Absolutely fine for nearly everything but def not the first choice for playing in small waves.
If however it's something that will get kicked about by the kids and only used a handful of times a year as a glorified lilo at the beach on a stonking day then one of the Decathlon jobs will be fine.
Suping is odd - I was pretty anti for years thinking of it as a daft slow alternative to a sea kayak. It is; but I now recognise that it is also rather a meditative method of travel. I did a 10 mile paddle the other Sunday and was maybe 1.5 miles out (Solent) and it is a rather charming way to see the world. And a hell of a workout.
Your choice how much you spend innit 👍
Im a SUP surfer, don’t do any of the lakes/open sea gliding stuff nor racing. I know enough though to advise.
Inflatables: pros- can be flexible in storage. cons- horrible to paddle, need to be pumped up properly to required PSI (not “near, that’ll do”) bag carrying, pump and lastly construction. Not all iSUPs are made equal. Some have internal structure and chambers to help rigidity and air distribution, these are higher in price. Some have “battens” or “stringers” to aid rigidly or hard rubber mouldings, these are higher in price. Layered construction, some are triple layered and robust and will last the rigours of bouncing and sandy feet, some are single layered and flex.
Good quality doesn’t always cost the earth, RedPaddleCo and Redwoodpaddle and Loco all sell direct to customer so cut out distribution costs so can be anything from £500-£800 for a new one with paddle and leash.
Hard boards - big surf board construction really: pros - solid, don’t flex, glide and movement way better than iSUPs. Cons- storage and carry. 10ft x32 will probably weigh 9-10kgs. Cost, Mellowwave/Neptune/Loco/redwoodpaddle all do a variety of volume and size starting at £500 upwards.
You’ll need a paddle and leash, get them when you buy the board or thrown in free.
Great fun, depends on what you want it for so make that clear to the shop/contact before purchasing becuse you don’t want anything too small or too big or too wide or not wide enough or not enough volume.
10ftx32x140ltrs is pretty std for a board size for beginner up to early intermediate.
Don't paddle without a leash, take a couple of lessons, wear a PFD If new to the sport, don’t paddle on the sea if it’s offshore winds, watch out for tides and beach breaks and rip currents.
Thats enough info for you to get investigating, enjoy choosing.
BB is right - whilst the Voyager glides well for an iSUP, it's still pants in comparison to an equivalent crispy one. Logistically inflatable made more sense for us; though I suspect the next one will be rigid if we get another. If for no other reason than blowing two of the buggers up (inflating appears to be a blue job) would kill me off!
To add:
I recommend you steer clear of any board(s) made by the “big names” like Starboard, Fanatic, JP et all purely for the reason they’re massively expensive and made in the same factory just branded and painted different colours. They are NOT better, they are all made in a similar way but you get charged a premium for the Brand Name alone. As an example a Starboard Whopper is thier beginners hard board and will cost £1300, get a Brand I’ve mentioned above and a similar board will cost £600.
Yes those Brands I’ve mentioned above are made in a similar way, by a number of small production companies in the Far East, but the owners of those brands know exactly what/how/and design shapes to suit all abilities and they are all U.K. companies (except redwoodpaddle who are French)
You money, your choice obvs.. but just trying to help.
Argh, I can’t decide between a kayak or a SUP.
I’ve done a bit of SUPing in the sea and on a couple of large lakes, but are rivers SUPable? And I don’t mean anything manic or fast flowing (basically the river Nith, in SW Scotland now in a drought)
links to assist you (as per my posts above)
All Brands do both Hard and iSUPS, should at least get you started ..
And I'm not affiliated to any Brand above, but am sponsored by a Brand called SUNOVA (who are a performance SUP/Surfboard builder -ex Firewire)
The weight thing has me puzzled. I get that those of us of a larger disposition require Board which is more buoyant and if iSup more rigid. What I am not sure about is if my skin and bone 14 yr old was to use a board designed for an elephant if he’d be at a major disadvantage?
I believe too much volume can make the board ride a little high out of the water and vulnerable to windage but all touring board are v high volume and not all tourers are built like me with a ton of kit so can't be a big issue. A big voluminous board would be tougher for a scamp to manoeuvre than a smaller board. Harder for me too but I'm relatively strong with a big reach for big heavy broad strokes.
Im absolutely no expert, bikebuoy sounds like he knows what hes talking about.
But i have a decathlon inflatable sup for messing about on in sheltered bays in the med, and it seems pretty good, especially now they have dropped the price to £300.
In mallorca the decathlon sups outnumber other brands by a large margin ,but most are paddled by fat old germans so maybe thats not the best indicator.
It seems well made and tough to me, mine just gets folded up wet and chucked in a locker in the boat , it doesnt get any special treatment.
Tried a Red board for the afternoon. Good fun but will but a single kayak for now and maybe a SUP next summer. Probably go for a Decathlon one, they seem good value and quality seems just as good as the Red from what I can see.
Decathlon 10'7" user here (x2). Got the carbon paddle for £70 which is excellent.
I've tried Red SUPs and TBH can't tell the difference other than mine was £500 cheaper. Had huge amount of use out of them.
An interested in a rigid one for surf duties; possibly a foil windsup and that could prove to be quite a versatile machine.
I’ve tried Red SUPs and TBH can’t tell the difference other than mine was £500 cheaper.
Superficially not a lot to see. Fittings a bit nicer. It's what happens when you blow it up that makes the difference. The cheap Decathlon ones blow up to 15psi, the expensive to 17psi. The Red ones are blown up to 20psi. That does not sound a lot but it does make a big difference to performance and then the models with the battens add a bit more. Of course most Red users cba to bother to blow it up as it should be so are wasting most of what they are paying the extra for.
If you are not a biffer, maybe not such a issue.
Convert
I get that there will be compromises in the decathlon board but in use (that said there aren't any apparent), with a properly pumped up Red board vs mine there was naff-all difference in the user experience. I've also used mine all over winter and they've had a year of hard use and still look A1.
As a long time water user I appreciate that eventually I'll get something rigid when storage is less of an issue but for someone who is looking for their first board to last a few years with care, I wouldn't look any further.
Wind SUP is the new SUP according to mini Sniff. Seems a good idea for folk that like mixing it up a bit and having a laugh rather than sticking to one thing.
Similar experience here with the Decathlon SUP. Had one for a year and find it great for what we use it for which is general messing about on the estuary etc.
Attended SUP armada last year at bewl water and during that tried SUPs from Red and Fanatic. Didn’t seem any better than the Decathlon in use from what I could tell and I wouldn’t spend another £500 on one. There may be differences but I’m probably not good enough, sensitive enough or using it in a way where I would notice them. YMMV but for a beginner or someone not too serious the Decathlon is good.
I get that there will be compromises in the decathlon board but in use (that said there aren’t any apparent), with a properly pumped up Red board vs mine there was naff-all difference in the user experience. I’ve also used mine all over winter and they’ve had a year of hard use and still look A1.
Well, my experience was clearly different then. I did notice quite a difference. And it is not a buyers blindness - this was using a friends pair of near identical volume boards when I had no intention to buy. But as I say, my weight is enough to 'explore the limitations' of such things. And the differences are definitely on a depreciating returns spectrum - nowhere near twice as good. The Decathlon ones are definitely a good buy.
I've recently bought an aqua marina monster. 12 foot, 32 inches wide. Very easy to paddle and if you look on YouTube there's a guy surfing in small waves in Waikiki which looks fun. Folds easily and can handle my entire, albeit small and very young family. I got it from Sup99 for £350 including pump, bag and paddle. It's bloody brilliant.
Looking at these still, it was hinted at earlier about the ones that can act as a kayak as well i.e. a seat can be attached. One called Bluefin on Amazon - any ideas as to whether these things are useable for kayaking?
I'm not expecting such a thing to be perfect in either guise, bu neither would I want to waste my cash!
Trying to find something that is affordable to let the kids SUP whilst giving me the occasional opportunity to "kayak" (I have no balance!).
Aldi - £229 delivered with pump, 2 way paddle, seat, repair kit, etc.
Goes as well as the expensive ones you can hire out at £60+ per day.
Aldi sold out!