How to Choose Your Paddleboard
What Size SUP paddleboard is right for you?
With so many options out there these days, choosing your paddleboard can be a daunting task. And it’s no small investment, so you want to make sure to pick the right one! Below you’ll find a guide to help you pick the perfect paddleboard.
One of the most important aspects to look at is size. You don’t want a paddleboard so big that you can’t maneuver it, and you don’t want a paddleboard so small that it won’t keep you afloat.
Let’s talk about thickness first. If you’re over 150 lbs. you should be shooting for a thickness of at least 6 inches. Under 150 lbs, a 4 inch paddleboard will be just fine for you.
As far as length and width are concerned, you have to give up one thing to get improvement on another. What I mean by that is that the more long and narrow your paddleboard is, the faster you can go. But the wider your paddleboard is, the more stable it will be so that you don’t fall off.
Most of the popular paddleboards are between 9-11 feet long, and 30-34 inches wide. I own a Serenelife Premium and a Solstice Bali, both are 30 inches wide and 10.5 feet long, and I find enough stability with both of them. My Serenelife is a bit more stable because it is 6 inches thick instead of 4, but with a smaller person this really won’t make a huge difference.
People under 150 lbs can get away with a shorter board (9.5 feet for example) because that will help them maneuver the board a little bit easier without sacrificing speed or control.
We’ve seen a lot of different paddleboards and as far as performance is concerned, I have not seen a difference between the $1000+ NRS boards and my $300 SereneLife Premium board. I’ve taken it out dozens of times and there are no signs of wear or any other problems. You can easily save a lot of money and still have a very enjoyable paddleboard that gets the job done just as well as the big name boards out there.
I created a YouTube video comparing my girlfriend’s Solstice Bali and my SereneLife premium. I’ve embedded it below. Let me know what you think!
Solstice Bali:
SerenLife Premium:
