New to Paddle Boarding?
Read our information and advice on what you need to consider if you’d like to start paddle boarding and buying your first paddle board.
First off, we’ll start with the different type of boards available – Inflatable and Composite
Inflatable Paddle Boards
- Also know as iSup, Inflatable SUP
- Great stability in the water
- Excellent for transporting and storing
- Available for all round use, touring, cruising, racing and in small waves
- Ideal for entry level riders
- Slightly cheaper than rigid SUP
Composite Paddle Boards
- Greater manoeuvrability
- Suitable for larger wave riding
- Better glide than inflatable SUP’s
- No need to spend time inflating
- Wide range of shapes and sizes for different abilities and uses
Once you’ve decided what type of board you’re interested in, you then have to consider what type of riding you want to do:
Cruising & Touring
Cruising and touring paddle boards offer great width, stability and volume. They tend to be longer with less rocker (bend) and with a “pointier” front-end making them ideal for gliding across flat water allowing the rider to casually explore rivers, lakes and coastlines.
Racing
Racing boards take the cruising shape to another level. They are narrower and more streamlined. The rails tend to be squarer to improve straight line speed.
Wave Riding
Paddle boards for wave riding come in a wide range of shapes and sizes dependent on the size of waves you’re likely to be surfing, your size, ability and your style of surfing – i.e. whether you’re looking for a shorter, nimble board that can perform sharper, snappier turns or for a longer, more buoyant board where you can pick waves up sooner and ride on the nose.
All Round
Paddle Boards built for all round use combine features across all demands making them suitable if you want to use your board on a river 1 week and surfing some small waves the next. They’re also useful for beginners because they tend to have more volume and stability in order to perform in all conditions.
