Standing atop an elongated board and paddling in a straight line is relatively easy. Particularly if you do so on flat calm water, under the watchful eye of an instructor or experienced guide whilst using applicable equipment. Try to SUP on the wrong gear, in the wrong place, with the wrong weather conditions and it’s a whole other story. We know so many people who’ve had bad first experiences of SUP that’s it put them off. We also hear of first timers having a bad experience who’ve then gone on to ‘win’ at SUP having been given the right ‘tools’ and taken out at the right location at the right time.
SUP is easy – relative to many other watersports. But you still have to persevere, practice and build your skills up. Same as anything. We prefer the term ‘accessible’. And to reiterate: paddle boarding is very accessible to all comers when done in the right way.
This might seem like an odd one at first as McConks is predominantly an inflatable SUP brand. But paddle boarding isn’t JUST about air boards. Hard shell SUPs are also worthy of your consideration.
The benefits of iSUPs have been promoted until the cows come home. And for the majority, they remain the best choice. For others, however, the best paddle board might not be an air board. It might be a hard style instead.
Howling winds, sideways rain and single digit thermometer readings aren’t inspiring for paddle boarding, we get that. But with a certain level of knowledge/understanding and ways to approach days that aren’t offering idyllically flat water there’s a way to make use of conditions and still enjoy your SUP sessions.
Back in the day stand up paddle boarding was promoted as more of an extreme sport. SUPer (pun intended) experienced ocean going athletes would do battle with Mother Nature on a regular basis. Riding waves, doing downwinders and such. Basically using the conditions on offer to best effect.
Wind in particular puts many paddle boarders off. Yet with some prior planning and prep this doesn’t need to be the case. We mentioned downwinding in the paragraph above. And that’s one way to get a fulfilling windy SUP sesh in the bag. Alternatively, add another ‘tool’ to make use of breezy days. Some of you will know McConks does other gear – such as inflatable wings and windsurf sails, which aren’t that hard to use. A bit of time, perseverance and practice (as with SUP in general) would see you enjoying another way to ride and make use of breeze.
With purse strings often tied, which we get, the price of SUP gear is always at the forefront of paddlers’ minds. But as with everything – and in particular with inflatable paddle boards – you really do get what you pay for. A cheap iSUP is a cheap iSUP. And by that we mean lesser quality and low performance. Which directly affects your overall experience. It’s all very well screaming elitist mentality when an opinion is asked of a cheap iSUP and an experience based opinion given. But what might be perceived as elitist can be opinion born of many paddling hours on the water.
Buying quality from the get go will deliver on the promise of what paddle barding can be. Having to buy twice isn’t great. And even worse is a rider completely sacking off the sport due to an initial bad experience with the equipment. Cheap doesn’t mean budget. But there’s a certain level of quality any prospective customer needs to be looking at. Even if you only plan on SUPing a small amount in any given year.
For any paddle boarding advice get in touch with us here at McConks.
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