Deciphering the Shape of your SUP

So You Want to Purchase a Paddle Board? [Part 2 of Series]

People message me all the time asking for advice on buying a paddleboard, so I figured a blog post series would be helpful for the many people that ask the same questions.

So today’s topic I will cover is how to decipher the features of a paddleboard to help you find a board that will be optimal for your paddling endeavors.

I will cover the pros and cons of board length, shape, and volume.

Features to Consider and What They’re Good For:

Length.
I am purposely ambiguous with the length specifications because it is relative to the person. My next blog post will shed some light on basic lengths of boards to look for within each niche of the sport. But in general...

Longer
    Pros:

• Tracks straighter.
• Go long distances faster.
• Less energy spent on correcting the board.

Cons:

• Requires more “muscle”/technique to turn the board (you have to be comfortable walking around on your SUP).

Shorter
    Pros:

• Good for navigating rivers (dodging rocks and obstacles).
• Good for a smaller person to do distance-related things as they don’t have to muscle the board as much.

Cons:

• Will not track as straight.
• Not as fast (more energy is spent correcting the board to go straighter).

Shortest
    Pros:

• Good for river surfing because it can fit in the trough of a wave easier without pearling.
• Good for ocean surfing because it allows for more freedom to carve up and down a wave (compare to short board surfing style).
• Good for small children because it’s easier for them to manuever and propel the board.

    Cons:

• The fact it turns so easily could be bad if you’re trying to paddle somewhere in a straight line.

• More difficult to balance on because…
  • The board will speed up and slow down easier and you will have less surface area to walk around on the board to save yourself from falling off.
  • The board has less volume so it will sink more easily.

Shape.

Narrow Boards
    Pros:

• More hydrodynamic, so you expend less energy to travel faster.

    Cons:

• Difficult to balance, especially in choppy conditions.

Wide Boards
    Pros:

• More stable. It will be harder for the water to sink a rail (edge of your board) and cause you to fall.

    Cons:

• Travels slow. It feels a little bit like a barge when you’re trying to paddle fast.

Flat Boards
    Pros:

• Have more contact with the water and will ride like they are longer (track straighter).

    Cons:

• If the water is choppy and waves break over the nose of the board, it will cause the board to abruptly slow down and you to fall forward(slamming the brakes effect). Water breaking over the nose of the board also creates a lot of drag when trying to paddle fast.

Rockered Boards
    Pros:

• Can handle waves better because the nose goes over the top of the waves.
• Also good for surfing because a high nose prevents the board from getting caught in the wave and pearling.

    Cons:

• Reduced surface area on the water makes the board act like it is shorter (maybe a good thing?).
• Paddling in a headwind with a rockered board means that wind will blow on the underside of the nose and cause the board to spin on the water. A pain when you’re trying to paddle a longer distance.

Volume.

Inflatable Boards:

• Thicker means more volume.

Hard Boards:

• *Beware* Just because a hard board is thicker, it does not mean that it can hold more weight. You have to consider the fact that different boards can have different foam-core densities, which affects how well it floats.

Thick/Higher Volume SUPs:
    Pros:

• Higher weight limit (good for big paddlers, and adding kids or dogs on the board).
• Harder to sink, so it is more stable and also good for waves or chop.

    Cons:

• More difficult to surf or execute pivot turns (technique used to turn, especially with long boards), where you have to sink the tail to raise the nose of the board.
• The paddler has a higher center of gravity, so it can be more difficult to balance.

Here’s where it gets tricky. Hard boards (and even inflatable SUPs) can be a variety of shapes and thicknesses depending on what part of the board you’re looking at.

Look at the board and see how the volume is distributed.  

• It will most often be the thickest in the middle of the board and thinner at the nose or tail.

• Look at the taper of the board. Some boards taper in at the nose and the tail.

So based on the guide we just read, we can then decipher that if the board has less volume in the nose and tail, it will sink with more ease when you step back to do a pivot turn, walk around your board, put a dog on it, etc.
We can also decipher that tapered boards will feel less stable, possibly more hydrodynamic, and also sink easier in the nose and tail, because it is more narrow and has less volume in those areas.

My Advice.

• Move and play around on the SUP and watch how it responds when weight is placed throughout the board. Decide if it fits how you plan to use it.
• Don’t settle for a beginner board if you know that you won’t be a beginner paddle boarder for long! A SUP is a big investment, and if you’re reading this blog post, I know that you are the kind of person that does your research. I highly recommend going for a board that you see yourself riding in a year, because you will grow into it.
• Good board manufacturers put a lot of thought and work into deliberately shaping the board to best fit its intended use. Pay attention to the features specified above to understand why some boards feel better than others.
  
• Read my previous blog post (part 1 in this series) to understand quality of materials that go into SUP construction.

Next week I will post a breakdown of the different niches of the sport and will help you decide where you should start in your search for the perfect SUP for you. By knowing these general features and how it affect the performance of the paddleboard, you will more easily be able to pick and choose what specific board fits your needs, as every board is different.

Please check out my Facebook or Instagram to follow my latest adventures. If you have any questions you would like me to answer regarding purchasing a SUP, please feel free to message me. Thanks for reading!