You’ve most likely seen people SUPing on social media, or on a local waterway, on holiday, on TV or just heard about it from friends. We are guessing it has piqued your interest as you are looking further into the sport. Perhaps as a hobby, perhaps as a fun thing to do on weekends with the family, or maybe to mix up your yoga routine or to increase your fitness. The main thing is that you are looking into it and so you might need a little help in choosing your first SUP.
What should you look for in your very first SUP? Your first SUP needs to be stable. You want to be able to get up easily rather than spend most of your time battling with standing, wobbling around and falling a lot, especially when the weather and waters get colder. While length plays a huge part in this, the main thing you want to look for is width. Width equals stability. A beginner should look for a SUP at 33 inches wide or above. 32 inches is too narrow for a beginner. A SUP with a squared off tail will also provide more stability for a beginner.
A wider board will provide more stability than a narrower board. Something like the HD Aero from Bote is great as it’s got the length and it’s 34 inches wide. Also there is room to accessorise with coolers etc!
But if you’re not looking to break the bank on your first paddleboard investment which is definitely nothing to frown upon, you want to know that you’re going to love you’re new hobby before forking out the big bucks, the Spinera Supventure comes in at a much lower price point, which also has the length and is 33 inches wide for stability. This is a great beginner paddle board if you’re just starting out.
Something that is middle of the road for a beginner price would be the Aquaglide Kush SUP, which comes in at 34 inches wide, which is great for stability and has a squared off tail for added stability.
All of these SUP options are suitable for beginners and are all super portable packing down into a large backpack.
We hope this has been helpful on what you need to look for in a beginner paddle board.
The main thing you need to know is that width equals stability! Happy paddling.
