5 SUP mistakes anyone can make…

5 SUP mistakes anyone can make…

This isn’t poking fun at anyone, we all make mistakes. It’s merely a bit of fun to lighten the mood and also highlight a handful of goofs that many of us have made – even the now so-called experienced stand up paddlers amongst us. Anyway, learning by trial and error isn’t a bad thing as you’ll never forget!

Paddle the wrong way round

Who knew there was a front and back to a stand up paddle board paddle? And why wouldn’t it be the angled face (the back) that faces towards you? After all, intuitively anybody new to SUP would do the same.

Fins facing backwards

This is one we’ve seen a few times; SUP fins inserted in their box the wrong way round. As with SUP paddles SUP fins are designed to work with the rake of the skeg aiming rearwards, like in the image below. Just so you know…

Wetsuits worn with zips at the front

Yep, another ‘wrong way round’ product that doesn’t just apply to stand up paddlers. And putting on a wetsuit back to front is probably more common mistake than the two above. The zip goes at your back – even mini chest zip wetties the same!

Waxing an already deck gripped up SUP

Actually, there isn’t anything wrong with waxing a SUP fitted with deck grip already. Extra traction is always good even if you don’t technically need it per se. Deck grip will usually provide ample engagement whereas adding surf wax will just cause a mess. Most of the time only SUPs without deck pads need waxing.

Incorrect paddle length

This mostly applies to those SUPers who own adjustable stand up paddle board paddles. It’s probably more common to have the adjustment set too long, which can damage your rotator cuff. There’re are also instances of paddles being too short which results in too stooped a paddling stance.

There are plenty more SUP goofs that we’re sure you’ve seen and maybe made the mistake of doing yourself. Let us know what you’ve seen or done.