From: Original price was: £665.99.£350.00Current price is: £350.00.
The 11’4 Go Explore is a step up from our Go Anywhere all round iSUP boards. It’s the perfect entry touring paddleboard for those who want to progress from an all round board. Designed as the ultimate balance for paddlers who want a bit more speed and performance in choppy waters, but who want to retain some of the manoeuvrability of an all round board. It’s the transition between water and air where a mundane iSUP Board becomes a great board, and this board has a long waterline for its length, and a rocker that cuts you through the water, and without creating too much wind resistance.
Like all of our Go Explore range, this board has a crocodile skin deckpad that offers just the right mix between grip and comfort.
The 11’4 is 31.5″ wide, just a tad narrower than our Go Anywhere all round boards. Couple this with the square tail and long fin (which reduce side to side rolling), this is a very stable board, and ideal for larger riders who struggle with smaller all round boards.
The board comes with a 2 + 1 fin system, with single 8″ semi flexible fin for the centre fin box, which is secured with a universal fin bolt (included). The fin box is a full length universal US fin box, so will take any of the shorter river or longer race fins that we sell, or you can even use your favourite FCS or blackproject fin! Removable 5″ fins are also supplied, although you wont need them unless you want to surf.
When you’re done, the board deflates and rolls up in a few minutes into our rugged SUP bag.
Comes with premium SUP bag, premium coiled leash (10ft) and HF buddy quick release belt as standard, repair kit and semi flexi fin. Choose the rest of your accessories from the bundled products.
What’s in the box
Choose from our standard 3 piece 10% carbon shaft, glass/nylon blade paddle. Perfect for beginners and families – indestructible stiff blade, adjustable so the whole family can use it, yet less than 1kg in weight – 40% lighter than the standard cheap paddles included with most iSUP packages. Or you can go for a higher performance carbon paddle. Read this article to find out why choosing the right paddle is just as important as choosing the right board
This little tool allows you to connect your inflatable paddleboard to a shrader (car tyre) type pump. Please note that most car tyre pumps are not designed to provide enough volume to inflate a SUP. Therefore using your car tyre inflator could damage the pump. And the use of a very high volume compressor could damage your SUP board – so be careful!
Why not choose a double chamber triple action pump. This pump makes your pre-paddle routine a doddle, inflating an all round board to 18 PSI in less than 5 minutes, without breaking your back.
We’ve got a large range of organic and sustainable t-shirts and hoodies. From bright and colourful to stylish and subtle, every garment is 100% organic or recycled, printed to order using a small UK company, and delivered within 10 days, but often as quick as 3 days. Kids, ladies and unisex available
Not just a rash vest, but one made from recycled plastic waste. Here’s what a happy customer had to say…
“It is very comfy. Easily the comfiest one I’ve had. Better than my current Billabong one. I wasn’t expecting it to be long sleeved. If I’d have been looking to buy another one, I’d have gone for short sleeve. But now I’ve tried your long sleeve one on, I’m sold on it. In the hot weather this Saturday at the Torbay air show, it was lovely and cooling on and stopped me getting burned when wearing it on its own with shorts. When I went for a swim, I put my wetsuit top on over the top of it and it kept me nice and warm. When I took the wetsuit top off, your rash vest dried pretty quickly in the sun.”
Shallow rivers are a drag (literally), particularly for those riders with fixed fins. Luckily, McConks don’t do fixed fins, and a river fin pack allows you to use shorter fins for shallower waters like the River Wye.
If you want better tracking, then these race fins will improve your tracking and your speed through the water. With a weed shedding profile they will also significantly reduce drag in weedy waters.
It goes without saying you should nearly always use a leash. If you’re on flat without any current, then a coiled ankle leash is sufficient (supplied as standard on most of our boards prior to 2021). If you want to surf SUP, then a straight leash is advised to reduce the risk of recoil, although people are increasingly finding coiled ankle leashes don’t create as much recoil as previously feared.
For 2021, we are no longer providing ankle leashes as standard. We’re instead providing quick release waist belts and a leash connect system.
If you paddle fast flowing water (moderate or fast flowing rivers or tidal rivers/estuaries), you should always use a quick release (QR) safety belt. Without a QR belt, there is a risk that you could be pinned down by the current with your board one side of an object, and you the other. And this nearly always results in death.
We recommend three quick release belts for swiftwater. The HF SUP buddy is a no frills QR belt with manual quick release, and emergency resistance release supplied as standard with all our boards from 2021. So even if you can’t manually release the belt, it will release under enough stress. The next step up HF Synergy , or is a premium piece of kit that fully complies with British Canoeing’s guidance on SUP Safety on whitewater. It is comfortably padded, has a much cleaner emergency release that has a much reduced risk of entanglement and entrapment, and allows for the attachment of a Restube PFD and a throwline. The belts have an added advantage of keeping the leash out from under your feet, making step back turns much less of a tangle.
For those of you who don’t like the velcro quick release, we also sell the rather awesome Whetman Water Belt that has two manual cam releases. This product is both designed and made in the UK – in Devon to be precise.
Keeping you gear safe on the water is an important element of SUP safety. What good is your mobile phone if it’s at the bottom of the sea? Our dry bags keep your gear dry, and have inflatable external bladders to ensure they float. And they’re made from recycled plastic waste.
This mount from RAM mounts is a totally bulletproof piece of kit. Originally designed for use on high speed motorbikes, they have a bombproof construction, and are up to anything the natural environment can throw at them. So it will keep your camera safe and sound and let you capture the memory for ever. And also prevent your camera causing heavy metal pollution from leaching batteries, and plastic pollution. And there are attachments for waterproof phones, tablets, speakers, lamps, fishing rods, and much more – it’s not just a camera mount
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| Weight | 3 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 30 × 40 × 70 cm |
| Weight | 3 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 30 × 30 × 50 cm |
| Upgrade | Package upgrade, pump only |
| Weight | 3 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 90 × 25 × 10 cm |
| Blades | |
| Shaft | |
| Combined carrying capacity / weight | |
| Type of paddling | A bit of everything including surfing, Micro adventure day paddles, Whitewater SUP, River surf, Yoga SUP, Group paddling and multi person |
| Type of paddle |
| Weight | 3 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 180 × 25 × 10 cm |
| Blades | Teardrop AC85, Teardrop AC93, Teardrop Bamboo 85, Teardrop Bamboo 93 |
| Combined carrying capacity / weight | |
| Type of paddling | A bit of everything including surfing, Micro adventure day paddles, River surf, Yoga SUP, SUP surf |
| Type of paddle |
| Weight | 2 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 20 × 10 × 5 cm |
| Weight | 1 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 20 × 5 × 1 cm |
| Weight | 0.5 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 15 × 10 × 5 cm |
| Weight | 2 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 30 × 20 × 2 cm |
| Weight | 3 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 10 × 5 × 5 cm |
| Weight | 3 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 30 × 30 × 20 cm |
We think a little too much has been made of the 5", 6" thing. When we prototyped our 11'4 board, we had both a 5" and 6" version, and over 70% of the smaller paddlers who tested it, preferred the 6" depth. And this was true both on flat water and in the sea. The idea of being more 'planted' and'in' the water that some are claiming for thinner iSUPS, simply doesn't stack up for inflatable boards. It works for hard boards which have a low friction surface that cuts through the water. It absolutely isn't true for vinyl inflatable boards which are 'sticky' and 'sucky', and which are fastest and hence more stable on the top of the water. O
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christopher conley (verified owner) –
This is brilliant. Love it. I wanted a sporty board as I’m a tall paddler and this has turned out better than my expectations. It’s fast and manoeuvrable for me but doubles as a family board as my 9 year old can paddle it no problem. It tracks well, turns easily and is surprisingly stable for someone of my size. Definitely a board to develop skills on. I will almost certainly get another one of these at some point.
Rachel (verified owner) –
I bought this board after a lot of research, and absolutely love it. Paddles in a straight line easily, relatively light given the size, and super stable. Everything that comes with it is great quality. Very happy, thanks! 🙂
david y. (verified owner) –
Early days and nothing to compare to. However very good so far, seems well made. First trip was to Crete! Just enough extra space and weight allowance in the bag for my other things.
If your paddles don’t fit neatly in the bag there a solution -talk to Andy.
Matthew Brailsford (verified owner) –
Having started SUP’ing on a 10’6” board from another company (not blue or green), then trying a longer touring board (from a different galaxy), I decided I wanted the best of both worlds!
Enter McConks! I’d seen them online and talked about them with a friend who’d met Andrew, but there was none to try within and hour and a half of me. A few messages later and I was trying the 11’4” Go Explore.
Now, if I’m brutally honest, I wasn’t sure about this board on my first time out (on glass like water), but I took it out a second time (7-9mph winds) and started to fall in love! Turns out I’d just had a bad day and I was so worried about falling in on the first trip that it turned my legs to jelly! After that and a good talking to by myself, Andrew and another instructor friend, I took it out, threw myself off it, got back on and never looked back!
I love this board! I weigh about 90kg (honest!… ok, sometimes nearer 93… 95 then!) and am 5’11”. I’m as supple as a concrete lintel. I inflate the board to 18psi and away I go. It feels super rigid and I’m told by people paddling next to me that it sits really well in the water. It’s got D rings aplenty and plenty of storage space and the deck pad feels super grippy.
Everything about the board and the rest of the kit feels premium quality (I opted for the carbon/bamboo 3 piece paddle) and I love it!
Price wise, I genuinely believe that McConks are consistently £200 cheaper than other manufacturers at the same or similar standard. Couple that with fantastic communication and customer service and I believe you could do a lot worse with more money!
A GREAT FAMILY RUN, ETHICAL COMPANY WITH GREAT PRODUCTS!!
Kerry G –
A fantastic board that I’m totally in love with. As newbie to SUP I wanted something that would carry some kit for a mini adventure whilst being responsive and turning well. This board is it. It also feels like I’ve got room to grow with it as my technique develops – I get the impression that this board will get better with me rather than me wanting to leave it behind by getting an instant upgrade. It folds down well and the bag is really good quality – with wheels, rucksack straps and plenty of handles which help getting it into the car.
Barry Spencer (verified owner) –
Excellent build quality, very well thought out design, great non-slip deck, stable, manoeuvreable and great fun.
My wife and I learned to paddle on holiday in Cornwall
Barry Spencer (verified owner) –
Excellent build quality, very well thought out design, great non-slip deck, stable, manoeuvrable, very good value and tremendous fun.
Being new to SUP there are probably others better qualified than me to do a review. This is only the second board we’ve used, having learned to paddle this week on holiday, and so we don’t have much to compare it with. That said the quality of the board and paddle are plain to see.
We had our maiden voyage today at Chelmarsh Sailing Club in Shropshire and Ellen was off like a rocket – the stability of the ride was very confidence-inspiring. After about 500m of paddling I found the sweet spot and was able to drive the board in a straight line without swapping sides and I even managed to sink a rail consistently.
I really like the kick-pad at the back of the board and I spent a happy half hour practising step back turns (although in reality I was practising self-rescue more often than not). When I got it right it was very rewarding as the board just flew around.
We went for the carbon fibre shaft/nylon blade paddle upgrade which I feel was money well spent as the paddle felt nicely balanced. I would have liked a better blade but it wasn’t an option. It would be useful if there were index marks on both joints to speed up assembling the paddle although adding my own was simple enough.
Everything packs up neatly in the bag which also seems robust and the wheels are really useful.
We paid extra for the better hand pump. It took me about 6 minutes to get up to 19. The pump is all plastic but seemed to the job fine.
Dealing with McConks was very easy, I like the fact that they are direct to customer and speaking to an experienced paddler at the club, both the company and their boards have an excellent reputation.
As you can probably tell by now, I think the board is great. As absolute beginners we both found it really easy to paddle and I feel that there is plenty of room to grow with the board as we improve.
Barry Fogarty –
I love this board. Great for improvers, it feels like you can really progress your skills. Although it is a similar width and thickness to the all-round version, it is actually considerable less stable (and consequently more manouvreable and faster). So although its still suitable for a beginner, if you are less confident in your balance my advice would be to look at the Go Anywhere range first. That said, my partner falls into the above category, and while it took her a few goes to find her feet, she prefers this board now too.
A word on customer service: Andy really cares about customer satisfaction. I had initially bought a budget ‘Go Simple’ board, (now discontinued), and when I queried a cosmetic defect Andy gave me the option of keeping hold of it (along with a small refund for the damage) or exchanging it for a better model after a month or so’s trial. I eventually exchanged it, but what stuck with me above anything was Andy’s focus on my happiness with my purchase over all.
McConks make great boards, really focus on customer satisfaction, and I recommend their products 100%. What a great family run UK company to support. My next board will definitely be a McConks, thanks Andy!
Paula Bancroft (verified owner) –
Love my board, it’s awesome. Clearly been designed and built well by people who love this sport. I paddle all year, generally in the sea but have had great fun in rivers and canals as well. I’m 5”11 and around 90kg and have great balance on it, yet still fun.
Team McConks customer service has been spot on, communication was prompt when needed, and resolved a delivery issue promptly.
Above and beyond is the information / advice videos they put out, loved these in my research stage!
Thank you team M
Livia Pietromarchi (verified owner) –
I love this board, it is perfect for anyone who is starting paddle boarding and also for those more advanced. It is wide enough for beginners and I find it very stable.
Also the accessories it comes with are very good quality, the bag is perfect for traveling as it is robust and the wheels are very useful.
It is clear that as a family run UK company they focus on quality and customer satisfaction.
In terms of customer service, Andy cares very much and replies to enquiries straight away. When I bought this board, I had also bought the seat that can be mounted to sit down, however it then turned out that this board doesn’t have the correct d-rings to fit the seat: Andy was very understanding, he sent me a refund for the seat but also spare d-rings and glue so that I could stick them on the board and still use the seat.
Since I bought the board, I have recommended McConks to everybody and I cannot see myself changing brand any time soon.
david partridge –
These boards are just great. Versatile durable and easy to transport. We have used them to tour around the Scillies and scotland. Good glide, robust and still going strong after 3 years. Not the fastest, but great from Ato B in sea and rivers.
Livia Pietromarchi (verified owner) –
Fabulous board, great quality, robust and stable but also very manoeuvrable and good fun in choppy waters. I have had it now for nearly 3 years and it is still in perfect conditions.
The accessories it comes with are very good quality, the bag is perfect for traveling, sturdy and the wheels are great.
Andy cares a lot for his customers and will always reply very quickly to any enquiries.
I cannot see myself changing brand any time soon!
Gareth (verified owner) –
Excellent board and service, it’s so good we bought another one a few months later.
It’s a great size and buoyancy for one person + kit, but could also easily take 2 x people. Build quality so far seems excellent.
The only negative point is the bag broke within a few months of owning it, but the actual board is great.
Cathan (verified owner) –
Excellent quality board. My friend’s cheaper boards are already falling apart while this is going strong. Well made and excellent communication from the McConks team. A bit thinner which is a good challenge for balance on rougher waters but super fun. Do recommend!
Christina Coyle (verified owner) –
Great board for stepping up from a beginner or general purpose board. I wanted the compact size mainly for day touring and because I’m not huge (5’3″) and it doesn’t disappoint as there is plenty of room for kit, front and back yet it’s still easy to manoeuvre with more speed than a general board. I’ve taken it on the sea and rivers with various flow and its managed really well and seems very robust. My adult son has only paddled a handful of times but now prefers this board, despite it being more ‘tippy’ than a general purpose board. Great board and very good value.
Roy Poole (verified owner) –
Bought my board eighteen months ago after considerable research. McConks were very helpful and responsive to my questions and some delivery issues in the immediate aftermath of Covid. I would certainly buy from them again if I ever need a new board. Having said that I doubt that I will be needing a new board any time soon. The one I have is excellent, sturdy and well made. Despite my being a newbie to the sport and considerably older than most I had no difficulty using it on the flatter water for which it is designed. It is reasonably stable, it is quick and effortless to paddle and it tracks well. Just what I wanted.
Bethan Greenhalgh (verified owner) –
I absolutely love this board! I had a 10’8 board before, which was good, but I much prefer this. I’ve been paddling for a little while but not ages, so I wanted something a little faster than the Go Anywhere board but nothing too sleek and tippy – this hits the spot. When I was considering the upgrade, Andy at McConks advised me to try them both and suggested a centre where I could compare them. It was a no brainer and that’s the sort of service that will keep me loyal to these guys – they really care.
Ian Jefferyes (verified owner) –
Have used this board many time over the last year since I bought it. Very stable, glides well and good quality materials. Going for this as the slightly shorted explorer board, also means manoverability is great. Have used it both on canals and the sea in France. Buying direct, also means great service.
Jessica Gordon (verified owner) –
Love my board! I have lots of fun using it. My partner can sit on the front of the board whilst I paddle at the back 🙂 suitable for total beginners (like me!) Easy to inflate, transport and carry. Would highly recommend!
Stuart Taylor (verified owner) –
I’ve had my 11.4 for 3 years and it’s been used regularly on local rivers all over Cornwall and France. And I love my board. It’s well built, stable and fairly fast. Looking forward to doing some long distance overnight trips next year for another perspective on SUP exploring. My grandsons also love being on board with granddad.
Ray Loftus –
Excellent piece of kit. Well made and very durable in all waters. Kids love having fun on it along with Cindy the dog who sits very proudly on it Saying, “look at me everyone!”
Highly recommended.
Tom Buchanan (verified owner) –
Toyah Tomkins (verified owner) –
sam morgan (verified owner) –
The board is a great all rounder used in the canals, rivers and Sea in my local area. It seems far more stable at the higher PSI capacity than cheaper boards.
Alan C. (verified owner) –
Same as other board comments
Matt Jones (verified owner) –