Stand Up Paddleboard

Choosing a length in a SUP

Similar to kayaks and canoes SUP’s come in various sizes which are going to work best for different types of water, different rider weights and rider ability level. As a rule of thumb longer stand up paddle boards offer a bit more speed but will sacrifice a bit of control. Shorter stand up paddle boards will offer great control but will lack a bit of top speed due to their shorter design. The shorter boards simply don’t glide across the water as quickly and smoothly as longer boards but the longer the SUP is the more area it is going to take to turn.

For a lot of people SUP’s are still relatively new which means a lot of stand up paddlers are going to be beginners. Beginners need one thing more than any other and that is for the SUP to be stable and easy to maneuver. SUP’s being stable and easy to navigate helps to keep the stress down while building confidence in the user. Beginner SUP’s are often longer and wider to offer a wide easy to stand on platform that will offer easy balancing and a buoyant design. Even as a beginner though you will want to keep in mind the type of conditions you will encounter as longer boards will be harder to turn in rougher waters or surf.

Explaining rocker in a SUP

You may see a lot of stand up paddle boards offering rocker in their design. To those familiar with skiing and snowboarding may already have a good idea of what this is as it is a technology found in those products the last couple of years. Basically what rocker is in a SUP is the curve from the nose to the tail and will often be measured in sections. For example a stand up paddle board may state it offers tail rocker or nose rocker meaning it has rocker that can be found in the nose or tail of the board.

That was just a small portion of what is involved in purchasing a new stand up paddle board. If you have any additional SUP questions please contact our customer service either by email, phone or on site chat.