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The best inflatable SUP review ever?

We’re not shy about shouting about our great kit at McConks.  We know that you can’t get premium quality SUP at our prices anywhere else in the western world.  You can get kit at the same price, but not at premium quality. Or you can get premium kit at a few hundred pounds more than our RRP.   But no-one else offers the same quality at the same price.  Fact.

But we REALLY LOVE IT when one of our amazing customers emails us a review like this.  And for a sentimental old sod like me, getting a review like this brought a tear to my eyes.  To know we have made such a difference to one person is awesome!

Thanks Funky – we love this review, and keep on living the dream!

Why buy a McConks paddleboard?

I don’t normally write reviews or words of thanks but for this company I really wanted to.  Ok so I wanted to buy  a paddle board last yr 2016 ,  as a complete beginner and because I never buy on a whim I wanted to find out as much as possible about then and what paddle boarding was all about. I had only seen pics or short video clip. So I searched the web found out loads about all the different boards and what the companies were offering or why they thought there boards were the best or better than some other companies boards out there. I had decided a pump up board was the way for me to go as this would work better for me and my needs as I wanted it for traveling to Spain and for storage over the winter months.

The info out there  was a bit patchy but this company McConks kept coming up when I started googling Qs about paddle boards,  as offering advice on what type of paddle board or more about the different type of boards and what may or may not suit my needs as a complete beginner.

I emailed a magazine that done a big review on all the boards out there, and they told me they had heard good things about McConks and their boards, but had not yet done a full feature yet (It turns out that McConks had refused to pay for the review, and everyone else included in the review had paid for the ‘independent’ review!)

And I emailed McConks a ton of questions over a period of around two months; they were always helpful answered ever Q politely and honestly.  I could tell Andy was passionate about not only his company but paddle boarding as a whole.

Time ticked on and, although I didn’t commit, I had more or less made my mind up to buy a McConks  board.  But McConks said that they were bringing out another longer touring type board in late 2016.  I was interested is this type of board more as I would be mainly using it for the big lake  near where we holiday in Spain.  I felt bad not committing but wanted to wait, so unless a great deal came up on Ebay etc I wasn’t sure.  But the cheap ebay deals never happened, and the ones for sale were cheap and had rubbish reviews or the “ Second hand boards from ‘named brands’ were just as much if not more than McConks brand new ones ???

https://mcconks.com/shop/may-2021-preorder-mcconks-go-explore-128-inflatable-sup-the-ultimate-adventure-board/#comment-169993

Time rolled on to 2017.   The new McConks touring board was out and had some great reviews (like all their boards).  I contacted the company again inquiring more and asking even more Qs , once again he was so helpful and never pressured me just offered open honest advice.

I took the plunge and brought a McConks  board early 2017 , It arrived in a great bag really big and loads bigger than I expected you could easily get a lot of extra gear in there if this is the only bag you wanted to take on holiday.  Booked the bag on to the flight as a sports bag, all easy.

Now the review on the  McConks board:  It did take a fair bit of time to pump it up to the pressure required not ages but you still knew you were pumping it up. This was not a problem and the pump was really good and solid feel to it just took a bit of time; once up it felt really solid.  Now being a complete beginner I have nothing to compare it to and I have never been that great with balancing stuff.   It felt a bit unstable first of and paddled a bit on my knees , the carbon paddle felt really solid and strong and I’m glad I upgraded to this.

After a few minutes I felt ready to stand up; the lake I’m on is big and deep and there is a fair bit of current from the wind.  Yes I did fall in a few times but managed to get back on it without having to swim to the edge.   When I got used to it a bit more, I have to say  I felt great on it and I am so so happy I went for a McConks board , it seemed to glide really nicely and I’m sure once I get better at it will feel so at ease on it.

Like I say I don’t have any experience on any other board but what I do know is that when I was out on that lake for the first time, I felt so happy that I had chosen to buy this board from this company.  Andy had always made me feel like a customer and just wanted to make sure I got the right board for me and what I wanted it for.  He never gave me hard sell, yet was sure I would love his boards whatever one I went for.   I am sure that as I improve with practice, I will love this board even more than I do now, but to know in my heart how happy I was out there on the water completely at peace and free was worth every penny.

So to sum up I just wanted to say thank you, you never pressured me but you delivered on a product that I’m sure will give me hrs and hrs and yrs of fun and happiness.

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